Transportation

National Drug Intelligence Center
Northwest High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Drug Market Analysis
June 2007
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Mexican DTOs and criminal groups are the primary transporters of powder cocaine and Mexican marijuana, black tar heroin, and ice methamphetamine into and through the region. They transport these drugs primarily in personal vehicles from Mexico, through California and Oregon on Interstates 5, 82, 84, and 90. (See Figure 2.) According to the Northwest HIDTA, in 2006 law enforcement officials made the most drug seizures in the region on I-5, which provides a direct north-south throughway from the Otay Mesa POE at the U.S.-Mexico border to the Blaine POE located in Washington at the U.S.-Canada border, followed by I-90, a major east-west route. Respondents to the Northwest HIDTA Threat Assessment Survey (TAS) 2007 report that the most prevalent transportation routes, in descending order, are by road, land, air, and water for both retail and wholesale drug trafficking.

Figure 2. Northwest HIDTA transportation infrastructure.

Map showing the Northwest HIDTA transportation infrastructure.
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Caucasian criminal groups and independent dealers, Asian criminal groups (primarily Vietnamese), and OMGs transport MDMA and high-potency Canadian marijuana from Canada to and through the HIDTA region. These traffickers typically transport the drugs in private vehicles across the U.S.-Canada border; however, some traffickers have used tractor-trailers. Moreover, some traffickers have concealed MDMA in larger shipments of marijuana.

Canadian Man Convicted of Cocaine Trafficking: Trucker Had More Than 250 Pounds of Cocaine Hidden in Fuel Tanks

A Canadian truck driver was convicted in U.S. District Court in Seattle of possession of cocaine with intent to distribute on January 18, 2007. According to court records, the truck driver had been attempting to enter Canada from the United States at the Port of Lynden. The tractor-trailer rig that he was driving was empty. While the driver was being interviewed, an officer became suspicious after looking at the rig's fuel tanks. Upon closer inspection, investigators found three duffel bags containing 115 kilograms of cocaine. The cocaine had an estimated wholesale value of $1.8 million. Because of the large amount of cocaine involved, the truck driver faces a 10-year mandatory minimum sentence.

According to law enforcement reporting, marijuana seizures along the border have declined since 2005 as a result of Canada-based Vietnamese criminal groups that have relocated some of their cannabis cultivation operations from Canada to Washington. In contrast, MDMA seizures have increased along the U.S.-Canada border in Washington. In 2006, 27 percent of the seizures reported by the Pacific Integrated Border Intelligence Team (IBIT) were MDMA-related; this figure is an increase over 2005 (15.5%) and 2004 (4.5%) figures.

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