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Traffickers use numerous modes of transportation to smuggle illicit drugs into the HIDTA region; however, they most frequently use private and commercial vehicles. Drug shipments transported in vehicles are typically placed in hidden compartments or commingled with legitimate products. Drug traffickers also employ couriers on trains, buses, and aircraft to transport illicit drugs into the region. Some criminals ship marijuana, cocaine, MDMA, and other illicit drugs through the U.S. Postal Service and private parcel delivery services. For example, in late 2007 the Racine Police Department reported an increase in the use of package delivery services to ship 2- to 5-kilogram quantities of cocaine from Texas, Arizona, and Mexico to the city. Additionally, in early 2008 Milwaukee County law enforcement confiscated multiple high-potency marijuana shipments from California that were sent to distributors in the Milwaukee area. Some drug traffickers use axle grease, coffee grounds, dryer sheets, garlic, mustard, pepper, or spray foam in the packaging to mask drug odor and deter law enforcement interdiction. Law enforcement officials are also encountering packaging coated with more caustic chemicals, such as bleach and drain cleaner, which are believed to be used to hide the scent of the drugs and to thwart drug-detecting canines.
Mexican criminal groups are the primary traffickers of cocaine and marijuana to the region. These groups transport wholesale quantities of powder cocaine and commercial-grade marijuana into the area from Chicago and various source locations in Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and southern California. Mexican traffickers typically transport drug shipments to Milwaukee, where they are stored and broken down into smaller quantities for distribution in markets such as Racine, Waukesha, and Kenosha. Many Mexican criminal groups and street gangs in the region have organizational or familial connections in Chicago and Mexico that supply them with significant amounts of illicit drugs. Additionally, some traffickers are increasingly dealing directly with traffickers based along the Southwest Border, who generally offer better prices than suppliers in Chicago.
Dominican and Nigerian traffickers transport wholesale quantities of heroin and powder cocaine to the HIDTA region from Chicago and, to a lesser extent, the east coast of the United States. Prior to 2005 heroin traffickers in New York City and Boston supplied much of the heroin available in the region; however, increased availability of, and competitive prices for, heroin in Chicago contributed to a shift in heroin supply from sources on the east coast to sources based in Chicago. Now, nearly all heroin available in the area originates in Colombia and transits the Southwest Border to Chicago for eventual distribution in Milwaukee. Typically, Dominican traffickers in Chicago and, to a lesser extent, on the east coast supply SA heroin to Hispanic dealers on the south side. African American dealers on the north side of the city traditionally deal with other African Americans--either gang members or individuals--whose source of supply is generally an African national. Nigerian traffickers from Chicago also supply very limited amounts of SEA and SWA heroin to African American dealers on the north side of Milwaukee.
Asian traffickers, typically Vietnamese, Laotian, and Hmong, are increasingly transporting wholesale quantities of high-potency marijuana and MDMA into the region from locations in Canada and along the west coast. Some Asian traffickers transport these drugs from Montreal, Toronto, and Kitchener, Canada, through Michigan and Minnesota and into the HIDTA region. Some traffickers recruit young Caucasian females and elderly couples to transport MDMA into the United States from Canada. Asian traffickers also transport high-potency marijuana and MDMA to the region from California, Washington, and Oregon. Additionally, Asian traffickers based in San Diego, Fresno, and Sacramento, California, transport powder cocaine to the area.
Somali criminal groups sometimes use Milwaukee as a transit point for khat shipments sent from Europe and destined for Minneapolis. Successful law enforcement efforts have disrupted direct shipments to Minneapolis, and as a result, Somali criminal groups sometimes ship the drug into Milwaukee for transshipment to Minneapolis. The Milwaukee Police Department reportedly seized 25 pounds of khat in 2007, down from 700 pounds seized in 2006.
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