National Drug Intelligence Center   Nevada High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Drug Market Analysis 2008   June 2008

Distribution

Mexican DTOs and criminal groups dominate the wholesale distribution of methamphetamine, powder cocaine, Mexican commercial-grade marijuana, and Mexican black tar and brown powder heroin. They typically store bulk quantities of these drugs at stash locations, such as rented storage facilities, private residences, retail businesses, and warehouses, where they are repackaged for distribution to other traffickers within and outside the HIDTA region. Asian DTOs and Caucasian traffickers generally control the wholesale distribution of high-potency marijuana and MDMA in the northern area of the HIDTA region, primarily Washoe County (see Table 2).

Table 2. Drug Distribution in the Nevada HIDTA Region, by Group, 2007

Source: Drug Enforcement Administration.
NA--Not applicable.

Various criminal groups, street gangs, OMGs, and independent dealers are involved in the retail distribution of illicit drugs in the Nevada HIDTA region. Mexican criminal groups and Hispanic street gangs are the primary retail-level distributors of methamphetamine, powder cocaine, and Mexican black tar and brown powder heroin in the region, while African American and Hispanic street gangs control retail crack cocaine distribution. Asian criminal groups, primarily Vietnamese and Chinese, Caucasian dealers and, to a lesser extent, OMGs are the primary retail-level distributors of high-potency marijuana and MDMA in the region. Most criminal groups, street gangs, and OMGs also distribute commercial-grade marijuana at the retail level. Particular groups and dealers tend to dominate the distribution of certain drugs in the region; however, most groups and dealers will distribute any illicit drug if sufficient quantities become available to them (see Table 2). Retail distribution typically occurs in open-air markets, nightclubs, strip clubs, and on college campuses.

The illegal diversion of pharmaceutical drugs occurs throughout the Nevada HIDTA region. Caucasian independent dealers, African American street gang members, and Native Americans are the primary retail distributors of diverted pharmaceutical drugs, primarily OxyContin, Lortab, Percocet, Soma, and Vicodin.

Many retail distributors use cell phones to facilitate drug sales in the HIDTA region. They typically use cell phones for a limited period of time, usually 30 days, and then discard the phones to enhance their communication security. Distributors also exploit point-to-point capabilities offered by wireless systems, believing that point-to-point communication technology is impervious to law enforcement interception. Additionally, distributors use text messaging for communication and control of illicit drug-related activities.

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Drug-Related Crime

Methamphetamine trafficking and abuse contribute significantly to crime in the Nevada HIDTA region. According to the National Drug Intelligence Center (NDIC) National Drug Threat Survey (NDTS) 2007, 27 of the 28 state and local law enforcement respondents in the region identified methamphetamine as the drug most associated with violent crime; 27 respondents reported the same for property crime. Additionally, law enforcement officials report that many violent crimes, including armed robberies, assaults, and homicides, are committed by drug distributors in the course of drug trafficking operations, while a considerable number of property crimes, including burglary, identity theft, larceny, and theft of copper wire from industrial, commercial, and residential sites, are being committed by methamphetamine abusers seeking to acquire drug funds.

The abuse of pharmaceutical drugs also has been linked to identity theft in the HIDTA region. According to DEA officials, pharmaceutical drug abusers are increasingly engaging in identity theft to obtain fraudulent prescriptions for oxycodone and hydrocodone. Moreover, pharmacy break-ins by pharmaceutical drug abusers have increased as some abusers who have become addicted to the drugs are becoming more desperate to acquire supplies.

Street gangs operating in the region, many of which engage in retail-level drug trafficking, perpetrate a considerable portion of the crime that occurs in the region each year, according to law enforcement officials. The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Gang Crimes Bureau reports that while the total number of gangs in the Las Vegas metropolitan area decreased between 2002 and 2007, gang membership increased from approximately 6,500 to 8,200 during the same time period. Additionally, the number of gang members in Reno increased from approximately 1,517 in 2006 to approximately 1,704 in 2007, according to the Regional Gang Unit of the Reno Police Department. Law enforcement officials anticipate that gang-related violent crime may rise in the region as a result of increased gang membership. Moreover, Nevada Department of Public Safety officials report that 15- to 34-year-old males (most active gang members are in this age group) perpetrate the vast majority of violent crimes in the region. Law enforcement officials throughout the region further report that gang members under 21 years of age are more likely to commit violent acts toward law enforcement officers.

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