|
|
Title:New York Drug Threat Assessment |
|
|
ARCHIVED Text Version PDF Version To Publications Page To Home Page
|
|
Title:New York Drug Threat Assessment |
|
|
Contents |
||||
|
Cocaine
|
Heroin Marijuana
|
Other Dangerous Drugs Methamphetamine |
||
|
|
||||
List of TablesTable 1. Drug Seizures in
Kilograms, New York, 1998-2001. |
||||
Executive SummaryNew York, particularly New York City, is a national transportation hub and distribution center for illicit drugs. The state's well-developed transportation infrastructure makes it ideally suited for the movement of licit and illicit goods. Drugs transported by private vehicle, truck, aircraft, maritime vessel, railcar, and parcel delivery service have an excellent chance of reaching their destination because of the volume of traffic moving to and through the state daily. Cocaine, particularly crack, is a serious drug threat to New York. Powdered cocaine and crack cocaine are readily available, commonly abused, and more frequently associated with violent crime than any other illicit drug in the state. New York, primarily New York City, serves as a transportation hub, distribution center, and transshipment point for significant quantities of cocaine. Colombian and Dominican drug trafficking organizations and criminal groups are the primary transporters of cocaine into New York. Mexican criminal groups also transport significant quantities to New York. Most of the cocaine transported to Upstate New York is transported from New York City in private vehicles and, to a lesser extent, on trains and buses. Colombian and Dominican drug trafficking organizations and criminal groups based in New York City are the primary wholesale cocaine distributors in the state. Mexican criminal groups increasingly are using their well-established drug distribution networks to distribute illicit drugs in the state. Dominican drug trafficking organizations and criminal groups are the primary midlevel and retail distributors of powdered cocaine; however, street gangs such as Ñeta, Latin Kings, Mara Salvatrucha, and Bloods also sell a significant amount of cocaine at the retail level. Dominican and Puerto Rican criminal groups are the primary midlevel and retail distributors of crack in New York. These midlevel distributors frequently distribute crack to African American criminal groups that in turn distribute the drug on the streets. African American, Jamaican, and Hispanic criminal groups, including Dominicans, Colombians, and Puerto Ricans, distribute powdered cocaine and crack cocaine at the wholesale and retail levels in Upstate New York. Many distributors in the state who had previously sold cocaine outdoors have begun distributing the drug from private residences and other indoor locations. Cocaine also is being sold in the state at nightclubs and, to a lesser extent, through call-and-deliver services. Heroin is a significant threat to New York. South American heroin is most prevalent; however, Southeast and Southwest Asian heroin also are available. Mexican black tar and brown powdered heroin are sporadically available. New York, primarily New York City, is a primary transportation hub and distribution center for significant quantities of heroin. Heroin is transported into New York from source countries by air, land, and maritime conveyances. Colombian drug trafficking organizations and criminal groups control the transportation of South American heroin into New York; however, they increasingly rely on Dominican drug trafficking organizations and criminal groups and occasionally Mexican criminal groups to transport South American heroin into the state. Ethnic Chinese criminal groups, principally Fukinese, and West African criminal groups, principally Nigerian, are the primary transporters of Southeast Asian heroin into New York. The primary transporters of Southwest Asian heroin into New York are Pakistani criminal groups. Colombian drug trafficking organizations and criminal groups are the primary wholesale distributors. Dominican criminal groups are the dominant retail distributors of heroin in New York; however, a variety of other criminal groups and individuals also sell retail quantities. Retail quantities of heroin typically are sold indoors and less commonly at open-air drug markets and through call-and-deliver services. Marijuana is the most widely available and frequently abused illicit drug in New York. Most of the marijuana available in New York is produced in other states or in Mexico, Jamaica, and Canada; however, marijuana produced in New York also is available. Mexican and Jamaican criminal groups transport marijuana from southwestern states into New York usually using trucks, private vehicles, and package delivery services. Colombian drug trafficking organizations and criminal groups and Jamaican criminal groups, among others, typically use the same methods to transport marijuana north from Florida into New York and often use couriers or cargo shipments on commercial airlines to transport marijuana from overseas. Jamaican criminal groups are the most prominent wholesale, midlevel, and retail distributors of marijuana in New York; however, no specific organization or group controls the distribution of marijuana. Marijuana typically is sold at open-air drug markets and from apartments. Some law enforcement reports indicate that Jamaican criminal groups sell marijuana from smoke shops (tobacco shops), bodegas (small grocery stores), and other small businesses, although distribution at these locations occurs at a significantly lower rate and is less overt than in the past. Other dangerous drugs present an increasing threat to New York. Other dangerous drugs include the stimulant MDMA; the depressant GHB and its analogs; the hallucinogens LSD, PCP, and ketamine; and the diverted pharmaceuticals Xanax, Vicodin, Dilaudid, methadone, codeine, HIV treatment drugs, steroids, and Ritalin. Many law enforcement authorities and healthcare professionals report an increase in the abuse of these drugs in New York. Several law enforcement agencies report an increased level of MDMA abuse, particularly among teenagers and young adults who attend raves or techno parties where many of these drugs are readily available and frequently abused. Diverted pharmaceuticals are readily available in New York. Methamphetamine poses a low but increasing threat to New York. Methamphetamine abuse generally is confined to limited segments of the population such as members of outlaw motorcycle gangs, some members of the gay community, and some residents of economically depressed rural neighborhoods. However, college students and rave or techno party attendees are abusing methamphetamine at an increasing rate. Most of the methamphetamine available in New York is produced in California and southwestern states; however, a limited number of methamphetamine laboratories have been seized in Upstate New York and on Long Island. Methamphetamine is transported into New York primarily by couriers who travel on commercial flights to the West Coast to purchase one-half pound to 1 kilogram of methamphetamine and then return to the state. Local independent dealers distribute methamphetamine at raves, techno parties, and nightclubs. Members of outlaw motorcycle gangs also distribute methamphetamine in New York. |
||||
Addresses |
||||
National
Drug Intelligence Center Tel.
(814) 532-4601
|
National
Drug Intelligence Center 8201 Greensboro Drive, Suite 1001 McLean, VA 22102-3840 Tel. (703) 556-8970 |
|||
Drug
Enforcement Administration Tel. (212) 337-3900 |
New York/New Jersey High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Tel. (646) 805-6000 |
|||
Web AddressesADNET: http://ndicosa |
||||
End of page.
Publication Date: November 2002