Washington/Baltimore High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Drug Market

Washington/Baltimore High Intensity Drug Trafﬁ cking Area

Drug Market Analysis 2009

Questions and comments may be directed to Great Lakes/Mid-Atlantic Unit, Regional Threat Analysis Branch. National Drug Intelligence Center 319 Washington Street 5th Floor, Johnstown, PA 15901-1622 • (814) 532-4601 NDIC publications are available on the following web sites: INTERNET www.usdoj.gov/ndic ADNET http://ndicosa.adnet.sgov.gov RISS ndic.riss.net LEO https://www.leo.gov/http://leowcs.leopriv.gov/lesig/ndic/index.htm NATIONAL DRUG INTELLIGENCE CENTER U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE 031209

Product No. 2009-R0813-004 March 2009

Washington/Baltimore High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area

Drug Market Analysis 2009

This assessment is an outgrowth of a partnership between the NDIC and HIDTA Program for preparation of annual assessments depicting drug trafficking trends and developments in HIDTA Program areas. The report has been coordinated with the HIDTA, is limited in scope to HIDTA jurisdictional boundaries, and draws upon a wide variety of sources within those boundaries.

NATIONAL DRUG INTELLIGENCE CENTER U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE Washington/Baltimore High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area

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national drug intelligence center ii Drug Market Analysis 2009 Washington/Baltimore

Table of Contents

Preface...... 1 Strategic Drug Threat Developments...... 2 HIDTA Overview ...... 2 Drug Threat Overview...... 3 Drug Trafficking Organizations...... 4 Production...... 6 Transportation...... 6 Distribution...... 10 Abuse...... 11 Drug-Related Crime...... 13 Illicit Finance...... 14 Outlook...... 15 Sources ...... 16

national drug intelligence center iii Washington/Baltimore High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area

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national drug intelligence center iv Drug Market Analysis 2009 Washington/Baltimore

Preface

This assessment provides a strategic overview of the illicit drug situation in the Washington/Baltimore (W/B) High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA), highlighting significant trends and law enforcement concerns related to the trafficking and abuse of illicit drugs. The report was prepared through detailed analysis of recent law enforcement reporting, information obtained through interviews with law enforcement and public health officials, and available statistical data. The report is designed to provide policymakers, resource planners, and law enforcement officials with a focused discussion of key drug issues and developments facing the Washington/Baltimore HIDTA.

Figure 1. Washington/Baltimore High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area

PENNSYLVANIA NEW MARYLAND JERSEY NY WEST BALTIMORE BALTIMORE (CITY) NY CT VIRGINIA OH PA NJ HOWARD MD MONTGOMERY ANNE LOUDOUN ARUNDEL WV DE

ARLINGTON VA D.C. FAIRFAX (CITY) FAIRFAX PRINCE MANASSAS GEORGE'S NC PRINCE Area of Washington/ WILLIAM Baltimore HIDTA CHARLES DELAWARE ALEXANDRIA

C P o h t om e MARYLAND VIRGINIA ac s River a p e a

y HANOVER

RICHMOND VIRGINIA HENRICO CHESTERFIELD HOPEWELL

PRINCE COLONIAL HEIGHTS GEORGE

PETERSBURG HIDTA County

national drug intelligence center 1 Washington/Baltimore High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area

Strategic Drug Threat abusers who view heroin use as too risky, too Developments costly, or otherwise unattainable. • Methadone-related deaths have increased • Dominican drug trafficking organizations substantially in the region, especially in (DTOs) that typically have been supplied by Maryland and Virginia, primarily because Colombian DTOs are increasingly distrib- of misuse or abuse by individuals who use uting wholesale quantities of cocaine and methadone in combination with other CPDs, heroin in the region because they have devel- illicit drugs, or alcohol. oped new sources of supply in the Caribbean (Puerto Rican and other Dominican criminal • The distribution of MDMA (3,4-methylene- groups) and in Mexico. dioxymethamphetamine, also known as ec- stasy) is increasing, particularly in Washing- • Mexican DTOs operating out of the south- ton, D.C., where African American retail-level western United States are increasingly drug dealers are now distributing the drug at involved in cocaine trafficking in Virginia, open-air drug markets. especially in the Shenandoah Valley and the southern part of the state adjacent to the HIDTA region. Mexican DTOs that have HIDTA Overview established transshipment centers in Georgia The W/B HIDTA region encompasses four and North Carolina are supplying cocaine, distinct population centers—the Baltimore met- heroin, marijuana, and methamphetamine to ropolitan area, the District of Columbia, north- the region. ern Virginia, and the Richmond metropolitan • Central American DTOs and criminal groups area. The region encompasses the following city from Guatemala and El Salvador are increas- and county jurisdictions: Maryland (the city of ingly involved in cocaine trafficking in the Baltimore as well as Anne Arundel, Baltimore, HIDTA region. Charles, Howard, Montgomery, and Prince George’s Counties); northern Virginia (the cities • Law enforcement reporting indicates that of Alexandria, Fairfax, and Manassas along with wholesale cocaine availability was low in Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun, and Prince William 2008 in most of the W/B HIDTA region. Counties); the Richmond metropolitan area (the • Law enforcement officials in the W/B HIDTA cities of Colonial Heights, Hopewell, Petersburg, region report that the demand for high-potency and Richmond as well as Chesterfield, Hanover, marijuana is increasing. The number of indoor Henrico, and Prince George Counties); and grow sites producing high-potency marijuana Washington, D.C. is increasing, especially in the Baltimore, Economic, demographic, and transportation Maryland, and Richmond, Virginia, areas. factors make the W/B HIDTA region a fertile en- • Controlled prescription drugs (CPDs), par- vironment for drug trafficking and abuse. Some ticularly controlled prescription narcotics, are areas, such as inner-city Baltimore, Richmond, increasingly being abused in the W/B HIDTA and Washington, D.C., are economically de- region by young, affluent suburbanites who pressed, leading some residents to view drug traf- acquire the drugs from friends and family and ficking as the only means of financial gain and through doctor-shopping. Prescription narcot- drug abuse as a form of escape. Revitalization ics also provide an alternative to heroin for efforts in Washington, D.C., have included the

national drug intelligence center 2 Drug Market Analysis 2009 Washington/Baltimore

demolition of several public housing projects and have resulted in the dispersion of drug- and gang- Relatively Low Cocaine Availability related problems to suburban areas, particularly in the Region in 2008 in Maryland. The W/B HIDTA region has a large Cocaine availability in the W/B HIDTA region and increasing population; the combined Balti- was relatively low throughout 2008, espe- more/Washington metropolitan area is the fourth- cially at the wholesale level, compared with largest in the nation, with a current population of availability in previous years, as evidenced more than 8 million. The region is ethnically and by higher wholesale prices. The price for a racially diverse, including a growing Hispanic kilogram of cocaine in Baltimore increased population, which has enabled Colombian, Do- from $22,000 in 2006 to as high as $32,000 minican, Mexican and, increasingly, Guatemalan in 2008. A kilogram of cocaine in Wash- and Salvadoran criminal groups and gangs with ington, D.C., sold for as high as $30,000 in ties to drug source and transit countries to oper- 2008, a significant increase from 2006, when ate more easily. Drug trafficking in the region is the price was as low as $19,000. A kilogram of cocaine in Richmond sold for $26,000 facilitated by an extensive transportation infra- in 2008, an increase from the 2006 price of structure that includes highways (Interstate 95 in $22,000. The Drug Enforcement Administra- particular), railway and bus systems, two inter- tion (DEA) Washington Division reports that national seaports, and four international airports law enforcement efforts in Baltimore disrupt- with passenger and cargo services. ed the cocaine supply in the region, making it difficult for lower-level dealers to obtain the drug. In an effort to establish new sources of Drug Threat Overview supply, dealers are reaching out to cocaine The distribution and abuse of crack cocaine suppliers from other areas, such as Pennsyl- vania and Michigan. and heroin pose the greatest drug threats to the W/B HIDTA region. In most areas of the region, crack cocaine poses the greatest drug threat; how- Other illicit drugs are also trafficked and ever, in the city of Baltimore, the abuse of heroin abused to varying degrees throughout the HIDTA (primarily South American (SA) heroin) is the region. (See Table 1 on page 4.) Marijuana is the principal drug threat. For example, the Baltimore most widely available and abused drug in the re- Medical Examiner’s Office reports that in 2008, gion. Mexico continues to be the primary source heroin was the substance most commonly found area for commercial-grade marijuana transported in intoxication deaths in the city. High levels of to the area; Canada is a source of high-potency violent and property crime associated with crack marijuana. Mexican traffickers residing either lo- cocaine and heroin trafficking severely tax law cally or in southwestern states are responsible for enforcement resources in the HIDTA region. The much of the transportation of marijuana to, and social and health consequences of cocaine and distribution within, the HIDTA region, while Ja- heroin abuse also strain social services and public maican groups obtain marijuana from Florida and health resources in the HIDTA region. Further- the Caribbean. High profits and the perception of more, the abuse of heroin, particularly by injec- low risk associated with marijuana distribution tion, leads to multiple health risks, including the are fueling an expansion of marijuana traffick- transmission of infectious diseases such as HIV ing operations in the region. Methamphetamine (human immunodeficiency virus) and hepatitis. is readily available in rural areas adjacent to the region, including southwestern Virginia and the

national drug intelligence center 3 Washington/Baltimore High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area

Table 1. Washington/Baltimore HIDTA Initiative Seizures, by Drug, 2008 OxyContin Powder Crack Methamphetamine Marijuana Heroin MDMA (dos- PCP HIDTA Area (dosage Cocaine (kg) Cocaine (kg) (kg) (kg) (kg) age units) (kg) units) Baltimore 257.3 4.1 0.2 2,706.1 54.4 210,990 401 0 Northern Virginia 58.4 9.8 1.8 152.9 23.0 1,690 1,297 0 Richmond 18.6 2.7 0.1 60.7 0.3 2 0 0 Washington, D.C. 97.6 14.6 4.2 1,647.7 8.8 3,818 625 32 Total* 431.9 31.3 6.4 4,567.3 86.6 216,500 2,323 32 Source: Washington/Baltimore High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area, February 23, 2009. *Figures may not sum to totals shown because of rounding. Shenandoah Valley, and abuse of the drug is Drug Trafficking spreading to suburban areas in the HIDTA region. Ice methamphetamine is readily available Organizations in the Washington, D.C., homosexual community Colombian and Dominican DTOs are the and is available in limited quantities in northern primary wholesale distributors of cocaine and SA Virginia and in Maryland suburbs. heroin in the W/B HIDTA region. Most Colom- Other dangerous drugs (ODDs) such as bian DTOs operating in the region are cells of MDMA and PCP (phencyclidine) as well as larger Colombian organizations based in New CPDs, particularly controlled prescription nar- York, New York. The larger Colombian DTOs cotics such as oxycodone and methadone, are in New York City typically supply the Colom- increasingly available and are abused by young, bian cocaine distributors operating in the W/B affluent suburbanites in the W/B HIDTA region. HIDTA area. The New York-based and locally Reporting from treatment providers indicates based Colombian DTOs supply wholesale quan- that controlled prescription narcotics provide tities of cocaine and heroin to midlevel distribu- an alternative to heroin for abusers who view tion groups, primarily Dominican DTOs, which heroin use as too risky or costly. MDMA is control much of the midlevel cocaine and heroin readily available throughout the HIDTA region, distribution in the HIDTA region. Some Domini- where abusers often combine the drug with other can DTOs operating in the W/B HIDTA area are substances, such as alcohol, marijuana, cocaine, supplied by New York City-based Dominican heroin, or OxyContin (oxycodone), to heighten DTOs, and some obtain cocaine directly from their experience. PCP abuse, rare in most areas Mexican sources at the Southwest Border in of the country, is common in Washington, D.C., order to lower purchase costs and increase profit especially in the eastern half of the city. In fact, margins. Dominican DTOs have also begun to the Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Police De- obtain cocaine from sources in the Caribbean, in- partment (MPD) Narcotics Unit reports increased cluding criminal groups operating in Puerto Rico PCP sales and abuse in the Clay Terrace public and the Dominican Republic. Dominican DTOs housing complex in the northeastern part of the supply African American, Caucasian, Jamaican, city. PCP is often sold as “dippers,” which are and Puerto Rican midlevel and retail-level distri- cigarettes dipped in liquid PCP. bution groups throughout the area.

national drug intelligence center 4 Drug Market Analysis 2009 Washington/Baltimore

Mexican DTOs are increasingly becoming involved in cocaine and SA heroin transportation Drug Trafficking Organizations, and lower-level distribution in the W/B HIDTA Criminal Groups, and Gangs region. Mexican DTOs and criminal groups based Drug trafficking organizations are complex in the southern or western United States transport organizations with highly defined command- and distribute most of the marijuana available in and-control structures that produce, trans- the region. They also transport significant quan- port, and/or distribute large quantities of one tities of cocaine and heroin for Colombian and or more illicit drugs. Dominican DTOs, and limited quantities of methamphetamine, including high-purity ice metham- Criminal groups operating in the United States are numerous and range from small phetamine, to the HIDTA region. An increasing to moderately sized, loosely knit groups that number of Mexican traffickers are transporting distribute one or more drugs at the retail large quantities of methamphetamine into Virgin- level and midlevel. ia—particularly the Shenandoah Valley, adjacent to the HIDTA region. Mexican DTOs transport Gangs are defined by the National Alliance of these drugs from Mexico, Southwest Border states Gang Investigators’ Associations as groups and, increasingly, Atlanta, Georgia. They supply or associations of three or more persons with most of the drugs that they transport to the area a common identifying sign, symbol, or name, the members of which individually or collec- to midlevel and retail-level distribution groups tively engage in criminal activity that creates of various races and ethnicities, including Afri- an atmosphere of fear and intimidation. can American, Asian, Dominican, Jamaican, and Puerto Rican DTOs and street gangs. They also supply illicit drugs to imprisoned gang members sources in Washington, D.C., report that African and outlaw motorcycle gangs (OMGs). American street-level dealers are now distributing MDMA in addition to powder and crack Other DTOs and criminal groups also dis- cocaine, heroin, marijuana, and PCP at open-air tribute illicit drugs at the wholesale level in the drug markets. Gang activity remains a principal HIDTA region. Jamaican criminal groups supply public safety concern in some areas of the region, commercial-grade marijuana from Florida and primarily because of drug-related gang violence. the Caribbean, while Vietnamese criminal groups are the principal suppliers of high-potency mari- National-level street gangs also conduct drug juana (both Canada-produced and locally pro- distribution operations in the HIDTA region. duced) and MDMA from Canada. Middle East- Hispanic gangs, including 18th Street and Latin ern, Pakistani, and West African DTOs distribute Kings, are particularly problematic in northern Southwest Asian (SWA) heroin, primarily in Virginia and the Maryland suburbs surrounding Baltimore. Law enforcement reports indicate that Washington, D.C. African American Bloods and Central American DTOs and criminal groups, Crips sets also distribute drugs and engage in including Guatemalans and Salvadorans, are in- other criminal activities in the region. Baltimore creasing their involvement in cocaine and heroin County Police Department gang investigators re- trafficking in the HIDTA region. ported in 2008 that Bloods street gang members had made several attempts to infiltrate the public Neighborhood-based street gangs, or local safety sector by applying for positions within the “crews,” are the principal retail illicit drug dis- Department of Corrections. Bloods sets, such as tributors in the W/B HIDTA region, particularly Tree Top Piru and 9-Tre Gangsters, are active in for crack cocaine and heroin. Law enforcement Salisbury, Maryland. Black Dragons, an Asian

national drug intelligence center 5 Washington/Baltimore High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area

street gang based in Monterey, California, dis- production in the area takes place outside the tributes MDMA and marijuana in Virginia and HIDTA region in southwestern Virginia. Accord- Washington, D.C. ing to National Seizure System (NSS) data, the number of clandestine methamphetamine laboratories and dumpsites seized in Maryland, Virginia, Production and Washington, D.C., decreased from 79 in 2004 Illicit drug production in the W/B HIDTA to 20 in 2008. (See Table 2.) Most local labora- region is limited to the conversion of powder tory capacities range from multigram to multi- cocaine to crack and occasional marijuana and ounce production. Methamphetamine laboratories methamphetamine production. are found in rural areas, in warehouses or storage facilities, or on remote land; often the laboratories Most of the powder cocaine purchased by are nonoperational at the time of seizure. Declin- retail distributors is converted to crack prior to ing methamphetamine production is most likely distribution within the region. Retail-level crack the result of increased law enforcement pressure distributors typically purchase kilogram quanti- and Virginia legislation restricting the sale of ties or lesser amounts of powder cocaine from pseudoephedrine. midlevel suppliers within the W/B HIDTA region, primarily in urban areas such as Baltimore, Table 2. Methamphetamine Laboratory Richmond, and Washington, D.C. They then take Incidents* in the District of Columbia, the powder cocaine to their home areas and con- Maryland, and Virginia, 2004–2008 vert it to crack, typically in residential settings. Year DC MD VA Total Limited amounts of marijuana are produced in 2008 0 1 19 20 the W/B HIDTA region from cannabis cultivated 2007 0 0 22 22 at both indoor and outdoor grow sites. However, 2006 0 3 21 24 the amount of marijuana produced at indoor grow 2005 0 3 51 54 sites, especially in the Baltimore and Richmond 2004 1 1 77 79 areas, may be increasing as demand for high- Source: National Seizure System, data as of December 31, 2008. potency marijuana rises in these areas. Various *Methamphetamine laboratory incidents include seizures of laboratories, marijuana producers in the region, particularly dumpsites, chemicals, glassware, and equipment. Vietnamese criminal groups, are increasingly replicating methods used at indoor grow sites in Canada, such as using elaborate hydroponic Transportation equipment, bypassing electrical meters, and using entire buildings for grow operations. Additionally, The W/B HIDTA region’s extensive and many rural areas within the region are conducive diverse transportation infrastructure is routinely to outdoor cannabis plots because of the temper- exploited by traffickers to transport large quanti- ate climate and the large areas of remote terrain, ties of drugs to, through, and within the region. such as deep valleys, steep and rocky hillsides, The interstate highway system and extensive and vast wooded areas. railway system provide easy transit between drug markets in the region and domestic source areas. Powder methamphetamine production in the Interstate 95, the major north-south transporta- HIDTA region is limited—no methamphetamine tion corridor on the East Coast, provides drug laboratories have been seized in the HIDTA traffickers with ready access to wholesale drug area since 2006. Most of the methamphetamine markets, such as Miami and New York City.

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Additionally, U.S. Highway 1 in northern Vir- and commercial vehicles and package delivery ginia and Interstates 70 and 83 in Maryland are services. Traffickers also use couriers on com- significant drug transportation routes. Interstates mercial aircraft, air freight services, and sea 64 and 85, which provide access to highways cargo shipments to transport drugs to the region. transiting the Richmond area, enable traffick- The most innovative DTOs use multiple trans- ers to transport large quantities of drugs from portation methods to avoid detection and in- the southwestern and southeastern United States crease the likelihood of successful delivery. Law to the HIDTA region. Drug traffickers also ship enforcement reporting indicates that traffickers drugs directly to the region through four interna- increasingly transport drugs into the W/B HIDTA tional airports and two international seaports, in- region in vehicles with hidden compartments or cluding the Port of Baltimore, one of the busiest concealed among or commingled with legitimate container and cruise ports in the United States. shipments of airfreight. (See Figure 2.) Drug transporters in the region are increas- DTOs use a variety of methods to transport ingly using alternative highway routes and drugs into and through the W/B HIDTA region, navigation technology to reduce the risk of the most common of which are private, rental, interdiction and to increase their rates of success

Figure 2. Washington/Baltimore HIDTA Region Transportation Infrastructure

PENNSYLVANIA

70 1 83 95 NEW MARYLAND JERSEY 70 81

WEST 70 VIRGINIA Columbia Baltimore 270

Silver 1 BWI DULLES Spring INTERNATIONAL 97 Arlington 66 REAGAN Washington D.C. NATIONAL DELAWARE 1 Alexandria

C h e VIRGINIA P o s t a 95 om MARYLAND ac p River e a k e

a 1 y Major City*

64 250,000 +

100,000 - 249,999

75,000 - 99,999

Major Airport VIRGINIA Richmond RICHMOND INTERNATIONAL 64 Major Seaport

1 Interstate U.S. Highway HIDTA Region 85 Newport Hampton * By Censuscities 2000 Population 95 News

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in delivering illicit drug shipments. According Package delivery services are increasingly to law enforcement reporting, DTOs are using being used by drug traffickers in the W/B HIDTA indirect routes such as state routes and second- region, particularly to transport marijuana, which ary roads to transport drugs to the area to avoid is typically sent in multipound parcels from the law enforcement interdiction efforts on interstate Southwest Border area. Many drug traffickers highways. Moreover, traffickers are using low- prefer to use package delivery services because cost global positioning system (GPS) technology they can monitor the progress of shipments on to navigate alternative and unfamiliar routes. the Internet. If a shipment is delayed, they assume that law enforcement has intercepted the parcel Drug transporters routinely conceal shipments and refuse delivery to avoid arrest. Drug traffick- of cocaine, heroin, marijuana, methamphetamine, ers routinely use relatively unsophisticated tech- and CPDs in oil pans, manifolds, brake drums, niques to conceal drugs shipped in parcels, such drive shafts, radiators, and gas tanks in private as hiding them in ceramic statues, candles, bubble and commercial vehicles. Additionally, many bath containers, coffee cans, drink bottles, blend- traffickers use false compartments, including ers, cooking pots, VCRs, or computer hard drives. some that are operated electronically. They have also concealed drug shipments in many other Heroin is generally transported to the W/B items, such as furniture, stuffed animals, blankets, HIDTA region by Colombian and Dominican women’s undergarments, and baby diapers or by DTOs from New York City; Philadelphia, Penn- commingling them with shipments of legitimate sylvania; Los Angeles, California; Florida; and goods in commercial vehicles. the Caribbean Islands. Mexican and Guatemalan DTOs also supply heroin to retail distributors in the Largest-Ever Heroin Seizure by area. West African criminal groups are increasingly Maryland State Police on Interstate 95 distributing large quantities of heroin—obtained from sources in New York City or directly from In February 2008, Maryland State Police Afghanistan—to drug dealers in Baltimore. SWA troopers seized 32 pounds of heroin with an heroin is often shipped from India or Pakistan estimated value of $4.4 million. The heroin by international mail to Baltimore, where it is was seized during a traffic stop on north- distributed in the city and smaller communities in bound I-95 in Cecil County from a vehicle the surrounding area. owned by a Florida resident. The trooper, who stopped the vehicle for a speeding of- Wholesale quantities of cocaine are trans- fense, became suspicious of possible drug ported to the W/B HIDTA region and supplied transportation after observing that the driver to local traffickers primarily by Colombian seemed nervous and was avoiding eye or Dominican DTOs based in New York City. contact; he then requested a drug-detection However, Mexican DTOs from the southwest- canine. The dog alerted to the presence of drugs, and in a subsequent search of the ern United States are increasingly involved in vehicle, troopers located a hidden compart- cocaine trafficking, especially in southern Vir- ment, built into the engine’s firewall, that ginia and the Shenandoah Valley, adjacent to contained the drug. the HIDTA region. Mexican DTOs that have established transshipment centers in Georgia and Source: Maryland State Police. North Carolina are supplying cocaine as well as methamphetamine to the region through these centers. Other traffickers also transport cocaine

national drug intelligence center 8 Drug Market Analysis 2009 Washington/Baltimore

Jamaican criminal groups transport some marijua- Large Quantities of Heroin and Cocaine na from Florida and the Caribbean into the region. Smuggled From Overseas Many local marijuana distributors have developed sources of supply in southwestern states; they In March 2008 a federal grand jury indicted 11 defendants for conspiracy to import and either travel to those states to pick up multipound sell 5 kilograms or more of cocaine and 1 quantities of marijuana or have it shipped to them, kilogram or more of heroin during a 7-year primarily by overnight mail services. period that ended in February 2008. Ac- cording to the three-count indictment, the Most of the methamphetamine available in defendants had conspired to import large the W/B HIDTA region is transported to the area quantities of cocaine and heroin into the by Mexican DTOs from Georgia, North Carolina, United States from Spain, Panama, Barba- and Texas; however, some rural locations within dos, St. Thomas, and Dominica, intending the area also are occasionally supplied by OMGs for the drugs to be sold in Maryland, New that receive methamphetamine from other OMGs York, and elsewhere. The defendants had outside the region. Vietnamese DTOs also trans- recruited U.S. citizens as “mules” to travel to port gram to ounce quantities of methamphet- and from the United States. The mules were amine into the region from Canada, occasionally fitted with girdles and loose-fitting clothing to in tablet form. Additionally, methamphetamine conceal drugs and drug proceeds that were abusers who are members of the region’s homo- strapped and taped to their bodies. The defendants paid the mules thousands of dol- sexual community transport some ice metham- lars to transport the drugs and money and phetamine to urban areas, primarily the District gave them instructions on what to say and of Columbia, from New York City or California. do should they be confronted or arrested by ODDs, such as MDMA and PCP, are often law enforcement. Members of the conspiracy had allegedly been distributing heroin transported to the W/B HIDTA region for sub- and cocaine to customers in Baltimore and sequent distribution. MDMA available in the New York. region is transported primarily by Vietnamese traffickers to Washington, D.C., and Baltimore Source: U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland. from Toronto, Canada; New York City; or Phila- delphia. PCP is transported to the W/B HIDTA to the region, including Guatemalan traffickers region, primarily the Washington, D.C., area, who transport cocaine into Baltimore and Jamai- from California by African American distributors can traffickers who transport cocaine into Rich- and abusers traveling aboard commercial aircraft. mond. In addition, an African American criminal PCP is typically concealed in plastic bottles and group transported multikilogram quantities of placed in checked baggage. New York City- cocaine from the Chicago, Illinois, area to sell in based traffickers often serve as brokers between Prince William County, Virginia. the PCP distributors in the region and California sources. Additionally, some members of OMGs Most commercial-grade marijuana available and abusers who frequent the club scene in the in the region is transported by Mexican DTOs region transport PCP to the area from New York from Mexico through southwestern states such City; Newark, New Jersey; and Philadelphia for as California, Arizona, and Texas. Vietnamese limited local distribution. criminal groups are the principal transporters of high-potency marijuana, smuggling the drug from Canada into the W/B HIDTA region. Additionally,

national drug intelligence center 9 Washington/Baltimore High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area

Distribution Washington, D.C., for drive-through customers are now also selling MDMA. Law enforcement of- Colombian and Dominican DTOs based ficials have identified some bars in the region that in New York City are the principal wholesale are operated or frequented by OMG members and distributors of cocaine and SA heroin in the W/B used as distribution sites for methamphetamine, HIDTA region. However, Mexican organiza- crack cocaine, and marijuana. tions based in the southern and western United States are increasingly involved in wholesale PCP available in the W/B HIDTA region is drug distribution, especially in southern Vir- distributed primarily by local abusers of the drug. ginia and the Shenandoah Valley, adjacent to the Long-established dealers in Washington, D.C., HIDTA region. West African DTOs with sources are supplied by wholesale distributors in southern of supply in Asia distribute wholesale amounts California or by midlevel distributors in Prince of heroin in the W/B HIDTA region, making it George’s County, Maryland, who are supplied by one of the few areas of the country where South- wholesale distributors in California. Sometimes east Asian (SEA) and SWA heroin are available. couriers travel to California to acquire PCP and Mexican DTOs and criminal groups are the then transport the drug back to the HIDTA region primary wholesale distributors of commercial- in private vehicles or on commercial flights; in grade marijuana in the W/B HIDTA region, while other instances the drug is transported by mail or, Vietnamese criminal groups with ties to Asian recently, by cross-country trucking services. For DTOs in Canada have emerged as the principal example, in June 2008, 10 gallons of PCP were distributors of high-potency marijuana. seized from a tractor-trailer that had been used to transport the drug from Los Angeles to Prince Retail drug distribution in the W/B HIDTA George’s County. Street-level and midlevel PCP region often takes place in open-air drug markets dealers in Washington, D.C., are typically African situated along commuting corridors and within American males; some began distributing PCP public housing projects in Baltimore and Wash- within the past few years, and others have been ington, D.C. These markets provide abusers within distributing the drug for decades. OMG members and outside the region with ready access to crack and individuals affiliated with the club scene also cocaine, heroin, and other illicit drugs. Most open- supply PCP to users in the HIDTA region. air drug markets are located in inner-city areas and are operated by neighborhood-based African CPDs are widely available and abused in the American and Hispanic gangs or crews that peri- W/B HIDTA region and are obtained primarily odically provide customers with free samples, or through prescription forgeries and doctor-shopping. “testers,” of heroin and cocaine to encourage future Other methods of diversion include pharmacy sales. Heroin packaging in the region varies by thefts, diversion by doctors and pharmacists, and location; in the Baltimore metropolitan area, heroin purchases through Internet pharmacies. The illegal is packaged almost exclusively in gelatin capsules distribution of CPDs through Internet pharmacies and marketed by brand name, while in Washing- is a growing problem in the region. Law enforce- ton, D.C., it is sold under various brand names but ment reporting indicates that some distributors packaged primarily in small, colored, or otherwise are transporting CPDs into the area from North marked plastic bags. In areas where open-air drug Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. markets are not present, crack cocaine sales take Drug traffickers operating in the W/B HIDTA place in low-income areas or housing projects. region use a wide range of communication technol- Some African American drug dealers who sell ogies to facilitate their drug trafficking operations. crack and marijuana along a main thoroughfare in

national drug intelligence center 10 Drug Market Analysis 2009 Washington/Baltimore

Traffickers routinely use cell phones, text mes- saging, and the Internet; some also use satellite Ten Charged in Fairfax County, phones, radio communications, video surveillance Virginia, High School Heroin Ring devices, GPS units, Voice over Internet Protocol, In November 2008 the U.S. Attorney for the and peer-to-peer services. Traffickers often change Eastern District of Virginia announced that communication methods and use multiple cell 10 teenagers and young adults had been phones to reduce the likelihood of call monitoring arrested on various charges for their part by law enforcement. Law enforcement officials in establishing a heroin distribution group throughout the region report the increased use operating primarily in Fairfax County. Ac- of prepaid cell phones by drug traffickers. These cording to court documents, in the sum- phones can be purchased for cash with relative mer of 2007 a group of heroin dealers and anonymity at supermarkets, department stores, abusers obtained heroin in Washington, and convenience stores as well as through online D.C., and Baltimore to distribute and abuse retailers. Because of the low cost and anonymity in Centreville, Virginia; they also sold the heroin to students at Westfield High School associated with prepaid cell phones, traffickers and Virginia Commonwealth University. The routinely dispose of them, creating difficulties for group was responsible for supplying heroin investigators, who must continually obtain the that resulted in multiple overdoses and at traffickers’ new phone numbers. Moreover, the least three deaths since December 2007. rapid expansion of secure communications tech- Two defendants were charged with distribu- nology used by traffickers is a challenge to law tion of heroin that caused injury or death to enforcement because of the difficulty in obtaining one abuser who overdosed and was hospi- court-approved telephone intercepts. talized in August 2007. Another defendant was charged with distribution of heroin that caused the death of that same individual in Abuse March 2008. If convicted, these three de- Heroin is widely available and abused in urban fendants could receive mandatory 20-year sentences with the possibility of life in prison. areas throughout the W/B HIDTA region. Heroin The remaining seven defendants could is the primary drug of abuse in Baltimore and can receive mandatory 5-year sentences and a be purchased at numerous open-air drug markets maximum of 40 years in prison for conspira- in West and East Baltimore in either “raw” (high cy to distribute 100 or more grams of heroin. purity) or cut form. In Washington, D.C., the heroin trade is well entrenched; some local mar- Source: U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. kets cater to suburban abusers, while others are frequented by established sellers and long-term Crack cocaine is abused primarily by African addicts. Richmond also has a small heroin market American individuals in inner-city areas of the W/B that primarily supplies long-term addicts. HIDTA region. Powder cocaine is abused primarily In 2008, SA heroin was the principal heroin by middle- and upper-middle-income individuals type abused and available at street-level heroin in metropolitan and suburban areas of the region. markets in Richmond and Washington, D.C. SWA Nightclubs and bars in the affluent Georgetown heroin was also available and abused in Washing- area and in newly renovated areas of Washington, ton, D.C. SWA and SA heroin were the types most D.C., are reportedly frequented by white-collar co- abused in Baltimore; their availability levels were caine users. Powder cocaine is also one of the many nearly equal, according to DEA Heroin Domestic drugs available and abused in the nightclub scene Monitor Program (HDMP) data. by suburban teens and young adults.

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Marijuana is abused by a wide range of us- cials report an increase in PCP abuse in their juris- ers in the W/B HIDTA region. Blunts and joints diction, where the drug is reportedly more widely remain the most popular methods of smoking abused than heroin, methamphetamine, or MDMA. marijuana in the region, especially among young- er abusers. Marijuana, particularly when used in CPD abuse is increasing among adolescents these forms, is often combined with small rocks and young adults in the W/B HIDTA region. Many of crack cocaine or PCP. new drug abusers are inclined to abuse controlled prescription narcotics rather than heroin, cocaine, Methamphetamine abuse, traditionally limited or methamphetamine because of their perception to the homosexual community in the Washington, that CPDs are safer. Once addicted to controlled D.C., area, is extending to young rural and sub- prescription narcotics, abusers often switch to urban users as availability of the drug increases. heroin because of the drug’s availability and lower Ice methamphetamine availability and abuse are price. Similarly, some treatment providers believe increasing in a number of areas near the region, that abusers of controlled prescription amphet- particularly in the Shenandoah Valley, where amines, such as Ritalin (methylphenidate) or Ad- abusers are predominantly Caucasians ranging derall (dextroamphetamine), may begin to abuse from 15 to 65 years of age. Law enforcement methamphetamine as it becomes more available in agencies attribute rising availability and abuse to the region. According to law enforcement report- increasing distribution of ice methamphetamine ing, methadone clinic patients in Baltimore mix by Mexican traffickers. Henrico County, Virginia, methadone with benzodiazepines such as diazepam law enforcement officials also report an increase and alprazolam to boost the effects of the drug. in the availability of ice methamphetamine, Similarly, law enforcement officials in Washington, which is known as hielo (Spanish for “ice”) in the D.C., report that drug abusers in their area combine Hispanic community. Young abusers tend to use OxyContin, morphine, and Xanax (alprazolam). methamphetamine—one of the many drugs available at nightclubs in the region. Methadone abuse and misuse have resulted in an increasing number of overdoses and deaths MDMA available in the W/B HIDTA region within the HIDTA region. From 2001 through is generally abused in combination with other 2006 (the latest year for which data are available) substances, including alcohol, marijuana, co- accidental methadone-related deaths increased caine, and club drugs. In some communities, law significantly in Maryland and Virginia. (See Table enforcement and medical authorities are now 3 on page 13.) Methadone is a safe and effective reporting the abuse of MDMA with heroin or drug when used as prescribed; however, when it is OxyContin. MDMA is widely available in areas misused or abused—particularly in combination around colleges and universities and is used pri- with other CPDs, illicit drugs, or alcohol—fatal marily by youth in more affluent communities at or nonfatal overdose may occur. Methadone can clubs and parties. The availability of MDMA at be misused by patients being treated for chronic open-air drug markets in Washington, D.C., has pain who obtain the drug using legitimate prescrip- increased and may indicate expanding distribu- tions as well as by recreational abusers, who often tion of the drug to a broader population of users. combine it with other drugs or alcohol. In Janu- ary 2008 the manufacturer voluntarily restricted PCP is abused primarily by young, inner-city distribution of the methadone hydrochloride African American and lower-middle-income 40-milligram tablets to hospitals and opioid treat- Caucasian individuals in the W/B HIDTA region. ment facilities, thereby limiting the strength of any Charles County, Maryland, law enforcement offi- quantity diverted from prescribers.

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Table 3. Methadone-Related Deaths in Maryland Pharmacy Owners Charged Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. 2001–2006 With Illegally Selling 10 Million 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 Hydrocodone Pills Over the Internet Maryland 20 24 40 96 145 179 In July 2008 the U.S. Attorney for the District Virginia 74 90 130 122 121 152 of Maryland announced the conviction of the operators of a Baltimore-based pharmacy Washington, D.C. 0 3 10 5 9 * and online pharmacy that had been selling Total 94 117 180 223 275 331 hydrocodone products to the general public. Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Maryland State Medical The defendants were convicted of illegally Examiner; Virginia Department of Health Professions. selling nearly 10 million dosage units of *Data from the Washington, D.C., Medical Examiner were not available. hydrocodone over the Internet, engaging in monetary transactions using the proceeds of Controlled prescription narcotics are the the illegal drug sales, and filing false income most commonly diverted and abused CPDs in tax returns. From 2004 through 2006 the de- the W/B HIDTA region; however, abuse patterns fendants had conspired to sell hydrocodone over the Internet to any customer with a vary according to location. The abuse of metha- valid credit card. Thirty-six physicians issued done, OxyContin, and hydrocodone products prescriptions processed by the online phar- is predominant in Washington, D.C.; Klonopin macy; 11 of the physicians wrote over 98 (clonazepam) and other benzodiazepines as well percent of the hydrocodone prescriptions. as OxyContin are the most commonly abused Additionally, hydrocodone accounted for CPDs in the Baltimore area; and OxyContin, 88 percent of all prescriptions filled by the alprazolam, and hydrocodone products are the pharmacy. Two pharmacy clients died as a most commonly abused CPDs in Richmond. It result of polydrug-related overdoses, which has recently been reported that buprenorphine, included hydrocodone obtained through this a drug used in opioid addiction therapy, is being illegal operation. The NDIC Document and diverted for abuse in the Baltimore area. Media Exploitation (DOMEX) Branch pro- vided intensive support to this case begin- ning in 2007 through the trial in 2008, where Drug-Related Crime a DOMEX analyst testified regarding NDIC’s support to the investigation. Drug-related violence is prevalent in all areas Source: U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland. of the W/B HIDTA region; much of it is attrib- uted to the distribution of crack cocaine by street gangs. Twenty-one of the 27 state and local law report that crack cocaine is the drug that most enforcement respondents to the National Drug contributes to violent crime in their areas. Al- Intelligence Center (NDIC) National Drug Threat though law enforcement agencies attribute a Survey (NDTS) 20091 in the W/B HIDTA region significant number of homicides in the region to drug-related violence, the number of homicides 1. National Drug Threat Survey (NDTS) data for 2009 cited in in the region did not increase significantly in this report are as of February 12, 2009. NDTS data cited are 2008. In Washington, D.C., the number of homi- raw, unweighted responses from federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies solicited through either the National Drug cides increased only slightly, from 181 in 2007 to Intelligence Center (NDIC) or the Office of National Drug Control 185 in 2008. In Baltimore the number of homi- Policy (ONDCP) High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) program. Data cited may include responses from agencies that cides decreased from 282 in 2007 to 234 in 2008. are part of the NDTS 2009 national sample and/or agencies that Homicides in Richmond decreased from 103 in are part of HIDTA solicitation lists.

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2007 to 36 in 2008, the lowest number of homi- use private and commercial vehicles, freight cides since the city began keeping such records transportation companies, shipping containers, in 1971. State and local law enforcement officials and package delivery services. Additionally, credit a stronger working relationship with their Mexican DTOs launder drug proceeds by struc- federal counterparts along with aggressive target- turing bank deposits into multiple accounts to ing of violent offenders, a significant increase avoid meeting the Currency Transaction Report in police manpower, and targeted efforts to curb (CTR) filing threshold. blight in some troubled neighborhoods. Vietnamese DTOs and criminal groups often Drug-related property crime is also a problem use cash-intensive front businesses, such as in the region. Some drug abusers commit crimes travel agencies or car washes, to launder illicit such as burglary, forgery, fraud, and theft to sup- drug proceeds. They also transport drug proceeds port their addictions. Of the 27 regional respon- in bulk, in the form of cash and money orders, dents to the NDTS 2009, 19 report that crack to Canada. Once the proceeds are in the country, cocaine is the drug most associated with property these groups deposit them into Canadian bank crime in their jurisdiction. NDTS respondents accounts and then electronically wire-transfer the from Baltimore report that heroin is the drug most proceeds to source countries. Vietnamese DTOs associated with property crime. and criminal groups also launder drug proceeds by structuring bank deposits and participating in Illicit Finance real estate fraud. Middle Eastern and Pakistani DTOs and crim- Drug traffickers in the W/B HIDTA region inal groups launder illicit heroin proceeds through use various money laundering techniques to front businesses, such as used car dealerships, and conceal drug proceeds and finance their opera- through the use of hawalas. Nigerian DTOs favor tions. The means of transferring illicit funds bank fraud schemes as well as bulk currency vary by group and include bulk cash smuggling, smuggling. West African groups often purchase wire transfers, the structuring of bank deposits cars or other legal assets to ship back to Africa as and money order purchases, the commingling of a method of payment. In September 2008 the U.S. drug proceeds with funds generated at legitimate Attorney for the District of Maryland announced businesses, purchases of real estate and vehicles, the conviction of a Pakistan-born U.S. resident front businesses, smart cards, prepaid stored who had conspired to launder illicit drug proceeds value cards, and the use of hawalas.2 through his money remitter business, based in Colombian, Dominican, and Mexican DTOs Washington, D.C. He had transferred money from and criminal groups transport drug proceeds pri- the United States to Pakistan, England, Spain, the marily in bulk from the HIDTA region, across the Netherlands, and Canada using a hawala. Ad- U.S.–Mexico border, and into Mexico, Central ditionally, he had failed to file the required CTRs America, or South America for eventual repatria- for transactions in excess of $10,000. tion. In transporting bulk cash, these traffickers

2. Hawala is a fairly anonymous form of banking that has been used in the Middle East for centuries. Hawala money transfers are made outside the formal banking sectors and are virtually undetectable. Transfers are made primarily from one location to another without the physical movement of funds and, in many cases, with little or no recordkeeping. Any records that are kept are usually in an unrecognizable form of shorthand or are encoded.

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Most retail-level drug dealers launder drug Outlook proceeds through the purchase of consumer goods (clothing, jewelry, and vehicles) and real estate, Dominican DTOs and criminal groups most and through the use of front businesses. Some likely will increase their influence in the HIDTA retail-level dealers also launder money through region in the next year as they expand their whole- recording studios and businesses that promote rap sale sources of supply beyond Colombian DTOs. music concerts. Drug traffickers use other techniques to launder illicit drug proceeds that involve Mexican DTOs, operating primarily out of money orders, stored value cards, automated transshipment centers in Georgia and North Car- teller machines (ATMs), the precious metals and olina, will most likely increase their wholesale gems trade, and casinos, as well as schemes in- distribution of cocaine, heroin, marijuana and, to volving real estate and the insurance industry. a lesser extent, methamphetamine in the HIDTA region in the coming year. These organizations Stored value cards are increasingly being have well-established transportation and distri- used by traffickers to launder money because bution networks that will enable them to supply they are an easily transportable and virtually wholesale quantities of illicit drugs to the region. anonymous way to store and access cash. Stored value cards physically resemble traditional credit Guatemalan DTOs will continue to distribute or debit cards and can be used to access both wholesale quantities of cocaine and heroin in the global debit and ATM networks. Stored value Washington, D.C., and Baltimore areas in the card programs often accept applications without foreseeable future. These groups may further ex- face-to-face verification of cardholder identity, pand their operations by looking for new markets taking applications online or by fax. Funds can in areas that have new or established Guatemalan be prepaid by one person and withdrawn by populations. another through ATMs anywhere in the world; Indoor cannabis cultivation, particularly at multiple cards can be issued for a single account. hydroponic grow sites in the HIDTA region, will Traffickers in the W/B HIDTA region use most likely increase over the next year. The ris- Internet payment systems to launder their drug ing demand for high-potency marijuana coupled proceeds. Online payment systems, including with the drug’s high profit potential will quite digital currencies,3 offer drug money launderers likely entice more traffickers in the region to be- anonymity, versatility, and convenience while come involved in indoor cannabis cultivation. establishing a global reach and reducing issues The abuse of CPDs, particularly controlled linked to fluctuating exchange rates. Some on- prescription narcotics, will continue to increase line payment services are unable to definitively in the HIDTA region in the coming year, espe- authenticate customer identification, and others cially among young adults. These drugs are read- openly promote anonymous payments. ily available to abusers through family, friends, or doctor-shopping, and abusers do not perceive them to be as dangerous as heroin or cocaine. The availability and abuse of MDMA will increase as the drug becomes more readily available from African American retail-level dealers in urban 3. Digital currencies are privately owned online payment systems areas of the region; this increased availability will that allow international payments, which are often denominated in the standard weights for gold and precious metals. broaden the abuser base for this drug in the region.

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State of Virginia Sources Department of Health Professions Virginia State Police BCI Criminal Intelligence Division Local, State, and Regional District of Columbia Federal Metropolitan Police Department Executive Office of the President Maryland Office of National Drug Control Policy Washington/Baltimore High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Annapolis Police Department U.S. Department of Commerce Anne Arundel County Police Department U.S. Census Bureau Baltimore City Police Department U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Organized Crime Division Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Narcotics Section National Institutes of Health Baltimore County Police Department National Institute on Drug Abuse Baltimore Medical Examiner Community Epidemiology Working Group Charles County Sheriff’s Office U.S. Department of Homeland Security Cheverly Police Department U.S. Coast Guard Chevy Chase Village Police Department U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement City of Seat Pleasant Police Department U.S. Department of Justice District Heights Police Department Drug Enforcement Administration Howard County Department of Police Baltimore District Office Hyattsville City Police Department El Paso Intelligence Center Laurel Police Department National Seizure System Maryland State Medical Examiner’s Office Heroin Domestic Monitor Program Maryland State Police Microgram Bulletin Drug Enforcement Division Richmond District Office Montgomery County Police Department Washington Field Division Mount Rainier Police Department U.S. Attorneys Offices Prince George’s County Police Department District of Columbia Riverdale Park Police Department District of Maryland Rockville City Police Department Eastern District of Virginia Seat Pleasant Police Department U.S. Department of the Treasury Virginia Internal Revenue Service Alexandria Police Department Arlington County Police Department Ashland Police Department Chesterfield County Police Department Fairfax County Police Department Falls Church City Police Department Henrico County Division of Police Leesburg Police Department Manassas City Police Department Manassas Park Police Department Petersburg Police Department Prince George County Police Department Prince William County Police Department Richmond Police Department

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Washington/Baltimore High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area

Drug Market Analysis 2009