Middle Market Drug Distribution

Home Office Research Study 227 Middle market drug distribution Geoffrey Pearson (Goldsmiths College, University of London) and Dick Hobbs (University of Durham) with the assistance of Steve Jones, John Tierney and Jennifer Ward The views expressed in this report are those of the authors, not necessarily those of the Home Office (nor do they reflect Government policy). Home Office Research, Development and Statistics Directorate November 2001 Middle market drug distribution Home Office Research Studies The Home Office Research Studies are reports on research undertaken by or on behalf of the Home Office. They cover the range of subjects for which the Home Secretary has responsibility. Other publications produced by the Research, Development and Statistics Directorate include Findings, Statistical Bulletins and Statistical Papers. The Research, Development and Statistics Directorate RDS is part of the Home Office. The Home Office's purpose is to build a safe, just and tolerant society in which the rights and responsibilities of individuals, families and communities are properly balanced and the protection and security of the public are maintained. RDS also part of National Statistics (NS). One of the aims of NS is to inform Parliament and the citizen about the state of the nation and provide a window on the work and performance of government, allowing the impact of government policies and actions to be assessed. Therefore – Research Development and Statistics Directorate exists to improve policy making, decision taking and practice in support of the Home Office purpose and aims, to provide the public and Parliament with information necessary for informed debate and to publish information for future use. First published 2001 Application for reproduction should be made to the Communications and Development Unit, Room 201, Home Office, 50 Queen Anne’s Gate, London SW1H 9AT. © Crown copyright 2001 ISBN 1 84082 762 9 ISSN 0072 6435 Foreword This report attempts to describe how drugs are moved from importation to street level in the UK, by whom and for what profit. It represents the first effort to map out the ‘middle levels’ of the UK's drug markets. The research is based upon interviews with convicted drug traffickers and law enforcement representatives. The authors find that the middle of the drugs market in the UK consists of a series of interconnected, flexible and relatively small networks and partnerships. These are made up of importers, wholesalers, middle-market drug brokers and retail-level dealers. These networks are regionally disparate yet possess considerable horizontal complexity. The report argues that there are areas within the middle market where law enforcement agencies could disrupt the supply of drugs in a relatively efficient manner. For instance, it seems that the role of the ‘middle market multi-commodity drug broker’ may be a strategically crucial link, susceptible to further enforcement effort. Another suggested point of vulnerability is where foreign-based importation groups link with UK-based distribution networks. David Pyle Drugs and Alcohol Research Unit Research, Development and Statistics Directorate i Middle market drug distribution Acknowledgements The authors wish to acknowledge the helpful contributions of all those who participated in this study. These include members of the various enforcement agencies (Her Majesty’s Customs and Excise, the National Crime Squad, the National Criminal Intelligence Service, and various police authorities) who provided interviews and sometimes case studies, as well as the members of other agencies and professions who provided invaluable assistance and information. We also wish to express our thanks to those convicted offenders who agreed to be interviewed, to the prison authorities who facilitated those interviews, and to others with prior experience of drugs and drug dealing who patiently answered our questions. Particular thanks are due to Chris Goulden, who was our anchorman at the Home Office. Also to contacts in Customs and Excise, the Metropolitan Police, and the National Crime Squad, who acted as gate-keepers to their agencies and personnel. Many others, who gave us access to their experience and insights into the world of the drugs business, also cannot be named for reasons of confidentiality. The Drugs and Alcohol Research Unit would like to thank Nicholas Dorn (DrugScope) and Professor Peter Reuter (University of Maryland) for acting as independent assessors for this report. Geoffrey Pearson Dick Hobbs ii Contents Foreword i Acknowledgements ii Contents iii Summary v Introduction and background v Key findings v Recommendations: policy and practice ix Future research indications x 1 Introduction: background and methods 1 Previous research on drug dealing 1 Selecting research methods 3 Conducting prison interviews: the present study 5 Characteristics of the prison sample 6 Law enforcement interviews and other contacts 9 2 Defining the ‘middle’ market 11 Middle market drug distribution and organised crime 11 Where is the middle market? 13 Making sense of differing perceptions of the middle market 16 3 The organisation and price structure of UK drug markets 19 Heroin 19 Cocaine 20 Heroin and cocaine: summary 21 Ecstasy 22 Amphetamine 23 Cannabis 23 Conclusions 24 iii Middle market drug distribution 4 The internal organisation of drug dealing networks 27 Family and ethnicity 27 Imprisonment as a facilitator of crime networks 30 ‘Clubbing’ as a system of fraternity 31 Size and division of labour 32 Cash transactions and credit cascades 33 Single-commodity and multi-commodity markets and dealers 34 Regional variations and cross-regional networks 37 5 The role of violence 41 6 ‘Middlemen’ and ‘go-betweens’: the strategic role of the middle market drug broker 49 Middle market drug brokers 49 Brokers and runners: partners or wage labourers? 51 Different types of ‘middleman’ linkage 52 7 Conclusion: a fragmented picture 55 Appendix Case studies and vignettes 59 References 75 iv Summary and recommendations Introduction and background The purpose of this study, commissioned by the Home Office, was to improve understanding of the ‘middle market’ drug distribution system in the UK. The methods employed were tape- recorded interviews with a sample of offenders imprisoned for drug dealing offences and an equal number of personnel from law enforcement agencies (Her Majesty’s Customs and Excise [HMCE], National Criminal Intelligence Service [NCIS], National Crime Squad [NCS] and police force drug squads). These were supplemented by interviews with a small number of barristers with experience of drug trials, and some field interviews were conducted with other people with varying experience of drug problems and drug trafficking. It was decided that where law enforcement personnel were concerned, the aim would both be to gather general information on their understanding of the structure of drug markets, together with specific case studies. By using case studies, it was felt that the information gathered would be comparable to that collected in prison interviews. It was stressed in interviews with law enforcement personnel that our concerns were not with operational matters, rather with mapping drug markets at different levels in the UK. By these means, approximately 70 usable case studies have been generated, some very detailed. Where the prison interviews were concerned, three-quarters of the sample traded in either heroin or cocaine or both drugs. Equally important in terms of middle market drug distribution systems is that almost two-thirds traded in one substance only. Key findings In common with other forms of commodity market, drug markets consist of inter-connected levels of brokerage and transactions involving intermediaries. There is, however, no readily available, nor agreed, definition of what constitutes the ‘middle market’ in drug distribution systems, nor at which level the ‘middle’ is located. v Middle market drug distribution Definitions Different interpretations of the middle market are set out in the introduction to this study. The research focussed mainly on criminal networks and individuals operating within the sphere of activity that lies between bulk importation traffickers/wholesalers and retail level dealers. Even so, these conventional distinctions are often blurred. Small and flexible networks Although drug markets are hierarchical, in that transactions involve market-defined roles of responsibility, risk and reward, they are also highly flexible with the possibility for roles of supplier and buyer to be interchangeable at wholesale and middle market levels. Criminal networks involved in middle market drug distribution are typically small, with a correspondingly small number of suppliers and customers. The notion of organised crime groups as tightly organised, complex and hierarchical entities whose tentacles reach around the globe is not supported by our evidence. They are more usefully understood as networks or partnerships of independent traders or brokers. Hierarchies and supply chains A four-tier classification of drug markets is proposed: importers, wholesalers, middle market drug brokers and retail level dealers. These are not meant as rigid categories, since, as stated above, roles can be interchangeable. Nor does it imply that there are always and only four links in the supply chain, since some individuals occupy dual roles (e.g. import and wholesale), while middle market drug brokers are sometimes known to collect and import drugs from

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