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BY JOE CARLSON
jcarlson@nwitimes.com
219.933.3364 | Sunday, May 25, 2008 | (9 comment(s))
Whether crammed into hidden compartments in trucks or packed in baggies in the stomachs of airborne couriers, most illegal drugs coming into Northwest Indiana continue to cross the border via Mexican cartels.
But as the Lake County Drug Free Alliance releases its 2008 report analyzing what it calls an epidemic of local drug use, federal and local officials say there are new trends in the narcotics underworld.
Asian organized crime groups, for example, have begun growing expensive, high-potency marijuana in Canada and the Pacific Northwest states for distribution throughout the United States, region drug enforcement agents say.
And Columbian cartels have begun partnering with Mexican smugglers, who forgo the traditional South American smuggling methods of commercial airlines and cruise ships in favor of land transport, particularly in trucks, cars, buses and trains.
However federal officials are disputing perceptions in some local law enforcement communities that more heroin is entering the region from Afghanistan.
"I've heard that perception, and I'm at a loss to explain it," said Dennis Wichern, head of Indiana's Drug Enforcement Administration office. "You've got to test the samples like we do. ... The numbers that we've seen don't bear it out."
The federally funded Lake County High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area task force says in its most recent report in June that the region's drug trends are tied to Chicago.
"Chicago-based Mexican DTOs (drug trafficking organizations) have expanded their drug trafficking operations into neighboring Lake County," the report says. "Mexican DTOs provide local street gang members and independent dealers with a steady supply of wholesale quantities of cocaine, heroin and marijuana."
Three drugs have found their way into the cross-hairs of local drug agents as police and the public attempt to understand how the substances find their way to region streets.
Cocaine
Crack cocaine, which is manufactured by local dealers from powder cocaine, is by far the greatest drug threat in Northwest Indiana, and the narcotic is widely imported into America despite record levels of interdiction in countries where coca is grown, local drug agents say.
The U.S. State Department reports that more coca was grown in 2006 in the South American countries Columbia, Peru and Bolivia than in years past, even though aerial spraying of herbicides on growing areas increased by 24 percent that year.
Once the drug is processed from coca plants into powder in South America, most cocaine comes into the United States through South Texas border cities, including Laredo, Hidalgo/Pharr and Brownsville, federal officials say.
Federal agents have investigated the smuggling of illegal drugs from these border towns to a possible warehousing operation in Merrillville.
Although cocaine is second to marijuana in terms of volume of use, national surveys of law enforcement agencies show cocaine contributes to violent crimes and robberies more than any other drug.
"If you reduce the amount of drugs, you reduce the amount of crime. It's a trickle-down effect," said Oscar Martinez, deputy commander with the Lake County Highway Interdiction Unit.
The Great Lakes region and several other metro areas across the country saw the availability of cocaine drop sharply in mid-2007 because of increased drug seizures and warring between the cartels along the Mexican border, federal agents report.
Prices on the street rose in response, in some cases almost doubling.
Once powder cocaine is on the street, region gangs cook it into crack cocaine for local retail distribution, local law enforcement officials say. The Mexican cartels transport it as powder to avoid the "harsh" federal penalties associated with crack, the Lake County HIDTA report says.
Lake County has an estimated 2,500 gang members, and though most are only loosely affiliated "fraternal" groups that generate drug income, East Chicago has highly organized groups with direct ties to Mexican drug cartels, the HIDTA report says.
"Gang and drug-related criminal activity is spreading from traditional high-crime urban areas in the state, such as Gary, Hammond and East Chicago, into surrounding suburban communities in Lake County and neighboring Porter County," the HIDTA report says.
Heroin
Heroin is not seen as a dominant drug by users in Northwest Indiana, but several federal sources and reports note the much-publicized rise in heroin use among white, affluent young adults in the suburbs.
A 2008 threat assessment for heroin use published by the National Drug Intelligence Center reported that abuse of prescription drugs widely is seen as a precursor to heroin use later in life.
But the heroin that is available in Northwest Indiana is not coming from Afghanistan, despite anecdotal reports from local law enforcement, federal officials say.
The United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime reports that 92 percent of the world's poppy supply for heroin comes from Afghanistan, but United States officials say nearly all of that supply is winding up in Europe.
The vast majority of heroin available in the United States is grown in Columbia, as it has been since the 1990s, when South America surpassed Thailand and other Southeast Asian nations in heroin production, region DEA agents say.
"It's still cheaper to get the drugs across the border from Mexico to the U.S.," Wichern said. "Getting it across the pond (the ocean), as they say, adds a lot of expense."
A 2007 federal report, "The Availability of Southwest Asian Heroin in the United States: A Market Analysis," indicates that misperceptions about local availability of Afghani heroin probably stem from the use of the phrase "China white" to describe high-purity heroin.
Despite its name, most "China white" still comes from South America, Wichern said.
Marijuana
Marijuana is divided into two groups. Low-grade commercial marijuana comes in from Mexico along the same land-bound paths that it has for decades, region drug agents say.
But in recent years, America's Pacific Northwest states have seen a steep rise in domestic and Canadian production of expensive, high-grade marijuana, the National Intelligence Center reports. The center's 2008 threat assessment says that Asian organized crime organizations are responsible for the changing trend.
However, local and federal law enforcement officials say marijuana is not their top priority, because -- as the 2008 Epidemiological Profile of Lake County puts it -- cannabis is not as dangerous to users or sellers as cocaine or heroin.
"Marijuana is the most widely available and widely used (illegal) drug in Lake County, but poses a lower threat since its distribution and use are rarely associated with violence," the epidemiological report says.
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IndyRon wrote on May 26, 2008 9:10 AM:
" You misspelled Colombia. If you can't spell, I assume the rest of your facts are in error.
Drugs, if legal, would eliminate many problems. Until then, the status quo will remain. "
Legalizing drugs will have the same effect as repealing the 14th Ammendment.
Drug taverns/parlors in every neighborhood, and a dramatic increase in the addiction to the drugs just as alcohol does.
Legalizing dangerous drugs will not control the problem it will exacerbate it.
"
NICE wrote on May 25, 2008 1:42 PM:
seatbelt checkpoints - cameras at intersections wrote on May 25, 2008 9:38 AM:
SAVE OUR COUNTRY - MAN/WOMEN THE BORDER! "
CopyCat wrote on May 25, 2008 9:28 AM:
The federal government continues to play games with our lives. Seven years after 9/11, our borders are more porous than ever. The states must get involved by passing good legislation that will help the feds fight illegal immigration. Otherwise, we will continue to pay with the lives of our citizens.
Send this article to your state senator and representative and tell them to pass tough anti-illegal immigration legislation this year.
"
Ed wrote on May 25, 2008 9:24 AM:
J B wrote on May 25, 2008 9:15 AM:
Drugs, if legal, would eliminate many problems. Until then, the status quo will remain. "
Holy Smokes wrote on May 25, 2008 9:06 AM:
oldest spears wrote on May 25, 2008 9:00 AM:
Duh wrote on May 25, 2008 6:28 AM:
Not so! The law of supply and demand dictates that if the supply goes down, the price goes up. Higher prices will cause more crime, not decrease it. I commend Mr. Martinez on his efforts, however, we need to concentrate on getting people off drugs, so that the dealers and cartels have no customers. Hopefully, the reduction in demand won't lead to lower prices that will tempt more people to try them.
"