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2007-R0813-020
North Florida
High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area
Drug Market Analysis
June 2007 U.S. Department of Justice
GEORGIA
NASSAU
ATLANTIC
OCEAN
Osceola
Nat. Forest
DUVAL
BAKER
COLUMBIA
CLAY
FLORIDA ST.
JOHNS
ALACHUA
PUTNAM
FLAGLER
NC
SC
AL GA
MARION
FL
HIDTA County
Area of North
National Forest
Florida HIDTA
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 vetted with the HIDTA, is limited in scope to HIDTA jurisdictional boundaries, and draws upon a
wide variety of sources within those boundaries.
North Florida High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Drug Market Analysis
2
National Drug Intelligence Center
3
North Florida High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Drug Market Analysis
as Canada and Southeast Asia. These organizations at indoor grow sites in the North Florida HIDTA
are generally based upon familial or other direct region. In 2006 law enforcement officials seized
social relationships and are difficult for law 2,728 plants at indoor grow sites within the 10
enforcement to infiltrate. North Florida HIDTA counties. (See Table 1.)
Cannabis is cultivated by independent Caucasian
Other Hispanic criminal groups and Cuban traffickers throughout the region, and law enforce-
DTOs are increasingly cultivating and distributing ment officials report that Hispanic traffickers, par-
high-potency marijuana from indoor grow opera- ticularly Cuban DTOs, are increasingly producing
tions established in the region. high-potency marijuana from cannabis that they
cultivate at indoor grow sites in North Florida.
Numerous street gangs are involved in drug
trafficking in the North Florida HIDTA region. Table 1. Marijuana Plants Seized from
Most street gangs are composed of individuals with Indoor Grow Sites in the North Florida
similar ethnic backgrounds, and most are estab- HIDTA Region, by County, 2006
lished and based upon individual street or neigh-
County Number of Plants Seized
borhood affiliations, especially in northwest
Jacksonville. Significant rivalry among street Alachua 491
gangs, including that associated with drug traffick- Baker 5
ing, often incites violence among gangs as well as
Clay 95
violence between gangs and other drug traffickers.
Such rivalry and violence have increased in the Columbia 0
past year, most likely as a result of shrinking drug
Duval 1,692
distribution territories caused by the encroachment
of DTOs, particularly Mexican DTOs, into areas Flagler 4
previously controlled by street gangs. Marion 16
4
National Drug Intelligence Center
Table 2. Number of Methamphetamine returning to source areas. Interstates 10 and 95, two
Laboratories Seized in the North Florida primary national drug corridors, intersect in Jack-
HIDTA, by County, 2002–2006a sonville, the region’s primary drug market. The
region’s significance as a transit area for Florida
County 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 drug markets is largely due to the emergence of
Alachua 1 1 1 0 1 Atlanta as a national-level drug distribution center.
Clay 0 0 0 1 3
Atlanta has now become the primary source for
cocaine, ice methamphetamine, and marijuana
Columbia 0 2 0 0 0 distributed in northern and central Florida and has
Duval 0 1 0 4 6 emerged as a secondary source for these drugs in
South Florida. Additionally, high-potency mari-
Flagler 0 0 0 0 2 juana cultivated in the HIDTA region is transported
Marion 4 12 8 20 5 short distances to retail distribution sites.
Putnam 1 0 1 1 3
Significant quantities of illicit drugs, primarily
St. Johns 1 0 1 0 2 commercial-grade marijuana, are regularly seized in
Total 7 16 11 26 22
the North Florida HIDTA from packages shipped
through commercial delivery services, and law
Source: National Seizure System, data run on 5/07/2007.
enforcement officials in the region report that use of
a. These data include seizures of laboratories, the chemicals and equipment
used to produce methamphetamine, and dumpsites.
this transportation method by traffickers may be
increasing. A large volume of packages are shipped
Methamphetamine production poses an ongoing to the Jacksonville metropolitan area, where several
concern for law enforcement and treatment provid- international shipping companies have large
ers throughout the region, particularly in rural areas;
however, production is trending slightly downward Jacksonville Port Redevelopment
as evidenced by an overall decrease in the number The Jacksonville Port Authority (JAXPORT) and
of methamphetamine laboratories seized in the an Asian transoceanic cargo-shipping company
region from 2005 to 2006. (See Table 2.) According are scheduled to redevelop the underutilized
to law enforcement authorities, methamphetamine JAXPORT cruise ship terminal and turn the
laboratory operators may be scaling back their pro- facility into the third-largest cargo seaport on the
duction operations in favor of distributing Mexican East Coast of the United States by 2009. The
redevelopment plan calls for the construction of a
methamphetamine, from which they can derive
158-acre cargo container-handling facility, two
higher profits. 1,200-foot-long berths, six Post-Panamax
container cranes, and other necessary
MDMA is reportedly produced in the North infrastructure.a It is expected that the redeveloped
Florida HIDTA region; however, such production is port will facilitate large increases in legitimate
limited and is not considered a significant threat by shipping traffic and indirect and direct
law enforcement officials. Only two MDMA labo- employment of an estimated 5,000 individuals.
ratories were seized in the North Florida HIDTA Moreover, if the current plan proves successful,
region in 2006; both were seized in Clay County.1 further expansion plans could increase the port
size to over 200 acres. Maritime cargo vessels
Transportation will sail directly between the JAXPORT and ports
in Asia and Latin America.
The North Florida HIDTA region is a significant
a. A Post-Panamax crane can fully load and unload containers from a con-
transit area for illegal drugs destined for drug mar- tainer ship too large to pass through the Panama Canal.
kets throughout Florida as well as for drug proceeds
1. These data include seizures of laboratories as well as the chemicals and equipment used to produce MDMA.
5
North Florida High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Drug Market Analysis
regional distribution facilities. Packages are then Port Authority is an international trade seaport in
rerouted to locations throughout northeastern Flor- northeastern Florida. JAXPORT has multiple cargo
ida and southern Georgia. North Florida HIDTA- terminals capable of handling container, automo-
sponsored task force officers based in Jacksonville bile, bulk, breakbulk, and refrigerated cargo as well
typically seize multipound to multihundred-pound as cruise passenger service. Companies doing busi-
quantities of marijuana and, increasingly, ounce to ness at Jacksonville’s seaport employ more than
multipound quantities of cocaine from packages 7,000 workers and support an additional 38,000
that arrive from locations outside the HIDTA, jobs in Jacksonville. The Port of Jacksonville trans-
predominantly from Southwest Border states. ships more than 70 percent of U.S. waterborne
commerce to and from Puerto Rico, which is a sub-
The potential for drug transportation through stantial transshipment point for cocaine and heroin
the Port of Jacksonville is significant; however, the destined for the continental United States. Most of
extent to which the port is used for drug smuggling this cargo is not inspected, since it is being shipped
is largely an intelligence gap. The Jacksonville within the United States. U.S. Coast Guard officials
Atlanta
£
¤84
GEORGIA
£
¤ 301
£
¤221 ATLANTIC
OCEAN
§
¦
¨
Jacksonville
95
£
¤
129
£
¤441
£
¤ 1
NASSAU
£
¤ 17
JACKSONVILLE
"
INTL
o PO RT OF
JACKSONVILLE
DUVAL
|
n Jacksonville
¦§
§ ¦
¨
Osceola
¨
National
§
¦
¨
75
£
Jacksonville Beach
¤ §
COLUMBIA Forest
¦
¨
10 BAKER
41 10
295
£
¤ 90
£
¤ 1
CLAY St.
£
¤ 41
£
¤301 ST.
JOHNS
Augustine
£
¤
441
ALACHUA
£
¤ §
¦
¨
Major City 129 Gainesville PUTNAM
95
250,000 +
£
¤ £
¤ £
Palm
¤
27
441
17 Coast
150,000 - 249,999 FLAGLER
§
¦
¨
75,000 - 149,999
Other City of Interest 75
"
o Intl. Airport
£
¤
19
£
¤
301
Daytona Beach
|
n
MARION
Major Seaport
Ocala
DAYTONA
BEACH
INTL
"
o
Interstate
U.S. Highway
£
Greater Jacksonville
¤
§
¦
¨
41
HIDTA County
National Forest £
¤19
£
¤27
4
6
National Drug Intelligence Center
Table 3. Drug Distribution Activities in the North Florida HIDTA Region, 2007
7
North Florida High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Drug Market Analysis
through either telephone or e-mail communications cocaine. According to the Florida Department of
regarding individuals who illegally carry firearms. Law Enforcement (FDLE) Medical Examiner’s
The tips are subsequently relayed to OSS Task Commission (MEC), 817 drug deaths3 occurred in
Force officials for immediate investigation. the areas of Gainesville, Jacksonville, and St.
Augustine in 2005 (the latest year for which data are
An increase in the overall number of murders available). Cocaine-related deaths (267) accounted
and violent crimes committed in the North Florida for the highest percentage of deaths.4 Moreover,
HIDTA region is of particular concern to law data from the Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS)
enforcement officials in the region. In 2006, 110 indicate that cocaine was the second most identified
homicides were committed in the Jacksonville/ drug of abuse in admissions to publicly funded
Duval County metropolitan area—only one portion treatment centers in Florida in 2005 (the latest year
of the entire HIDTA region—compared with 104 for which data are available). (See Table 4.)
homicides committed in 2005 and 92 homicides
committed in 2004.2 While officials are uncertain The widespread diversion and abuse of phar-
as to the cause of this upsurge, some speculate that maceutical drugs are a significant and rapidly
it may have resulted from continued fighting growing drug threat in the North Florida HIDTA
among rival African American distributors over region. The most commonly abused pharmaceuti-
drug distribution territories. Moreover, officials cals are prescription narcotics such as oxycodone,
report that many of the individuals who have been hydrocodone, and methadone, and benzodiazepines
accused or convicted of committing these crimes such as diazepam (Valium) and alprazolam
have previously been involved in drug trafficking (Xanax). According to the FDLE MEC, when all
and that many of them are members of loosely pharmaceutical drugs that were mentioned in con-
organized gangs and criminal groups. nection with a death, either alone or in combination
with other drugs, are combined as a class, they
Abuse account for over one-half of all drug deaths in the
Marijuana is the most widely abused illicit drug region during 2005 (the latest year for which data
in the North Florida HIDTA region; however, the are available). (See Table 5 on page 9.) Further,
direst drug-related societal and personal conse- law enforcement and drug treatment officials in the
quences are associated with powder and crack region report that the average age of prescription
2. Since there is no commonly accepted definition of “drug-related crime,” the murders may or may not be solely the result of drug activity;
however, law enforcement investigations suggest that the vast majority of such crimes are drug-related.
3. Drug deaths include both drug-induced deaths (drugs directly caused death) and drug-related deaths (drugs contributed to death).
4. Because of regional designations as established by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) Medical Examiner’s Commission
(MEC) for data collection in counties including those within and outside the jurisdictional boundaries of the North Florida HIDTA, only
generalized assumptions may be drawn for medical examiner data specific to city areas within the HIDTA region.
8
National Drug Intelligence Center
drug abusers and distributors is decreasing. In most Nalone and Narcanti, an injectable narcotic antago-
cases prescription drug abusers in the North Flor- nist that immediately reverses respiratory arrest
ida HIDTA region purchase prescription drugs over caused by a heroin or other opiate overdose.
the Internet and visit unscrupulous physicians to
obtain multiple illegal prescriptions for pharmaceu- Illicit Finance
tical drugs; in some cases unethical physicians Traffickers operating in the North Florida
cater to abusers and intentionally overprescribe HIDTA region, particularly Mexican DTOs, typi-
pharmaceuticals for personal profit. cally transport illicit drug proceeds in bulk to
Atlanta or Southwest Border states for further laun-
The abuse of high-potency ice methamphet- dering. Additionally, many members of Mexican
amine is limited but increasing in the HIDTA DTOs and criminal groups transport large portions
region. Rapid increases in abuse of the drug quite of their drug proceeds to friends and family in Mex-
likely have been slowed by an abundant supply of ico, using either private or commercial vehicles.
powder and crack cocaine, particularly in Jackson- Mexican DTOs in the region sometimes structure
ville. High levels of availability of powder and deposits into numerous bank accounts and electron-
crack cocaine together with consistently low prices ically transfer the funds to accounts in Mexico or
contribute to reluctance on the part of abusers to Southwest Border states. Mexican DTOs also laun-
experiment with or switch to ice methamphet- der illicit funds through money remitters—most of
amine. Heroin abuse is limited in the North Florida whom are unlicensed—and, more recently, by con-
HIDTA region. Only five deaths in the region were verting drug proceeds to stored value cards and then
associated with heroin abuse in 2005, according to mailing the cards to locations around the world.
the FDLE MEC; however, the low death rate may
possibly be attributed to first-response protocols DTOs and criminal groups in the region also
applied by emergency medical service (EMS) use front companies and cash-intensive businesses
respondents, not to a lack of or decrease in abuse. to launder drug proceeds. Restaurants, clothing
When responding to a heroin-related incident, stores, used car dealerships, and offices related to
EMS responders often employ a first-response the construction industry are commonly used by
application of Narcan (naloxone), also marketed as traffickers in the region as fronts for drug enter-
Table 5. Drug Mentions in Deaths prises. Some unscrupulous construction companies
North Florida HIDTA, 2005 hire illegal immigrants and offer to pay their wages
in drugs instead of currency. The employees gain
Drug Number of Deaths the benefit of receiving hidden, nontaxable income
Cocaine 267 but subsequently must either sell or trade the drugs
to acquire cash. Additionally, most retail and low-
Methadone 126 level wholesale cocaine and marijuana distributors
Hydrocodone 124 operating in the HIDTA launder drug proceeds by
purchasing tangible assets such as high-value vehi-
Diazepam 90
cles, vehicle accessories, or jewelry.
Morphine 77
Alprazolam 65
A significant and growing money laundering
trend developing among traffickers in Jacksonville
Oxycodone 63 involves investing drug proceeds in real estate ven-
Heroin 5 tures. In doing so, traffickers attempt to conceal the
true origin of their funds by purchasing real estate
Total Deaths 817 through multiple, layered transactions; they make
Source: Florida Department of Law Enforcement Medical Examiner’s additional money through real estate sales.
Commission.
9
North Florida High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Drug Market Analysis
10
National Drug Intelligence Center
Sources
11
North Florida High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Drug Market Analysis
LEO https://cgate.leo.gov/http/leowcs.leopriv.gov/lesig/ndic/index.htm