NCJ Number
225830
Date Published
May 2008
Length
21 pages
Annotation
This report provides an analysis of the illicit drug situation in the California Border Alliance Group region of responsibility, highlighting trends and law enforcement concerns related to the trafficking and abuse of illicit drugs.
Abstract
The California Border Alliance Group (CBAG) region consists of San Diego and Imperial Counties encompassing California’s entire 145-mile portion of the United States-Mexico border. It is a principal drug smuggling corridor for illicit drugs entering the country from Mexico. Drug trafficking organizations use the border area to smuggle significant quantities of methamphetamine, cocaine, marijuana, and heroin into the CBAG region. This assessment provides a strategic overview and analysis of the illicit drug market throughout the CBAG region of responsibility for 2008, providing information on strategic drug threat developments, drug threat overview, drug trafficking organizations, drug production, transportation, and distribution, drug-related crime, drug abuse, and illicit financing of drugs. The future of noted drug threats within the CBAG region include the following: (1) the price of ice methamphetamine will most likely stabilize at high levels as distributors and users become accustomed to higher price levels for the drug due to sustained shortages; (2) cross-border violence will remain high in the CBAG region due to competition in the control of drug smuggling routes; (3) Mexican drug trafficking organizations will likely expand cannabis cultivation operations to supply increasing demand for higher-potency marijuana and to capitalize on profit; and (4) the number and use of subterranean tunnels may increase in the near term, posing an increased security threat to the United States. Tables and appendix