NCJ Number
228262
Date Published
2009
Length
22 pages
Annotation
This 2009 report assessed the illicit drug situation in the Ohio High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA), highlighting trends and law enforcement concerns related to illicit drugs in the 11 counties comprising the HIDTA.
Abstract
The Ohio HIDTA region is linked to major drug source areas, including Chicago, Detroit, New York City, the Southwest Border and Canada by numerous interstate highways that are used to smuggle illicit drugs into and through the region. Cocaine is the greatest drug threat in the area, with heroin abuse rising throughout the State. African-American and Hispanic street gangs are increasingly distributing ecstasy, but methamphetamine availability and production are low in this region. Mexican drug trafficking organizations (DTOs) are the principal transporters and wholesale distributors, with Dominican, Puerto Rican, and Jamaican DTOs also distributing illicit drugs within the area. Illicit production primarily involves conversion of powder cocaine into crack, cannabis cultivation, and small-scale meth production. Crack cocaine is the drug that most contributes to violent and property crime in the region, with distributors committing assaults and homicides to protect drug supplies and distribution territories. Drug related money laundering in the region typically entails the transportation of bulk currency from the area to Mexico. Increasing heroin availability will fuel increased use and drive increasing crime, law enforcement, and treatment costs. Tables and figures