[print friendly version]

DEA Offices & Telephone Nos. Baton Rouge—225-389-0254 Lafayette—337-262-6744 Monroe—318-651-7117 New Orleans—504-840-1100 Shreveport—318-676-4080

Drug Situation: The illegal drug threat in Louisiana is the widespread availability and abuse of major drugs such as cocaine, crack cocaine, and heroin, along with its homegrown marijuana and the increasing danger of local manufacture of methamphetamine and designer drugs. Conventional drugs such as cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana comprise the bulk of drugs shipped through and arriving in the Louisiana. Overland transportation utilizing private and commercial vehicles continues to be the most commonly encountered smuggling method in Louisiana. Elevated security due to the September 11th tragedy has deterred transportation of most drugs via commercial air travel. Colombian, Mexican and Caribbean traffickers traveling to and from Miami, Houston, or the Southwest Border via I-10, I-12, I-20 (East / West routes) and Interstate 55 (North / South route) are largely responsible for the transportation and distribution of cocaine, crack, methamphetamine and marijuana into Louisiana. Additionally, regional and local DTOs ensure widespread availability throughout the state. Regional DTOs have also made significant inroads into the distribution of imported designer drugs such as MDMA and GHB, particularly near larger metropolitan areas of Louisiana where college populations are heavy. Various pharmaceuticals such as OxyContin have penetrated the illicit drug market at an alarming rate and in some areas accounts for more deaths than any other pharmaceutical drug.

Cocaine: The widespread availability of powdered cocaine and the distribution and abuse of crack cocaine are still the primary illicit drug threats in Louisiana. Law enforcement agencies continue to make large seizures of cocaine, especially powdered cocaine, on the southern interstate corridors in Louisiana. Louisiana law enforcement authorities remain concerned due to cocaine's impact on the community in terms of its direct correlation to incidents of violent crime and homicide. Houston and Miami are the primary source cities for cocaine in Louisiana. Mexican and Black American criminal groups are the primary wholesale distributors of powdered cocaine in Louisiana. Caucasian, Dominican, Haitian, and Jamaican criminal groups also distribute powdered cocaine at the wholesale level in New Orleans but to a lesser extent. These criminal groups supply wholesale quantities of powdered cocaine to Black American and Hispanic gangs as well as local independent dealers who convert most of the powdered cocaine to crack.

Heroin: Altogether, heroin distribution and abuse is not a significant threat in Louisiana, with the exception of the greater New Orleans area. Most heroin entering Louisiana is in transit from Texas and California to either the Midwest or Northeast U.S. Heroin distribution and abuse in New Orleans has reached an all time high, advancing the city into a regional distribution center. It is being transported primarily through commercial parcel delivery services, body carry on commercial air flights, commercial buses as well as via vessels from Colombian ports. Heroin available in the New Orleans area is of South American origin with purity levels as high as 45 percent. When cut with mannitol, the color is off-white, however street distributors also use brown sugar to cut their product, resulting in a slightly darker color. Heroin is shipped into Louisiana using various modes of transportation. The primary consumers of Colombian heroin are typically younger, middle to upper class Caucasian adults from the New Orleans suburbs. They come into the inner city to buy the drug, and have higher consequences of overdosing because of the extreme purity levels. New Orleans drug treatment centers report that the high purity levels have resulted in an increase of overdoses, and highly addicted patients. Younger abusers of all races are mixing the heroin with other drugs for the 'cocktail' effect. Caucasian youth frequent the housing projects in search of heroin.

Methamphetamine: Production, trafficking and illegal abuse of methamphetamine continues to be the fastest growing drug problem in Louisiana. Mexican criminal groups are the primary wholesale distributors in Louisiana of methamphetamine produced in Mexico, California, and Southwestern states. Caucasian independent dealers distribute locally produced methamphetamine. Because of the rural nature of Northern Louisiana and the abundance of horses and livestock, iodine crystals, commonly used in the handling of farm animals and as precursor chemical used in the ephedrine process of methamphetamine manufacturing, are widely available and accessible. Anhydrous ammonia is also readily available in Louisiana. Due to the recent increase in clandestine methamphetamine laboratory seizures throughout the state, law enforcement authorities can expect a continuing increase in clandestine lab investigations. Almost nonexistent three years ago, methamphetamine related cases and arrest are now occurring statewide. The movement within the state seems to be from north to south. State agencies note a direct relationship between methamphetamine distribution and abuse & violent crime, particularly domestic violence, child abuse, aggravated assault and murder. Another factor is the profound environmental damage (5 to 7 lbs. of toxic waste / lb. of methamphetamine) resulting from methamphetamine production and the associated cost of remediating these laboratory sites. In addition, methamphetamine producers and distributors sometimes resort to violence to protect their laboratories and territories. Some methamphetamine producers are heavily armed and booby-trap their laboratories to guard against law enforcement seizures or theft by competitors. The most recent associated crime threat to Louisiana involving methamphetamine is the theft of anhydrous ammonia. There have been several incidents where individuals were apprehended stealing anhydrous ammonia from businesses as well as methamphetamine. In-state methamphetamine production has become a significant issue in Louisiana. EPIC statistics reported 89 laboratories seized in CY 2003 compared to 132 laboratories in CY 2002, indicating a decline in illicit manufacturing.

Club Drugs: Though most drugs are either declining or holding steady in their abuse or distribution, "Club Drug" abuse and distribution among teenagers and young adults is on the rise in Louisiana. Police and treatment counselors throughout the state report an increase in the availability and abuse of MDMA (ecstasy), Ketamine, Rohypnol, LSD, and GHB. GHB and MDMA are the drugs of choice and the end-users are young Caucasians at all economic levels. MDMA from sources in California, Texas and Florida is distributed to college aged youths. Counterfeit pills are also sold to young adults as MDMA and have become an extremely lucrative business in Shreveport nightclubs. Vietnamese trafficking groups are now playing a role in the influx of MDMA into the New Orleans area.

Marijuana: Marijuana is the most widely available illicit drug in Louisiana. Most marijuana available in Louisiana is produced in Mexico; however, marijuana produced locally and neighboring states is also readily available. The availability of high-grade domestically produced marijuana has increased due to modern techniques of indoor cultivation (i.e., the use of cloning and hydroponics to increase the potency). In many regions of Louisiana, the price of marijuana has been decreasing due to the availability of Mexico produced marijuana transported from hub cities in Texas (i.e., Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, Brownsville & El Paso, Texas). A common practice among distributor is to " bulk up" domestic marijuana with less expense, lower quality Mexico produced marijuana to increase profits. Mexican DTOs clearly dominate the greatest portion of wholesale distribution through Texas into Louisiana. Local independent dealers, street gangs, and some small ethnic drug groups dominate domestic marijuana retail distribution.

Other Drugs: The illegal diversion, distribution and abuse of oxycodone products, particularly OxyContin, has become a significant threat, especially in Louisiana’s southeast parishes. OxyContin is being abused at a rate many law enforcement officials describe as epidemic. The problem is due in part to physicians who write prescriptions for the drug without performing proper screening and examinations. Louisiana pharmacies have also seen an increase in the number of burglaries and robberies as abusers and distributors seek to obtain this and other prescription drugs.

DEA Mobile Enforcement Teams: This cooperative program with state and local law enforcement counterparts was conceived in 1995 in response to the overwhelming problem of drug-related violent crime in towns and cities across the nation. There have been 409 deployments completed resulting in 16,763 arrests of violent drug criminals as of February 2004. There have been 13 MET deployments in the State of Louisiana since the inception of the program: Donaldsonville, Concordia Parish, New Orleans, Hammond, Slidell, Shreveport, Bogalusa, Houma, Baker/Zachary, Kenner, St. Landry Parish, Jefferson Parish and two deployments in Alexandria.

DEA Regional Enforcement Teams: This program was designed to augment existing DEA division resources by targeting drug organizations operating in the United States where there is a lack of sufficient local drug law enforcement. This Program was conceived in 1999 in response to the threat posed by drug trafficking organizations that have established networks of cells to conduct drug trafficking operations in smaller, non-traditional trafficking locations in the United States. Nationwide, there have been 22 deployments completed resulting in 608 arrests of drug trafficking criminals as of February 2004. There have been no RET deployments in the State of Louisiana.

Special Topics: HIDTA - The Gulf Coast HIDTA hosts the following DEA initiatives in Louisiana:

Caddo/Bossier HIDTA Task Force
Network Coordination Group/Intelligence Coordination Network
Major Investigations Team I (Metairie, LA)
Major Investigations Team II (Metairie, LA)
Middle Louisiana Major Investigations Team/Financial Investigations Team (Baton Rouge, LA)
Southwestern Louisiana Major Investigations Team/Financial Investigations Team (Lafayette, LA)

More information about the New Orleans Division Office.

Sources

Factsheet last updated: 2/2004

Click here for last year's 2003 factsheet>>