|
![](/peth04/20041015202305im_/http://www.dea.gov/spacer.gif) |
DEA
Offices & Telephone Nos.
Atlantic City609-383-3322
Camden856-757-5407
Newark973-273-5000
Paterson973-357-4037 |
State
Facts
Population: 8,484,431
Law Enforcement Officers: 31,336
State Prison Population: 44,200
Probation Population: 132,846
Violent Crime Rate
National Ranking: 25 |
2003
Federal Drug Seizures
Cocaine: 1,329.9 kgs.
Heroin: 104.9 kgs.
Methamphetamine: 3.8 kgs.
Marijuana: 2,820.2 kgs.
Ecstasy: 73,260 tablets
Methamphetamine Laboratories: 0 (DEA, state, and
local) |
Drug
Situation: The State of New Jersey is situated between the
major industrial markets of New York and Pennsylvania and has been referred
to as the “crossroads of the east.” It is also a gateway
state, with major interstate highways, roadways, airports, seaports,
and other infrastructures capable of accommodating voluminous amounts
of passenger and cargo traffic from both the eastern and western parts
of the United States, if not the world. New Jersey can therefore be considered
an ideal strategic corridor as well as a vulnerable corridor for transportation
of drug contraband and illicit currency. Over the past year, drug trafficking
activity and drug prices in the Newark Division area of responsibility
have remained relatively stable.
Cocaine/Crack:
Cocaine HCL remain widely available throughout the state and is the drug
of choice in most parts of the state. Just as heroin, distribution
points are generally located on street corners in low-income areas
in various cities. Cocaine is mainly sold in vials with colored tops
or small zip lock bags. The movement of cocaine to the southeastern
New Jersey area is usually accomplished via couriers from New York
and Philadelphia.
Crack which also remains widely available is usually purchased as cocaine
HCL from sources in New York and Philadelphia and cooked by local distributors
and is specifically seen in economically depressed areas of each southeast
county in New Jersey.
According to source of information
as well as intelligence gathered through traditional investigative
techniques, there has been a slight
rise in cocaine transportation through the Newark Liberty International
Airport via small parcel companies by Drug Trafficking Organizations
(DTOs). These DTO’s use contacts at airports to bypass security
and place cocaine-laden suitcases on planes.
Heroin:
Heroin represents the most significant narcotic problem in New Jersey
and accounts for more admissions to state treatment centers than
cocaine, marijuana, and all other drugs combined. South American
heroin remains readily available throughout New Jersey, continuing
to sell at low prices and high purity levels. In the southern portion
of the state, heroin is transported via car or bus from New York
City and/or Philadelphia. Heroin is available in various forms, such
as in glassine bags with brand names stamped on them, as well as
pellet and brick forms. In several areas throughout the state, especially
in the southern portion, a bundle of heroin now consists of 13 glassine
bags instead of the traditional 10 glassine bags. Heroin purity in
the Newark area continues to be among the highest in the nation.
Heroin continues to originate from Colombia and is smuggled into
the United States primarily by Colombian and Dominican organizations.
Points of origin for the heroin are Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela
and Honduras. Aruba, Curacao, St. Martin and Puerto Rico are utilized
as transshipment points. Heroin traffickers are still using “swallowers” (couriers)
to transport heroin into the United States. According to source information,
these couriers typically fly from Colombia into the United States,
mainly Miami, Florida.
![Methamphetamine Lab Seizures: 1999=2, 2000=0, 2001=1, 2002=3, 2003=0](/peth04/20041015202305im_/http://www.dea.gov/pubs/states/newjersey_meth2004.gif) Methamphetamine: According
to the Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN), there were over 155 emergency
department mentions associated with methamphetamine in the state of
New Jersey. According to source information, methamphetamine is gaining
in popularity in the Cherry Hill, New Jersey area because cocaine is
scarce. Intelligence and source information continues to identify that
Filipino traffickers are importing large amounts of methamphetamine
from Mexico and the Philippines. The methamphetamine is converted to “ice” in
the Los Angeles, California area and then transported to the New York/New
Jersey area via motor vehicle. Ice is also being shipped through various
mail and parcel services.
Diverted
Pharmaceutical Drugs: New
Jersey has one of the highest concentrations of both pharmaceutical and
chemical firms in the country. Doctor shopping, employee theft, and/or
fraudulent phone-in prescriptions remain a source of diversion throughout
the state. In the southern part of the state, intelligence and source
information has notice some questionable prescribing habits of some doctors
in their jurisdiction that seem to be contributing to diversion of OxyContin,
Percocet, Hydrocodone and Xanax products via indiscriminate prescribing
and/or sale of prescriptions to known drug abusers. Intelligence has
also revealed an emerging trend that indicates that prescription rings
based in Philadelphia, PA are traveling to pharmacies in southern New
Jersey to have prescriptions filled.
Marijuana/Hashish:
Marijuana is the most widely available and frequently abused illicit
drug in the region. Marijuana continues to be shipped from various
cities along the Southwest Border region via commercial air. Furthermore,
the use of automobiles, tractor-trailers, vessels, US Postal Service,
overnight services, parcel post continues to be utilized by DTO’s.
Most of the marijuana seizures in the state have occurred at Newark
Liberty International Airport, where passengers from Southwest Border
states attempt to smuggle marijuana usually wrapped in cellophane
and placed within luggage.
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 16 MET deployments in
the State of New Jersey since the inception of the program: Asbury Park,
Camden, Paterson, Atlantic City, Lakewood, Passaic, Plainfield, Pleasantville,
Trenton, Long Branch, Jersey City, Newark (2), Elizabeth (2), and Perth
Amboy.
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 has been one RET deployment in the State of New Jersey since
the inception of the program, in Camden.
More information
about the Newark Division Office.
Sources
Factsheet
last updated: 2/2004
Click
here for last year's 2003 factsheet>>
|