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DEA Offices & Telephone Nos. Salt Lake City—801-524-4156 St. George—435-673-6255

Drug Situation: Mexican poly-drug trafficking organizations dominate all facets of illegal narcotics distribution throughout Utah. Sources of supply for methamphetamine, cocaine, heroin, and marijuana are primarily located in California, the Southwest, Pacific Northwest, and Mexico. Methamphetamine production and abuse is the primary drug threat in Utah.

Cocaine: Cocaine is encountered throughout Utah. Kilogram quantities are available along the Wasatch Range, which stretches from Provo to Ogden and includes approximately 75 percent of the state’s population. Mexican organizations tend to dominate large scale cocaine distribution, although several other groups are capable of distributing kilogram quantities. In recent years, purity levels for cocaine in Utah have remained relatively stable, but prices have risen. Crack cocaine is available in ounce quantities, though it is confined primarily to larger cities.

Heroin: Heroin is a serious problem in Utah. Mexican brown and black tar heroin are available throughout the state, with multi-ounce and larger quantities primarily distributed in the major cities. Southern California is the source area for multi-ounce and pound quantities of heroin, after having been smuggled from Mexico. Mexican organizations trafficking in heroin also distribute cocaine and methamphetamine. Higher purity levels of heroin have recently been encountered through undercover purchases and seizures.

Methamphetamine: Methamphetamine is the primary drug threat throughout Utah. Mexican poly-drug trafficking organizations dominate the distribution of methamphetamine, most of which is produced in Mexico and southern California. The methamphetamine supplied by these organizations has increased in purity in recent years.

For the past four years, methamphetamine labs have declined in Utah. This is attributed to a number of factors, including strict precursor legislation (that was passed by the Utah Legislature in 2000), community awareness and education campaigns, and aggressive law enforcement efforts. Currently, most labs discovered in Utah are small (as measured by the amount of product made per cook) and rudimentary, compared with super-labs that were the norm several years ago. Despite the dramatic reduction in illegal clandestine labs, methamphetamine remains the drug of choice throughout Utah and the largest drug threat.

In August 2003, the owner of a Salt Lake City-based business was indicted federally for Conspiracy to Distribute Pseudoephedrine and Ephedrine to be used in the illegal manufacture of methamphetamine. In addition, the owner of another business based in Ogden was sentenced to 97 months imprisonment on 2 counts of Distribution of Pseudoephedrine and Ephedrine to be used in the illegal manufacture of methamphetamine. As a result of the investigation, three local businesses supplying precursor chemicals and glassware for methamphetamine production have been put out of business.

Club Drugs: MDMA and GHB are a problem along the Wasatch Front. They are available through dance clubs and private parties. Many abusers of LSD and other hallucinogens are now dealing and using MDMA and GHB because of their availability and profitability. MDMA distribution in Utah is controlled by structured organizations with domestic sources of supply in the southwestern United States.

Marijuana: The majority of marijuana encountered in Utah is of Mexican origin. Marijuana is also grown in the remote areas of the state, which are most conducive for growing operations due to the fertile soil. Also, the importation of marijuana from British Columbia, Canada, remains active in Utah.

In July 2003, DEA Metro Narcotics Task Force personnel assisted the United States Forest Service and Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office (Canyon Patrol) with the seizure of 8,800 marijuana plants from a remote area of Big Cottonwood Canyon. This marijuana seizure was the largest ever in Utah. A sophisticated gravity-flow watering system was utilized in the grow operation. Illegal migrant workers were utilized to tend to the harvest, reflecting an increasing trend of having illegal aliens brought to Utah in order to plant, grow, and cultivate marijuana. By growing the marijuana domestically, trafficking organizations are able to avoid having to smuggle the marijuana across the border. It should also be noted that due to the remote location and rough terrain of the grow site, the Utah Department of Public Safety assisted in the eradication of these plants by utilizing helicopters to fly out thousands of pounds of equipment and marijuana.

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 two MET deployments in the State of Utah since the inception of the program: Salt Lake City and Midvale.

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 Utah.

Special Topics: The State of Utah participates in the Rocky Mountain HIDTA, which is based in Denver, Colorado. The DEA Metro Narcotics Task Force receives funding from HIDTA. In mid-2001, a HIDTA Investigative Support Center (ISC) was established in Utah and co-located with the DEA Salt Lake City District Office. The ISC supports drug task forces throughout the state.

In February 2003, the DEA Metro Narcotics Task Force began participating in a nationwide, coordinated investigation into the Ismael Zambada-Garcia drug trafficking organization, responsible for smuggling tons of methamphetamine and cocaine into the United States. Information obtained from the nationwide investigation helped agents identify members of the Zambada-Garcia organization operating in Utah. Several of these members acted as drug couriers who traveled to California to pick up large amounts of drugs and brought them back to Utah for distribution. During one such trip, the couriers were stopped and 10 pounds of methamphetamine were seized. In June 2003, DEA Metro learned of another shipment of drugs that was being driven from California to Salt Lake City. Ultimately, the vehicle was stopped and approximately 11 pounds of cocaine were discovered that had been vacuum-sealed and secreted in a false compartment within the gas tank of the vehicle.

More information about the Denver Division Office.

Sources

Factsheet last updated: 2/2004

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