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DEA Offices & Telephone Nos. Dover—302-672-6383 Wilmington—302-327-3700

Drug Situation: Heroin, cocaine HCl, crack cocaine, and marijuana remained the four most available, popular, used, and trafficked illegal drugs in Pennsylvania and Delaware. However, clandestinely manufactured drugs, such as methamphetamine, and club drugs, such as MDMA/ecstasy, also remained readily available to users of various ages and socioeconomic backgrounds, but were primarily concentrated in the metropolitan areas and college/rave party scenes. PCP and LSD remained available to users in the Philadelphia and Pittsburgh areas. Most trafficking and distribution was accomplished by a variety of Hispanic and African-American organizations that are scattered throughout the division. Some of these groups were connected primarily to sources in New York City, yet some distributed drugs that were either brought to the division via other transshipment locations or that were shipped or transported directly to Philadelphia or other localities from source areas. In general, Philadelphia's street corner distribution networks remained the main sources of supply for drugs sold to users throughout Pennsylvania and Delaware. Investigations into the diversion of pharmaceutical drugs and laundering of drug proceeds remained important facets of the division's total enforcement effort during the quarter. Investigations revealed that drug use and distribution continues to branch out from the major metropolitan areas into some of the more suburban and rural areas in the division. This trend continued to concern local law enforcement officials, who were particularly worried about the spread of violence that accompanies the spread of drugs. During the quarter, several newspapers reported on the efforts of law enforcement to combat drug distribution in their communities and on efforts by officials to educate parents and schoolteachers on drug, particularly heroin, use by youth.

Cocaine: Cocaine HCl remained widely available throughout the Philadelphia Division, as reports indicated that availability remained stable in Pennsylvania and increased in Delaware during the quarter. In some of these areas, particularly in northeastern Pennsylvania, the availability of cocaine remained a greater concern compared to other drugs and other areas, such as Philadelphia, where heroin is generally considered the more serious problem due to its growing popularity.

Cocaine HCl remained one of the drugs of choice division-wide, as its overall popularity has not diminished greatly over the last few years. In the Philadelphia area, the increasing availability and use of cheap, high-purity heroin has brought its popularity near or equal to that of cocaine. However, the use of cocaine HCl and crack cocaine generally caused the most concern in suburban and rural communities outside of Philadelphia. Reports indicated that cocaine HCl continued to be used in combination with heroin and/or alcohol. New York City remained the primary source area for cocaine HCl distributed in Pennsylvania and Delaware. In Pennsylvania, the availability of crack cocaine remained stable, yet high in urban and rural communities, while in Delaware, reports from state and local law enforcement indicated that crack cocaine availability continued to increase. In Philadelphia, it was reported that near-pure crack cocaine remained available primarily in bag and vial quantities. As a result of its wide availability, the popularity and use of crack cocaine remained unsurpassed in most of Pennsylvania and Delaware; only the popularity of heroin remained comparable in Philadelphia. Crack cocaine use continued to infiltrate a variety of populations both within inner city neighborhoods of the larger metropolitan areas and in smaller urban and rural localities throughout the division, regardless of economic status or ethnic background. As with powder cocaine, the crack cocaine market was driven by violent and well-organized Hispanic (namely Dominican) and African-American groups. Some of these organizations purchased bulk quantities of powder cocaine in source cities, transported it back to their area, and cooked it into the crack cocaine that was bought by users. Cocaine HCl was also transported from New York to some of the division's smaller cities and towns, where it is converted to crack cocaine and sold for a greater profit. These smaller cities, towns, and rural areas are generally considered new markets for distributors looking for higher profits and less of a law enforcement presence away from drug-saturated larger cities.

Heroin: Heroin remained widely available throughout Pennsylvania and Delaware, as distributors from source cities continued to take advantage of new suburban and rural markets. Although the greater Philadelphia area is generally considered a consumer heroin market, the availability of cheap, high-purity, South American heroin in Philadelphia attracted lower-level distributors and users from areas throughout the region to numerous street corner distribution locations, especially in the "Badlands" of North Philadelphia. In Pittsburgh and western Pennsylvania, heroin availability was reported to be on the rise due to increases in purity and decreases in prices. Heroin availability was stable outside of the metropolitan areas of Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, as it remained easy for users to obtain it in many of the smaller urban, suburban, and rural areas that make up most of Pennsylvania and Delaware. Some of these localities, especially the cities of Allentown, Bethlehem, Reading, and Easton, have become lower-level distribution points for users in surrounding areas. Most of these areas are located within a short drive of Philadelphia and those in eastern Pennsylvania are also located within a short drive of New York. Although Philadelphia remained the primary source for heroin distributors and users in Delaware, reports indicated that bulk quantities of heroin were also available and distributed in Wilmington, DE. Throughout the division, retail or street-level quantities of heroin were typically packaged in small glassine bags, which were sold individually or in bundles containing about 10-13 bags. Similar forms of heroin reported during the quarter included "eggs," "fingers," and "buttons." In some areas, "sleeves" of ten (10) bundles remained available, while in Philadelphia, distributors continued wrapping multi-bundle quantities of heroin in telephone directory pages. The increased availability of cheaper, higher purity heroin over the last few years has caused concern throughout Pennsylvania and Delaware over a growing heroin use problem that reaches all areas and all socioeconomic backgrounds. Heroin's popularity among teens and young adults remained high, as they and other users consume heroin either by itself or in combination with cocaine or alcohol, a combination that typically leads to overdose deaths. In some areas, heroin overdose deaths continued to rise in the last few years. For example, the Lackawanna County (PA) Coroner's Office reported 32 heroin-related overdose deaths for CY 2002 as of December. This represents a significant increase from 2001, when there were 22 heroin-related overdose deaths, and from 1998 and 1999, when there were a combined total of 13 drug overdose deaths. Of 163 total drug overdose deaths reported in Allegheny County (western PA) to date in CY 2002, 103 (63%) were heroin-related; this represented a decline from 120 heroin-related overdose deaths in CY 2001. Reports from another western Pennsylvania county, Westmoreland, indicated that 57% of drug overdoses deaths were heroin-related. In Berks County, PA, four out of seven drug overdose fatalities were related to heroin used in combination with cocaine.Well-organized and sometimes violent Hispanic groups, including Colombian, Dominican, and Puerto Rican organizations, dominated the heroin market in Pennsylvania and Delaware. Informant debriefings and defendant proffers indicated that the primary sources of heroin are New York City-based trafficking organizations, which used vehicles equipped with hidden compartments as well as public transportation to transport heroin into Philadelphia and other distribution locations and money back to New York. Philadelphia-based Hispanic distribution organizations remained the primary source for heroin sold to users throughout the division - heroin that was typically sold in quantities ranging from single bags to multi-hundred bundles and from grams to multi-ounces. In Delaware, loosely organized Hispanic and African-American traffickers dominated wholesale and retail distribution of heroin. The majority of the heroin distributed in Delaware was transported from Philadelphia by "day trippers," who drove to Philadelphia and returned with quantities of heroin that fell short of the minimum mandatory trafficking statutes. Reports continued to show that Dominican distributors from Philadelphia and New York City are moving into Wilmington, Delaware, to distribute large quantities of heroin and cocaine.

Methamphetamine: Methamphetamine remained available in the Allentown area and there were indications reported during the quarter that methamphetamine was also available in the Pittsburgh area. Precursor chemicals such as P2P and methylamine remained available to clandestine lab operators who used the P2P method to manufacture methamphetamine. Investigations have indicated that Philadelphia and its surrounding suburban counties are the origin of a large portion of the methamphetamine produced and consumed in the eastern United States. Over the last several reporting periods, most clandestine laboratory seizures by the Philadelphia Division revealed that operators employed the P2P method of manufacturing methamphetamine. More recent reporting indicated, however, that regional clandestine laboratory operators are utilizing the ephedrine reduction and "Birch" methods that are more common in other areas of the United States. Although primarily concentrated in the Philadelphia area, clandestine laboratories have been discovered and dismantled in other localities in Pennsylvania. Investigations indicated that most of the methamphetamine consumed in the division originated in southeastern Pennsylvania (Philadelphia and its surrounding counties). There, independent traffickers and members of outlaw motorcycle gangs have traditionally dominated manufacturing, trafficking, and distribution of methamphetamine. Reports continued to indicate that some Philadelphia area violators are importing methamphetamine from other areas, including the western United States and Mexico.

Club Drugs: MDMA/Ecstasy remained readily available primarily at rave parties and nightclubs in the metropolitan areas of Pennsylvania and Delaware (Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Wilmington, DE). As reported in previous quarters, the availability and increasing popularity of MDMA, especially among teenagers and young adults on college campuses, remained concerns to state and local law enforcement. Potentially adding to the problem were reports that MDMA prices have dropped considerably - in one Philadelphia case, from $20 to $9 per pill. Gamma hydroxybutyric acid (GHB), the GHB precursor gamma butyrolactone (GBL), and ketamine also remained available in Philadelphia-area and Delaware nightclubs, while GHB continued to be used in central Pennsylvania. Investigations revealed that New York City remained a primary source area for the retail quantities of MDMA sold in Pennsylvania and Delaware. Intelligence and investigations also indicated that MDMA continued to be smuggled from the Netherlands, through Canada, New York, and the Caribbean, and then to Philadelphia. As previously reported, however, MDMA traffickers/couriers smuggled bulk quantities of tablets into the US via flights to Philadelphia International Airport. Current and past investigations indicated that Israeli and Dutch nationals are responsible for trafficking thousands of MDMA tablets into the United States and ultimately, into nightclubs, rave parties, and college campuses. The investigations have also revealed that wholesale quantities of MDMA tablets are transported in a variety of ways, including via mail/parcel services or by hiring couriers to fly into the US with suitcases concealing tablets.

Marijuana: Marijuana remained abundantly available in both wholesale and retail quantities in Pennsylvania and Delaware. In western Pennsylvania, marijuana abundance was attributed to the continued use of commercial shipping companies to transport it as well as the existence of growing operations in the area. As reported last quarter, state and local law enforcement in Delaware indicated that higher quality marijuana was available, particularly in Newark. Recreational use of marijuana remained popular with high school and college age students, while adults remained the predominant users of marijuana, especially in large social gatherings, such as rock concerts. As in previous reporting periods, marijuana was typically smoked in combination with crack cocaine, heroin, and PCP. Due to their proximity to major thoroughfares, localities throughout the division remained transshipment points as well as consumer markets. In particular, the city of Reading, PA, and areas in central Pennsylvania, which are homes to several trucking warehouses, remained hubs for marijuana trafficking organizations transporting bulk loads of marijuana to distributors in the eastern United States. At the retail level, Hispanic, African-American, and Caucasian groups, along with some dominant Jamaican organizations, controlled the marijuana market by distributing bag, ounce, and pound quantities to users across Pennsylvania and Delaware.

Other Dangerous Drugs: Phencyclidine (PCP) availability continued to increase in and around Philadelphia during the quarter. As previously reported, $5 bags (containing enough PCP to make three to eight cigarettes) were available in Philadelphia and its suburbs. Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) was reportedly available in western Pennsylvania and remained available in smaller urban areas, such as in Bethlehem, PA, and Pottsville, PA. Middle to upper-income Caucasian juveniles and young adults (ages 16-25) residing in the Allentown area or suburban Harrisburg, PA, and its local colleges not only remained the predominant users of LSD, but also distributed it. California was the most commonly reported source area for quantities of LSD and PCP distributed in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. California and New York were reported to be the major source areas for PCP, which is distributed primarily in the Philadelphia area. Oxycodone products remained the diverted pharmaceutical drugs of concern in the Philadelphia Division. Further illustrating the OxyContin problem in western Pennsylvania were reports from treatment programs that over 80% of new patients are seeking to use methadone to slow their use of OxyContin. In western Pennsylvania, the continued diversion and use of hydrocodone products accounted for the majority of diversion investigations conducted by DEA Pittsburgh. Other pharmaceutical drugs continued to be diverted and remained popular during the quarter. The benzodiazepine Xanax (alprazolam) remained one of the pharmaceutical drugs of choice in the division and was the most used pharmaceutical drug by patients who seek treatment, according to opioid treatment programs; pharmacy theft reports routinely listed alprazolam products among drugs stolen from pharmacies. The most common methods of diversion reported during the quarter included diversion through theft, fraud, direct wholesale purchases, physicians and other health care professionals prescribing controlled substances for people with no legitimate medical need, prescription forgery, and "doctor shopping" schemes. Large-scale diversion from independent retail pharmacies remained a problem throughout the division, as demonstrated by the numerous investigations into pharmacy owners who divert pharmaceutical drugs and conduct other illegal activity for financial gain.

Financial/Money Laundering: Investigations revealed that several common methods were used to transport drug proceeds to source areas from Pennsylvania and Delaware. These methods included the use of wire remittance companies, such as Western Union, concealing currency within hidden compartments in vehicles, and by using couriers to transport currency back to source countries. Money transported out of the division was also laundered and shipped via parcel services to source countries such as Colombia, Mexico, and the Dominican Republic. A DEA Philadelphia investigation of a heroin distribution organization exemplified the idea that more than one of the methods previously noted can be used to transport proceeds back to suppliers in source areas and countries. During the investigation, it was revealed that Colombian-based suppliers provided names of wire transfer recipients to local distributors or organization members in charge of handling proceeds. Wire transfer senders would then choose one of the recipient names and create a fictitious first name to use with that recipient's last name as the sender. This method would supposedly make the transfer less suspicious, since the transaction appeared to be between two family members. It was also reported that money was wired from different remittance locations in amounts less than $1,000 to avoid showing identification. Larger sums of money were transported to New York, where an organization member (who owned a remittance business) wired them over several days in amounts ranging from $7,000 to $10,000 per day. Most of the money, however, was smuggled in bulk amounts by airline passengers flying to Colombia. A recent diversion investigation conducted by DEA Pittsburgh revealed that an internet pharmacist allegedly laundered $1.2 million in proceeds from an illegal internet pharmacy. The investigation also revealed that the internet pharmacist is connected with a business that allegedly laundered over $600 million in the last 18 months and is under investigation by the IRS.

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 381 deployments completed resulting in 15,731 arrests of violent drug criminals as of March 2003. There have been two MET deployments in the State of Delaware since the inception of the program - both in Wilmington.

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 18 deployments completed resulting in 548 arrests of drug trafficking criminals as of March 2003. There have been no RET deployments in this state.

More information about the Philadelphia Division Office.