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DEA Offices & Telephone Nos. Cape Girardeau—575-334-1534 Jefferson City—573-635-1331 Kansas City—913-825-4100 Springfield—417-831-3948 St. Louis—314-538-4600

Drug Situation: Mexican poly-drug trafficking organizations control a large majority of the distribution of methamphetamine, cocaine, marijuana, and heroin in Missouri. Various organizations with ties to Texas and California continue to traffic in cocaine and heroin. In addition, hundreds of small toxic methamphetamine laboratories are found in all areas of Missouri.

Cocaine: Enforcement activities reflect a steady supply of cocaine coming into the metropolitan areas of Missouri. The states of Texas and California continue to be the major sources of supply. Crack cocaine continues to be readily available in all urban areas of the state. After previous declines, the number of cocaine-related overdose deaths continued to rise in the St. Louis area during 2003. In addition, the number of deaths resulting from cocaine in combination with other drugs continued to increase.

Heroin: The trafficking and abuse of heroin in the St. Louis area is a significant concern to law enforcement and to the community. Mexican black tar, and to a lesser degree Mexican brown, Southwest Asian, and South American heroin are all available in the St. Louis area. Heroin abuse appears to have spread from the City of St. Louis to surrounding areas, as evidenced by the continuing increase of heroin-related deaths in St. Louis County. Mexican black tar and brown heroin are also available on a limited basis in the Kansas City area.

Methamphetamine: Both Mexican and locally produced methamphetamine continue to be available throughout the state. Generally, locally produced methamphetamine is of higher potency than that imported from Mexico. The continuing proliferation of small toxic laboratories throughout Missouri continues to put a severe strain on the resources of law enforcement. High purity crystal methamphetamine or “ice” has become increasingly available in the Kansas City area.

Predatory Drugs: MDMA (Ecstasy) is available at dance clubs and colleges/universities throughout the state. It is brought into the state from Los Angeles, New York, and Miami. LSD is available in all parts of Missouri, but is not seen as a significant problem. GHB and Rohypnol continue to be available.

Marijuana: Marijuana is readily available throughout the state with Mexican marijuana being imported from the Southwest Border. Indoor marijuana growing continues to increase. "Grass roots" groups have promoted legalization, but the state has not sanctioned the cause. Law enforcement agencies do not anticipate a shift in the official position. Treatment admissions for marijuana use grew approximately 400 percent between 1994 and 2001, only exceeded by admissions for methamphetamine and amphetamine abuse.

Other Drugs: Oxycontin abuse is increasing throughout the state. Vicodin, Percocet, and OxyContin thefts are increasing as a result of window smashing of pharmacies in the St. Charles area. These drugs are being used as an offset to heroin, according to law enforcement reports.

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 ten MET deployments in the State of Missouri since the inception of the program: Sikeston, Fountain Park, St. Charles County, Audrain County, Crystal City, Berkeley, Hannibal, Franklin County, Joplin, and Springfield.

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 Missouri since the inception of the program, in Springfield/Joplin.

Special Topics: The St. Louis Homicide Initiative was created by DEA St. Louis and the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department to address and combat the city's increase in drug related homicides. The objectives of this initiative are to identify violent organizations involved in drug trafficking activity and to develop investigative leads by use of court authorized telephone intercepts to clear unsolved homicides and related crimes. Missouri is crossed by a number of Interstate Highways (Interstates 44, 64, and 70 from east to west; 35 and 55 from north to south), providing excellent smuggling routes for drug trafficking organizations. During FY2003, highway interdictions in Missouri led to seizures including approximately 380 kilograms of cocaine, 2.5 kilograms of heroin, 11.5 pounds of methamphetamine, 19,000 pounds of marijuana and nearly $1.8 million dollars.

More information about the St. Louis Division Office.

Sources

Factsheet last updated: 2/2004

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