Drug Situation: Several factors contribute to Louisiana’s historic position as a drug smuggling center. The Gulf of Mexico, the fifth largest sea in the world, forms the southern border of Louisiana which consists of over 6,000 miles of navigable waterways, 7,721 miles of broken shoreline, and 397 miles of coastline highly conducive to maritime smuggling. In addition to the Mississippi River that snakes its way through the state, Louisiana has an extensive network of rivers, lakes, bayous, and canals. The Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, 3,000 miles of canal extending along the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts in the southern and eastern U.S., gives New Orleans direct access westward to points in Louisiana and Texas, as far as the Mexican border and eastward through natural and artificial channels to Florida. In addition, there are three deepwater ports located in Baton Rouge, Lake Charles and New Orleans. Each year up to 100,000 barges move in and out of the New Orleans port, the Nation’s second largest port in exports.

Louisiana’s highways continue to be utilized by Drug Trafficking Organizations (DTOs) to transport drugs and drug money into and through the region. The state’s geographic location places it on several major routes to source cities. Continued drug seizures on highways in Louisiana and on extensions of those highways in the neighboring states of Texas and Mississippi indicate that the problem is not decreasing, in spite of increased law enforcement pressure.

With the adoption of NAFTA, Mexican drug cartels have taken advantage of the increased cross-border commercial traffic. Also with the privatization of Mexico’s railroads, the potential for the utilization of the rail system to transport drugs into Louisiana, particularly Baton Rouge and Shreveport due to their large switching stations, is notable.

New Orleans is an intermodal city located at the junction where the inland river system, the Intercoastal Waterway System, the national railroad system and the national highway system converge. The availability of this intermodal transportation system is attractive to worldwide shippers and serves as a natural gateway to the United States. The program/destination of cargo received into the Port of New Orleans comes from the American Midwest (via inland waterway systems), Latin America, Asia, Europe and Africa. Trade between the United States and Latin America is expected to flourish over the next two decades. Studies are underway to build bigger and better port facilities to meet future needs. Port authorities hope to increase their share of the container traffic from the Gulf of Mexico as a result of the improvements, thus creating an increased drug threat to this area.

Cocaine: Cocaine, primarily crack, is the predominant drug threat in Louisiana. The threat is derived from the high rate of addiction and violence associated with the drug. Cocaine is widely available and frequently distributed across the state. Cocaine abuse is reported in the metropolitan cities and rural areas. The abuse and distribution of cocaine is associated with many incidents involving violent crimes. Most of the powdered cocaine transported into Louisiana is converted into crack cocaine. Mexican DTOs and Black-American criminal groups transport the majority of the powdered cocaine into Louisiana. DTOs and criminal groups are the primary wholesale distributors of powdered cocaine. Black American street gangs and local Black American independent dealers are the chief distributors of crack at the retail level.

Heroin: Heroin is considered a low drug threat in most of Louisiana, except in New Orleans, primarily due to availability and cost. Heroin abuse in Louisiana, especially New Orleans, is historically cyclical. According to the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Domestic Monitoring Program, South American heroin is the most common type available. Mexican heroin is also available in Louisiana. Mexican DTOs are the chief source for heroin. Heroin is sold at the street level in bags or papers in one-half gram quantities. The average purity level for New Orleans from February to August 2005 was 33.04 percent. There was one seizure in the New Orleans area in June 2005 with a purity level of 75.8 percent.

Methamphetamine: Methamphetamine continues to be a major drug threat in Louisiana. Law enforcement reporting indicates that, in some areas, methamphetamine is replacing crack cocaine as the primary drug threat due to its availability, low cost and long lasting effects. Methamphetamine production and distribution generates violent crimes and hazardous conditions. Most of the methamphetamine available in Louisiana is produced in Mexico and the southwestern states and is transported into Louisiana via Mexican DTOs. Illicit methamphetamine laboratories discovered in Louisiana do not produce large enough quantities for distribution throughout the state. Independent Caucasian groups are the primary local producers and retail distributors of methamphetamine in Louisiana. More Black Americans are becoming involved in methamphetamine distribution.

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 youth. 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 continues to be the most commonly abused drug in Louisiana and reports indicate that it is the gateway drug for teens and young adults to experiment with other illicit drugs. High-grade marijuana is available due to modern indoor cultivation techniques. Locally grown marijuana is usually intended for local consumption; however, the cheaper Mexico-produced product has made local production less profitable. Marijuana is commonly transported into and through Louisiana via the primary transportation routes which include Interstates 10, 12 and 20. Mexican DTOs control the majority of the wholesale distribution of marijuana in the state. Local independent dealers, street gangs and ethnic trafficking groups distribute marijuana in the local retail market.

Other Dangerous Drugs: Other dangerous drugs are a continuing threat in Louisiana although not to the extent of cocaine, methamphetamine, marijuana and pharmaceutical drugs. The threat from “club” drugs such as MDMA and GHB is steady throughout the state, especially among teenagers and young adults. Club drugs are readily available throughout the state, especially around college and university towns. Louisiana has also seen an increase in the distribution and abuse of steroids. Steroids are usually obtained via the Internet and received via postal shipping services such as the United Postal Service, UPS and FedEX.

Pharmaceutical Diversion: The abuse of pharmaceutical drugs continues to rise at an alarming rate. Law enforcement officials report OxyContin, hydrocodone and Xanax abuse continues to be a viable threat. Pharmaceutical drugs are diverted as a means of distribution into the illicit market. Abusers and distributors acquire pharmaceutical drugs via prescription forgeries and/or “doctor shopping” in the diversion process. Some of the diverted pharmaceutical drugs are brought into Louisiana from Mexico and Southwestern Border cities usually by Caucasian local independent distributors. Many abusers utilize the Internet to obtain prescription drugs from sources throughout the United States, Europe, Canada and the Caribbean. Methadone overdoses have risen significantly in the past few years. Pain management clinics have opened in every major city in the state and pose an enormous threat to the communities; however, after a major seizure in late 2005, the threat in the New Orleans area has reduced. The pain management clinics that are illegally prescribing narcotics to addicts are considered a “pill mill.”

Drug Trafficking Organizations (DTO): The presence of DTOs in Louisiana continues to be a significant component of the overall drug threat for the state. Street gangs, motorcycle gangs, foreign DTOs and other local and regional organized groups have established footholds in the state which aid in the trafficking of illicit drugs. These groups rely upon their organizational strengths and often times, coercion and fear. They utilize the established state infrastructures and exploit the inadequacies of law enforcement resources in an effort to prosper in their illegal endeavors.

Money Laundering: Louisiana continues to encounter traditional methods of money laundering. Cash-intensive businesses, such as restaurants, bars and nightclubs, as well as the local convenience stores, fishing industry, shipping industry, casinos, tourism and long-standing business relationships with source and transit countries create an environment conducive to money laundering.

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. Since the inception of the MET Program, 473 deployments have been completed nationwide, resulting in 19,643 arrests. There have been 17 MET deployments in the State of Louisiana since the inception of the program: Donaldsonville, Concordia Parish, New Orleans, Hammond, Slidell, Shreveport (2), Bogalusa, Houma, Baker/Zachary, Kenner, St. Landry Parish, Jefferson Parish, Alexandria (2), Lake Charles, and Ascension Parish.

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. As of January 31, 2005, there have been 27 deployments nationwide, and one deployment in the U.S. Virgin Islands, resulting in 671 arrests. 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: 2/2007