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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 not only from both the eastern and western parts of the United States, but from around the globe. New Jersey is an ideal strategic corridor as well as a vulnerable corridor for transportation of drug contraband and illicit currency. Beginning in April 2006, an increase in fatal and non-fatal drug overdoses was noticed by first responders and medical personnel in New Jersey. This increase has been linked to fentanyl. Fentanyl is commonly used for anesthesia and pain relief in medical settings; however, the current overdoses are associated with non-pharmaceutical fentanyl, manufactured in illegal labs. There have been at least 133 deaths related to the use of non-pharmaceutical fentanyl in New Jersey since mid-April. The New Jersey Division has initiated an Intelligence Gathering Initiative, “OPERATION UNDERTAKER.” Operation UNDERTAKER seeks to identify areas throughout the State of New Jersey where the precursor chemicals, necessary to manufacture fentanyl, are being delivered, and to also provide a general awareness to the public of the dangers of fentanyl. The New Jersey Division has made numerous contacts with other State and Federal Law Enforcement Agencies, Medical Examiner Offices, Colleges, and Pharmaceutical Companies in order to “Educate, Protect, and Respond” to the fentanyl situation, and monitor those precursor chemicals commonly used with fentanyl in the illicit market.

Cocaine/Crack: Cocaine remains the most popular drug in New Jersey and is the drug of choice for many abusers within the state. Crack remains readily available throughout the state and remains the drug of choice in many lower income communities.

New Jersey continues to be a major artery for international cocaine trafficking organizations. Cocaine continues to arrive into New Jersey directly from South American ports as well as the Southwest Border via commercial and private vehicles. Seizures at Newark International Airport confirm San Juan, Puerto Rico, as an entry point for shipments of cocaine into the United States. In some cases, the cocaine is transported to Florida before delivery to the final destination. Colombian and Dominican trafficking organizations are the primary cocaine suppliers in New Jersey at the wholesale level. At the retail level, African Americans and Dominican organizations prevail, but distribution is also undertaken by other ethnic groups and street gangs. Mexican organizations are seen in the transportation of cocaine. Powdered cocaine and crack are normally packaged in small baggies or plastic vials and sold in open-air markets in the state. In the Irvington area, a “clip,” consists of 10 vials of crack. Some organizations used color tops on vials as a way of identifying their product (similar to a stamp on a bag of heroin). Numerous New York-based cocaine organizations are now storing large amounts of cocaine in Northern New Jersey as a result of the heightened security measures by law enforcement in New York City. These organizations then deliver the cocaine to local dealers in smaller quantities.

Heroin: Heroin, especially South American (Colombian), 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. Heroin’s high purity (among the highest in the nation as evident by the Domestic Monitor Program analyses) and low price has attracted numerous new users over the last few years, especially among adolescents in suburban areas. Although there has been a steady decrease in purity levels since 2003, heroin purity levels in the Newark area continue to be among the highest in the nation.

Traditionally, black tar heroin has been very rare in the New Jersey area, however, recent seizures indicates that black tar heroin is becoming more readily available. Heroin routinely arrives in the New Jersey metropolitan area primarily from South America, with transshipment from Mexico, Aruba, Curacao, Puerto Rico and countries in Central America. Heroin is routinely packaged in glassine envelopes with a brand name stamped on it. Ten glassine envelopes are referred to as a “bundle” and 50 glassines are a “brick.” Distribution points primarily remain open-air markets or street corners in lower income areas of urban cities such as Newark, Paterson, Camden, Jersey City, and Elizabeth.

Air and land transportation, both personal and commercial, are the principal means used to smuggle heroin into the state. The majority of the heroin is smuggled in from Colombia via couriers arriving aboard various airlines. New information reveals that heroin traffickers are utilizing multiple couriers on flights with multiple connections. With this “relay” style method, couriers hand off packages to individuals waiting at the next connection point.

Methamphetamine: Methamphetamine is the most available and widely used clandestinely manufactured drug in the Southern New Jersey area. Methamphetamine traffickers are primarily of Mexican descent, with direct connections to violators in the western United States and Mexico. Methamphetamine availability has increased in the southern part of the state, allegedly due to the influx of Mexican suppliers.

Traditionally, methamphetamine production has been associated with Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs, independent chemists, and Traditional Organized Crime. Currently, crystal methamphetamine use and distribution in New Jersey appears to be closely associated with members of the Filipino community. Filipino traffickers are importing large amounts of methamphetamine from Mexico and the Philippines. The methamphetamine is converted to “ice” in the Los Angeles area and then transported to the New York/New Jersey area via motor vehicle. The ice is also shipped through various mail and parcel services. Due to successful enforcement actions, the ice is now sent to the Virginia area and then transported by car to the New Jersey area.

Pharmaceutical Diversion: New Jersey has the highest concentration of pharmaceutical and chemical firms in the country. Doctor shopping, prescription forgery, and organized script rings remain the prevalent source of diverted legitimate pharmaceutical drugs in the New Jersey Division. The most commonly abused pharmaceuticals are Percocet, OxyContin, Xanax, Vicodin/Vicodin ES, and Hydrocodone/Hydrocodone products. Additionally, the most commonly abused chemicals are GBL, Pseudoepherdrine, and Ephedrine.

Marijuana/Hashish: Marijuana is the most readily available illicit drug in New Jersey. Marijuana is transported to the New Jersey area via automobiles, tractor- trailers, vessels, US Postal Service, overnight services, parcel post, and commercial air from Southwest Border States. The majority of the marijuana encountered in the state is of Mexican origin. Marijuana from Canada and Jamaica has also been encountered, on a lesser scale. Additionally, marijuana is produced locally at indoor and outdoor grows.

Various smuggling techniques have been utilized by organizations in an attempt to thwart law enforcement detection. Among the techniques are: co-mingled with legitimate produce: wrapping it in cellophane and placing it within luggage; placing it in a plastic bin surrounded by Styrofoam pellets and sealed with caulk, shipping inside a hollowed out computer, hidden inside stereo speakers, as well as packaging it in cardboard boxes with fabric softener sheets on top of the marijuana. Most of the marijuana seizures in the state have occurred at the Newark Liberty International Airport, where passengers from Southwest Border states attempt to smuggle marijuana. Numerous seizures have also occurred through the division’s Small Parcel Interdiction Program. Bulk packages, normally weighing between 10 – 50 pounds each, arrive daily from various Southwest Border states are seized. No single ethnic group controls the wholesale distribution of marijuana within the state. Retail dealers are usually representative of the location where the marijuana is being sold.

Indoor marijuana grows are usually encountered in the southern, rural areas of the state, where detection is more difficult. However, over the past year, several indoor marijuana grows have been eradicated; including the eradication of the largest indoor grow discovered in New Jersey. Additionally, rural areas of the state provide the opportunity for outdoor grows.

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 19 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 (3), Perth Amboy, Orange, and Asbury Park.

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 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: 6/2007