Pubdate: Fri, 13 Oct 2000
Source: El Paso Times (TX)
Copyright: 2000 El Paso Times
Contact:  P.O.Box 20, El Paso, Texas 79999
Fax: (915) 546-6415
Website:  http://www.borderlandnews.com/
Author: Diana Washington Valdez

REPORT REVEALS DETAILS OF BORDER DRUG OPERATIONS

Drug Trends

The Office of National Drug Control Policy identified these trends in its September report on El Paso's "Profile of Drug Indicators":

Cocaine and crack: The supply of cocaine is increasing, and the cost is decreasing. A gram (28 make an ounce) sells for $50, and a pound for $400-$550, compared with $2,000 a pound in the 1980s.

Heroin: It "is cheap, very pure and readily available." An ounce of heroin sells for $1,200-$1,300 in El Paso and a dose (0.1 gram) sells for $10-$20.

Marijuana: Its use is increasing, as is the volume shipped through El Paso.

Crystal methamphetamine (crank): Use of the stimulant is increasing among young adults; it's manufactured locally.

Flunitrazepam (Rohypnol): The depressant has become a growing problem among high-schoolers. It's easily purchased in Juarez.

A report containing information some say was intended only for U.S. law-enforcement agencies sheds new light on the drug scene in El Paso-Juarez.

The report by the Office of National Drug Control Policy in Washington, D.C., states that "marijuana, cocaine and a growing heroin problem" are the major threats to the region.

"The cities of the region are El Paso and Juarez, which have developed a huge commercial and civilian infrastructure that mask illicit drug trafficking," according to the report, citing the West Texas High Drug Trafficking Area among its sources.

Travis Kuykendall, the West Texas HIDTA's director, said he could not elaborate on the report. He said he had no idea U.S. drug czar Barry McCaffrey's office had made the information public.

"It was not meant for public consumption," Kuy-kendall said.

The report was passed out during McCaffrey's recent visit to El Paso-Juarez by his staff. Rafael Lemaitre, an assistant to McCaffrey, said, "We would never hand out anything that would hinder law enforcement."

Among other things, the report said "(there) are four major drug trafficking organizations, 20 supporting organizations, three gangs and 48 known money-laundering operations" in the El Paso-Juarez region.

The major groups in Mexico are known to include the Carrillo Fuentes or Juarez cartel, the Parral cartel, and the Chihuahua Sierra cartel.

The report doesn't name alleged crime leaders or the money-laundering operations.

El Paso County Sheriff Leo Samaniego said releasing the information can tip off suspects who are under investigation.

Lemaitre said the drug policy office considers the report public information and makes it available to anyone through an e-mail address: "We hand those out wherever we go with (McCaffrey)," he said.

According to the report, the "estimated amount of money returned to drug source areas was reported to be over a billion dollars ... (and) one third of all homicides have a drug connection. Aggravated assaults and kidnapping are frequently drug-related."

Diana Washington Valdez may be reached at  For more information: www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov
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