Pubdate: Mon, 16 Dec 2002
Source: Asbury Park Press (NJ)
Copyright: 2002 Asbury Park Press
Contact:  http://www.app.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/26
Author: Ledyard King, Gannett News Service

N.J. IS CHANNEL FOR DRUGS

WASHINGTON -- New Jersey has become a garden spot for the international 
drug trade.

Marijuana is trucked in from Mexico and Canada. Cocaine and heroin, largely 
from Colombia, arrive in cargo containers at seaports. Ecstasy pills are 
smuggled from Europe by passengers landing at airports.

The common thread, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, is that 
most drugs are distributed through ethnically oriented channels: local 
Dominican and Colombian organizations supplying Puerto Rican, black and 
white street gangs who then sell directly to users from Camden to Newark.

"You've got an ethnic melting pot, which has lasted hundreds of years, and 
you've got easy access to important transportation routes," said 
Newark-based DEA agent Mark Moger, explaining why drugs are prevalent in 
New Jersey. "It's logical that it's easier to get heroin here than in 
Pittsburgh."

Heroin, in particular, has become a significant problem in the Garden 
State, Moger said.

Sold in $10 packets and locally marketed under such chilling brand names as 
"Drop Dead," "Overdose" and "Bin Laden," the heroin peddled to users in 
Newark, Paterson, Camden and other cities is strong, he said.

"Right now it's cheap and there's a lot of it, unfortunately," Moger said. 
"It's a major, major problem."

Among the other drugs finding their way into Garden State neighborhoods: 
Marijuana continues to be the most popular. Federal authorities seized more 
than 4,800 pounds of pot in 2001, compared with 2,841 pounds of cocaine and 
371 pounds of heroin, according to DEA figures. Crack, a form of cocaine 
that's cheap and potent, is not as prevalent nationwide as it was even a 
decade ago, law enforcement officials said. But crack and heroin continue 
to be widely used in urban areas such as Elizabeth, Camden, Newark and 
Trenton, according to the DEA. Lab-produced club drugs, mainly Ecstasy, are 
making a comeback. The stimulant, which comes in tablet form, has again 
become popular in South Jersey. Such drugs are generally sold at nightclubs 
or raves, according to the DEA. Methamphetamine is also on the street. Most 
of the white, odorless powder that's smoked, snorted or injected is 
manufactured in California and Mexico and sent to the East Coast.
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MAP posted-by: Beth