NCJ Number
234080
Date Published
May 2010
Length
12 pages
Annotation
This report to Congress by the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) describes the use of High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) funds to investigate and prosecute organizations and individuals who trafficked in methamphetamine in the prior calendar year.
Abstract
The 28 Regional HIDTA Programs located throughout the Nation remain committed to reducing the production, trafficking, and use of methamphetamine. HIDTA-funded initiatives are operated by task forces composed of Federal, State, local, and tribal law enforcement officers. Of the nearly 4,650 methamphetamine laboratories discovered nationwide in 2009, HIDTA-funded initiatives were responsible for fully dismantling approximately 30 percent of them (1,378 methamphetamine laboratories). In addition to the dollar value of the methamphetamine taken out of production, HIDTA-funded initiatives reported the direct seizure of sufficient quantities of methamphetamine to account for an estimated $173,285,917 in wholesale value of the drug that was removed from the market in calendar year 2009. In addition to focusing on the identification and dismantling of methamphetamine labs, HIDTA-funded initiatives also develop extensive cases that often involve international partners. The Drug Enforcement Administration, as a leading Federal agency in HIDTA initiatives, provides significant intelligence and case analysis to support HIDTA activities against methamphetamine manufacturing and trafficking, particularly in Mexico. Building on the collaborative efforts between the Governments of Mexico and the United States and enhanced by multiagency cooperation and coordination, HIDTA-funded initiatives have had a significant impact on methamphetamine production and trafficking. Cooperation between the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Department of Homeland Security in supporting investigations into the importation of methamphetamine constituent chemicals into the United States is also important to HIDTA-funded initiatives.