Heroin Trafficking in the United States (CRS Report for Congress)
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| Release Date |
Revised Feb. 14, 2019 |
| Report Number |
R44599 |
| Report Type |
Report |
| Authors |
Kristin Archick, Specialist in European Affairs |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
| Older Revisions |
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Summary:
Over the past several years, the nation has seen an uptick in the use and abuse of opioidsâboth prescription substances and non-prescription substances such as heroin. The estimated number of individuals who had used heroin was 914,000 in 2014. Further, about 586,000 individuals (0.2% of the 12 and older population) had a heroin use disorder in 2014. In addition to an increase in heroin use over the past several years, there has been a simultaneous increase in its availability in the United States. This has been fueled by a number of factors, including increased production and trafficking of heroinâprincipally by Mexican criminal networks.
Mexican transnational criminal organizations are the major suppliers and key producers of most illegal drugs smuggled into the United States. They have been increasing their share of the U.S. drug marketâparticularly with respect to heroin. The United States still receives a large portion of heroin from South America (primarily Colombia) and, to a much lesser extent, Southwest Asia. In order to facilitate the distribution and sale of drugs in the United States, Mexican drug traffickers have formed relationships with U.S. street, prison, and outlaw motorcycle gangs. Although these gangs have historically been involved with retail-level drug distribution, their ties to the Mexican criminal networks have allowed them to become increasingly involved at the wholesale level as well.
The bulk of heroin smuggled into the United States transits across the Southwest border. From 2010 to 2015, heroin seizures in this area more than doubled from 1,016 kg to 2,524 kg. This trend mirrors the increase in overall seizures throughout the country. Further, there has been an increase in federal arrests and prosecutions of heroin traffickers. In 2015, for example, the Drug Enforcement Administration made 6,353 heroin-related arrests. In addition, U.S. Sentencing Commission data indicate that from 2011 to 2015, the number of individuals sentenced for heroin trafficking offenses in U.S. District Courts increased by nearly 50%.
The federal governmentâspecifically, law enforcementârelies on a number of tools and initiatives to counter heroin trafficking. Many of these efforts focus on drug trafficking broadly and prioritize the greatest drug trafficking threats in a given area, whether those threats come from heroin or other illicit drugs or substances.
Going forward, there are a number of issues policymakers may consider as they address the issue of heroin trafficking. For instance, what is known about drug trafficking is contingent on data surrounding poppy cultivation, heroin production, and product inflows into the United States. Given that these are often based on snapshots of knowledge from disparate sources, Congress may question the collection and adequacy of these data. In addition, Congress may examine current law enforcement efforts to maximize the dismantling and prosecution of heroin trafficking networks. Policymakers may also look at existing federal strategies on drug control, transnational crime, and Southwest border crime to evaluate whether they are able to target the current heroin trafficking threat.
