NCJ Number
189879
Date Published
July 2000
Length
13 pages
Annotation
This report examined the trafficking trends of the drug MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine) through a joint assessment by the National Drug Intelligence Center, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Department of the Treasury.
Abstract
MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine) is a stimulant and low-level hallucinogen. While the number of domestic MDMA laboratories has remained low, traffickers in Western Europe, primarily in the Benelux countries of Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg, greatly increased production throughout the 1990's. Seizure statistics indicated that the amount of MDMA smuggled into the United States greatly increased through the 1990's and the amount smuggled in individual shipments had been increasing within the past. In addition, Israeli and Russian drug trafficking organizations (DTO) dominated the importation of MDMA into the United States. Israeli and Russian DTOs rely on express mail services, couriers, and sea containers to smuggle MDMA from Europe to the United States. Virtually all MDMA sold in the United States reaches the consumer through a trafficking cycle that includes production, wholesale, mid-level wholesale, and retail distribution. This report described the trafficking cycle. The wholesale level smuggles the MDMA into the United States, it is then passed to the mid-level wholesale level, which in turn passes the MDMA to retail distribution. Profit is seen at each level with the retail level enjoying the greatest profit per tablet. However, MDMA DTOs are vulnerable to enforcement action. MDMA is often sold in rave clubs and on college campuses, easily identified market areas where investigations could be undertaken. The future should expect to see a small number of MDMA laboratories becoming established in Mexico and Mexican DTOs becoming more involved in MDMA trafficking. Tables and graphs