Meth Trafficking Ring Busted in Southern California

Posted by azdrugrehabctr on February 13, 2014 under Addiction Trends | Comments are off for this article

While the overall total of methamphetamine users in the United States is still lower than it was several years ago, recent trafficking information indicates it is on the rise again. A U.S. Attorney in the Southern California area just charged nearly 50 people with trafficking after a year-long investigation. She claimed they prosecuted more than 900 meth cases last year.

The staggering number for just that one area is indicative of the amount of meth being brought into the U.S. from Mexico since laws reduced local small-labs around the country. Total cases are up more than six times from the number just five years ago.

Additionally, officials say that over 12,000 pounds of meth were seized last year crossing into California from Mexico, which is double the amount from just two years earlier. The methamphetamine from this latest investigation was found to be sold from San Diego to as far away as Minnesota.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Southwest Border Initiative (SWBI) has been operating for 20 years. It combines resources and efforts from multiple law enforcement agencies to combat the drug trafficking groups that bring in very large amounts of heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana into the United States from Mexico. While efforts to reduce the supply may not be completely done in vain, many experts and people throughout the country would prefer to have more funding diverted from drug war operations into drug prevention and treatment programs.