Letter to John P. Walters, Director White House Office National Drug Control Policy

June 9, 2003
John P. Walters
Director, White House Office
National Drug Control Policy
750 17th Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20503

Dear Director Walters:

I am writing to urge the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) to declare the upstate New York cities of Albany, Buffalo, Rochester, and Syracuse a "High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area"(HIDTA) that qualifies for federal funding to help local law enforcement fight drug trafficking.

As you may know, the upstate New York region has become a pipeline for funneling drugs south from Canada and north and west from New York City. The proximity of the region to the northern border, the abundance of excellent transportation and the ease of hiding drugs has made the area fertile ground for drug traffickers. A new HIDTA is needed in upstate New York so that law enforcement officials in the four major cities can have the resources and federal-state coordination they need to aggressively attack this issue.

The problem of drug trafficking in New York State has been recognized by both federal and state law enforcement authorities. In a National Drug Threat Survey released in 2001, law enforcement officials from 24 states identified New York as a major supply area for drugs to other states, including cocaine, marijuana, and heroin. A recent 2002 report by the National Drug Intelligence Center (NDIC), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and your office concluded that "New York has a wide array of transportation options that may be exploited for illicit activities, making the state an ideal drug transportation hub and transshipment point."

In addition, the 2002 NDIC/DEA Report concluded that, according to nationwide drug seizure data from 1998 through 2001, federal law enforcement officials in New York seized 19,528 kilograms of cocaine, 16,677 kilograms of marijuana, 2,011 kilograms of heroin, and 44 kilograms of methamphetamine.

The problem of drug trafficking in upstate New York State is exacerbated because the region has been forced to perform "double duty." The region is literally caught between the supply route of drugs south from Canada into the United States, and north from New York City, a major redistribution market of drugs coming from as far south as Florida and South America.

The supply route of drugs south from Canada is well documented. The 2002 NDIC/DEA Report concluded that "heroin, cocaine, marijuana, and MDMA regularly are smuggled into New York from Canada." The shipment of a potent form of marijuana, known as "Canadian Bud," has become a particularly large problem. The NDIC/DEA Report highlighted the ease of shipping drugs into this region, noting that "New York has nine land ports of entry (POEs) on a more than 400-mile border with Canada.

The POEs along the border are Buffalo/Niagara Falls, Cape Vincent, Alexandria Bay, Ogdensburg, Massena, Fort Covington, Trout River, Chateaugay, and Champlain-Rouses Point." The breadth and distance between these northern POEs make it extremely difficult for federal, state and local law enforcement to stem the tide of drugs from the north into the United States.

The drugs shipped to New York City are often transported up the New York State Thruway to Albany and across through Rochester and Syracuse to Buffalo. These drugs seep into the upstate cities they travel through and infest these communities. They also continue through these cities to the Port of Buffalo/Niagara Falls, which has four general cargo
harbors and provides access to the Atlantic Ocean through the St. Lawrence Seaway.

The drug trafficking problem in upstate New York must be addressed, and I strongly urge you to create a new HIDTA so that federal money can help local law enforcement bolster its efforts. I look forward to bringing together ONDCP and law enforcement officials from upstate New York to make this a reality. Thank you for your attention.

Sincerely,

Charles E. Schumer
United States Senator