The Omaha Division of the Drug Enforcement Administration reports a 31% increase in meth seizures across the region since the start of 2019. In the first six months of this year, law enforcement has seized 1,437 pounds of methamphetamine and around $9 million in six months. In 2018, the DEA seized 1,639 pounds the entire year.
Special Agent in Charge Richard Salter Jr. tells NewsRadio 1110 KFAB's Chris Baker, "It’s is all coming from Mexico. In 2005, we passed some laws to curb the production of domestic methamphetamine in the United States. The cartels were very quick to fill the gap with higher purity crystal meth. With the border as wide open as it is it is pretty easy to get it here."
Drug cartels in Mexico are sending members here to sell the drugs in distribution cells. They are also teaming up with gangs to distribute it because there is such a high demand for it. Times have changed. A 12 ounce seizure in 2007 was a big bust. Today, 30 to 70 pounds isn't uncommon.
Salter says, "The Mexican cartels have a transportation network that would rival any corporation. They can move their product and get it anywhere in the United States." Salter has been with the DEA for 28 years and says this is not a drug war. They are managing a social problem and they are the enforcement arm of that. He says there is a "tremendous hunger for drugs" in this country and if we didn't have the demand we wouldn't have the supply. He says if you want to control the drug trade you have to control the border. He doesn't know how much drugs gets through but once the price drops you know you have a lot of it out there. That is the case now.
The Omaha Division of the DEA includes Iowa, Nebraska, Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota.