Meth Lab Statistics South Dakota
September 4, 2008
In 2008, the DEA reported that the majority of methamphetamine available in the Sioux Falls area appears to be distributed by long-time Caucasian residents and Mexican drug traffickers that are attempting to shield themselves from law enforcement detection within the area’s growing Hispanic communities.
Hispanic immigrants are relocating to cities within the region, seeking employment in meat and poultry packing facilities in rural communities in South Dakota. Mexican traffickers avoid heightened law enforcement scrutiny by blending in with these growing Hispanic communities. Mexican traffickers often use these meatpacking towns as transshipment hubs and secondary markets for drug distribution. Recently, pound quantities of methamphetamine have come to Sioux Falls from the Minneapolis, Minnesota area.
Methamphetamine continues to be a drug of choice in the Rapid City area and is increasingly available. Methamphetamine traffickers in the Rapid City area are mainly supplied from sources in larger cities such as Denver, Colorado, and the southwestern United States. Almost all methamphetamine seized locally is now “ice” methamphetamine, but purity levels frequently fall below 90% and usually range from 50-80%.