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(U) Warning: This document is UNCLASSIFIED but may contain information that is Law Enforcement Sensitive (U//LES), Sensitive But Unclassified (SBU), or For Official Use Only (FOUO). It contains information that may be exempt from public release under the Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552). Release of this information could adversely affect or jeopardize investigative activities. It is to be controlled, stored, handled, transmitted, distributed, and disposed of in accordance with CBP/DHS policy and is not to be released to the public, the media, other personnel who do not have a valid need-to-know, or over non-secure Internet servers without prior approval from CBP Office of Intelligence. This product is property of CBP Office of Intelligence and when posted to HSIN may not be disseminated further than those with the appropriate need to know who have a HSIN account without the approval of the CBP Office of Intelligence. An official Office of Intelligence disclosure officer is the only authorized source of release for this document beyond its initial dissemination.

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(U) Reporting Notice: This product was prepared by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Office of Intelligence and Laboratories and Scientific Services. It was coordinated with Office of Field Operations, U.S. Border Patrol, Air and Marine Operations, Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations Office of Intelligence, Department of Homeland Security Office of Intelligence and Analysis, and the Drug Enforcement Administration.

(U) ‘Tweak’ Your Knowledge of Methamphetamine

(U) Scope (U) This intelligence bulletin provides information about methamphetamine, its trafficking, and use in the United States to establish a baseline understanding for new officers and agents. It is based on BorderStat* seizure numbers, law enforcement reporting, U.S. Center for Disease Control (CDC) overdose death reports, Federal laboratory identification, workplace drug testing statistics, and open-source information.

(U) Executive Summary (U//LES) The likelihood that officers and agents will encounter methamphetamine continues to increase as seizures continue to rise. Methamphetamine is the second most seized drug, comprising 21 percent of seizure incidents by count (marijuana is number one, accounting for 59 percent of seizure incidents) for U.S. Customs and Border Protection.1 Methamphetamine seizures are increasing as use of the drug is increasing. The CDC documented a year-to-year increase in psychostimulant overdose deaths from 2012 through 2019—a category that includes methamphetamine (see Figure 1).2 Most of the methamphetamine consumed in the United States is mass produced in Mexico by transnational criminal organizations (TCOs).3,4 According to the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Methamphetamine Profiling Program, Mexico-based TCO-produced methamphetamine is over 97 percent in purity and potency.†5

* (U//FOUO) BorderStat is a CBP system for reporting enforcement and operational statistical data across CBP’s operational offices. BorderStat pulls from the following sources: the Automated Targeting System, SEACATS, and ENFORCE data system. The data provided are complete, unbiased, and reliable, with possible fluctuations based on timing differences between BorderStat data pulls and source data refresh rates. † (U) Purity is a measurement of the amount of the primary substance relative to the amount of total sample. Additional components of the sample, other than the primary substance, lower the purity of a drug. Potency is a measure of strength of the primary substance, impacting the amount of a drug needed to achieve an effect on the body. Effects can be wide ranging from therapeutic doses, effective doses, to toxic or even lethal doses and are usually based on a statistical average where 50% of a population exhibits that specific effect.


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67 (U) What is methamphetamine and how is it made? (U) Methamphetamine is a synthetic, highly addictive central nervous system stimulant that can be injected, snorted, smoked or ingested orally. Unlike cultivated drugs such as cocaine and marijuana, methamphetamine is primarily produced clandestinely from precursor chemicals.8,9

(U) Methamphetamine is a Schedule II controlled substance, meaning that it possesses a high potential for abuse leading to severe psychological or physical dependance, yet it still has a medicinal use.10 The Food and Drug Administration’s only approved version of methamphetamine is Desoxyn® (dextromethamphetamine hydrochloride), which requires a medical doctor-issued prescription that cannot be refilled. Desoxyn® has a very limited use for obesity and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and is prescribed only when other means of treatment are ineffective.11

(U) Combat Methamphetamine Epidemic Act of 2005

(U) To limit domestic production, the Combat Methamphetamine Epidemic Act of 2005 established a category of “scheduled listed chemical products” to regulate the sale of non-prescription ephedrine, pseudoephedrine and phenylpropanolamine products (including salts, optical isomers and salts of optical isomers).‡ Additional provisions established annual aggregate production and import limits, imposed sales documentation requirements, and implemented self-certification procedures for regulated sellers.12 This, combined with statewide pseudoephedrine sale restrictions, contributed to a decline in domestic methamphetamine production. The decrease in domestic production was also driven by law enforcement efforts, public awareness campaigns, and increased regulation of other



(U//LES) Currently, Mexico-based TCOs synthesize methamphetamine through reductive amination of the key chemical intermediate phenyl-2-proponone (P2P). TCOs retain the ability to smuggle necessary chemicals into Mexico and use a variety of methods to create P2P and other necessary chemicals used in the synthesis, purification, dilution and smuggling of methamphetamine.14,15 Many methamphetamine precursor chemicals are hazardous; some are toxic. In addition to environmental concerns, this presents a threat to individuals exposed to these substances.16 (U//LES) The vast majority of methamphetamine used in the United States is produced by Mexico-based TCOs who mass-produce high purity methamphetamine using reductive amination.17,18,19 This method uses P2P as the immediate precursor to the finished product, not relying on pseudoephedrine or ephedrine as a precursor chemical.20,21 This high purity methamphetamine is further purified with tartaric acid to separate the non-active levo or l-methamphetamine from the desired dextro or d-methamphetamine. In July 2020, DEA’s Methamphetamine Profiling Program found that the average purity of samples from Mexico was 97.5 percent while the overall potency was 97.1 percent.22

— (U) U.S. domestic methamphetamine production is at its lowest point since 2006 with domestic producers unable to compete with the quantity and quality of methamphetamine produced in Mexico.23

— (U//LES) The most common way in which CBP seizes methamphetamine smuggled into

the United States is across the southwest border (SWB) in privately owned vehicles (POVs) at ports of entry (POEs) (see Figure 2). Commercial trucks at the SWB make up the next largest conveyance followed by parcels through international mail/express consignment operators§ (ECO). Mexico-postmarked parcels make up 81 percent of methamphetamine seizures through international mail/ECO.24

§ (U) An “express consignment operator” or carrier is an entity operating in any mode moving cargo by special express commercial service. Its services are offered to the public under advertised, reliable, timely delivery on a door-to-door basis.

essential chemicals used in methamphetamine production. This resulted in Mexico-based TCOs producing and smuggling methamphetamine—and becoming the primary source of methamphetamine used in the United States.13



— (U//LES) In FY 2020, the primary location of methamphetamine seizures was SWB POEs. Most methamphetamine is seized in California (59 percent) followed by Texas (27 percent). Only a fraction of methamphetamine is seized between the POEs (see Figure 3). In FY 2020, only 12 percent of methamphetamine seizures took place between ports of entry.25

26 (U//LES) Smugglers use creative means to conceal methamphetamine and likely attempt to use techniques aimed at evading detection. Natural voids (see Pictures 1-3), aftermarket compartments (see Pictures 4-6), and creative means (see Pictures 7-10) are used to conceal drugs. One innovative concealment method is mixing methamphetamine with a liquid such as water or ethanol to make methamphetamine in solution to resemble other commonly encountered liquids like washer solvent, gasoline or battery acid.

1%17%

4%

15%

1%

62%

(U//LES) Figure 2: FY 2020 Methamphetamine Seizures by Conveyance ‡ 12

Bus

Commercial Truck

International Mail/ECO

Other

Pedestrian

POV

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(U//LES) Another method to avoid detection by X-ray involves wrapping the drugs with carbon paper or aluminum foil.27,28 To potentially evade detection by narcotics canines, hot sauce, mustard, or other substances with a strong odor have been found within the layers of drug bundle packaging. The use of foil and substances with potent odors are encountered in conjunction as well as independently from each other.29,30

(U) Picture 1: Inside Fire Wall31

(U) Picture 2: Inside Gas Tank32

(U) Picture 3: Inside Door33

(U) Picture 4: Inside Seats34 (U) Picture 5: Custom

Container Around Wheel35 (U) Picture 6: Inside Battery36

(U) Picture 7: Inside Fake Rock37

(U) Picture 8: Disguised as Produce38

(U) Picture 9: In Child’s Car Seat, Child Was Using the Seat39

(U) Picture 10: Methamphetamine in Solution40

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— (U//LES) Methamphetamine is occasionally concealed in a liquid, referred to as methamphetamine in solution. In that instance, methamphetamine is dissolved into a solvent as an attempt to conceal the narcotic for smuggling purposes. Examples of liquids used for methamphetamine in solution include, but are not limited to, beer, liquor, juice/soda, and windshield wiper fluid. Methamphetamine can be consumed when in solution provided the solvent is consumable; however, it is generally not consumed in this manner. Typically, methamphetamine solutions are dried out to regain the more desirable powder or crystal form.41,42,43 A potential indicator of methamphetamine in solution is crystallization forming around the opening of a container.44

— (U//LES) Gas tanks and radiators are often used to conceal methamphetamine in solution. Indicators can include tool marks, gas-tank modifications, or signs of recent repairs. Typically, methamphetamine in solution, when in a gas tank, will settle to the bottom of the tank, creating two distinct layers between the fuel and the solution (see Picture 11). Indicators include a difference in color or a thick substance or sediment on the bottom. Other instances have observed bubbling liquids or particles floating in the gas tank.45,46,47

(U) Outlook (U//FOUO) Officers and agents are increasingly likely to encounter methamphetamine as international supply and/or user demand for methamphetamine continues to increase.

(U//LES) Picture 11: Methamphetamine in solution after transfer into bucket 48

(U) Air and Marine Operations

(U//LES) AMO, along with non-CBP partner law enforcement agencies, seized 3,105 kg of methamphetamine in FY 2020—an 86% decrease from the 22,158 kg of methamphetamine seized in FY 2019.49 Based on seizures and available reporting, traffickers continue to use non-commercial air and maritime conveyances to move methamphetamine into the United States, though intelligence gaps prevent accurate estimates of the cross-border flow from these conveyances. Non-commercial air conveyances include general aviation (private aircraft), small unmanned aerial systems (sUAS), and ultralight aircraft. Traffickers constantly adapt new technology in an effort to seek innovative ways to move drugs into the United States, and in CY 2020, CBP saw an increase in the use of sUAS as traffickers sought viable options to circumvent COVID-19 related travel restrictions at the POEs. Use of sUAS involves a series of trade-offs. One benefit is that the sUAS are hard to detect and allow rapid transit time, minimizing exposure. On the downside, sUAS have a limited flight range and carrying capacity, which means it requires many loads to move a multi-pound shipment.50,51,52

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