N.J. IS CHANNEL FOR DRUGS

WASHINGTON -- New Jersey has become a garden spot for the international
drug trade.

Marijuana is trucked in from Mexico and Canada. Cocaine and heroin, largely
from Colombia, arrive in cargo containers at seaports. Ecstasy pills are
smuggled from Europe by passengers landing at airports.

The common thread, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, is that
most drugs are distributed through ethnically oriented channels: local
Dominican and Colombian organizations supplying Puerto Rican, black and
white street gangs who then sell directly to users from Camden to Newark.

"You've got an ethnic melting pot, which has lasted hundreds of years, and
you've got easy access to important transportation routes," said
Newark-based DEA agent Mark Moger, explaining why drugs are prevalent in
New Jersey. "It's logical that it's easier to get heroin here than in
Pittsburgh."

Heroin, in particular, has become a significant problem in the Garden
State, Moger said.

Sold in $10 packets and locally marketed under such chilling brand names as
"Drop Dead," "Overdose" and "Bin Laden," the heroin peddled to users in
Newark, Paterson, Camden and other cities is strong, he said.

"Right now it's cheap and there's a lot of it, unfortunately," Moger said.
"It's a major, major problem."

Among the other drugs finding their way into Garden State neighborhoods:
Marijuana continues to be the most popular. Federal authorities seized more
than 4,800 pounds of pot in 2001, compared with 2,841 pounds of cocaine and
371 pounds of heroin, according to DEA figures. Crack, a form of cocaine
that's cheap and potent, is not as prevalent nationwide as it was even a
decade ago, law enforcement officials said. But crack and heroin continue
to be widely used in urban areas such as Elizabeth, Camden, Newark and
Trenton, according to the DEA. Lab-produced club drugs, mainly Ecstasy, are
making a comeback. The stimulant, which comes in tablet form, has again
become popular in South Jersey. Such drugs are generally sold at nightclubs
or raves, according to the DEA. Methamphetamine is also on the street. Most
of the white, odorless powder that's smoked, snorted or injected is
manufactured in California and Mexico and sent to the East Coast.