The Los Angeles area is the primary source for the majority of PCP found in the United States. According to the El Paso Intelligence Center (EPIC) Clandestine Laboratory Database, 17 of the 24 PCP laboratories seized throughout the United States from 1998 to 2002 were located in California. As they have for decades, African-American organizations and street gangs, operating primarily in Los Angeles and San Bernardino County, produce most of the PCP available nationwide. These groups typically produce PCP in liquid form and subsequently handle the wholesale distribution of the drug to mid-level distributors in Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Milwaukee, New Orleans, Newark, New York City, Philadelphia, and Washington, DC. It has been determined that some of the individuals involved with these organizations were formerly part of PCP trafficking groups and street gangs that have operated in the Los Angeles area since the late 1980s and early 1990s. In July 2002, and, more recently, in February 2003, the DEA and the Southern California High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) seized two operational PCP laboratories in the Los Angeles area. These laboratories were operated by African-American members of a Los Angeles-based PCP trafficking organization.
PCP is also produced by Mexican drug trafficking organizations operating in the United States. These organizations typically produce PCP in powder or crystal form versus the liquid form normally produced by African-American organizations. In addition, these organizations are suspected of distributing wholesale quantities of PCP powder to Hispanic street gangs and other distributors in San Jose, New York City, and various locations in Oklahoma. In 2001, a clandestine laboratory that produced PCP in powder and crystal form was seized in San Jose. A Mexican national serving as a laboratory operator in San Jose was recently released from prison, having served time for prior
In California, independent operators have, for many years, been suspected of producing PCP. Because these operators normally produce small amounts of PCP for personal use and/or localized distribution, they are usually of little significance. However, in 2001, a large clandestine laboratory that produced crystal PCP was seized in California's Mariposa County. The Caucasian operators of this laboratory,described as "biker-types," appeared to be operating independently from other PCP trafficking organizations. As in the case of the San Jose laboratory, one of the operators of this laboratory was recently released from prison for prior drug-related offenses.
Despite California being the primary production area, significant PCP production operations recently have been found in Baltimore, Maryland, and Gary, Indiana. In November 2002, an operational PCP laboratory was seized at a residence in Baltimore. It was one of the largest PCP laboratories ever seized on the East Coast, as it contained an enormous amount of chemicals consistent with the manufacture of PCP and approximately 4 gallons of finished product. The African-American operators of the laboratory apparently intended to lace marijuana with PCP to increase its marketability and profit margin. In December 2001, federal, state, and local law enforcement authorities disrupted an organization, responsible for the manufacture and wholesale distribution of PCP in Gary, and arrested many of its African-Americans members. This organization had been producing PCP for several years-primarily supplying a Chicago-based street gang.
Precursors, reagents, and solvents used to manufacture PCP are obtained primarily from sources in California. Other sources of supply have been identified in Connecticut, Indiana, Maryland, Nevada, Oklahoma, and Texas. In most cases, the precursors are obtained from legitimate commercial and bulk chemical companies under false pretenses. The use of falsified information is a popular method of deception. For example, one illicit organization alleged that the chemicals were to be used for industrial cleaning purposes. PCP traffickers are known for establishing "front" companies for the sole purpose of obtaining chemicals necessary for the production of PCP as well as other illicit synthetic drugs. The PCP laboratory seized recently in Baltimore had obtained chemicals from a company in Maryland that had been set up by the laboratory operators.
