‘Ice remains leading drug threat in Micronesia’

Methamphetamine hydrochloride or “ice” remains the leading drug threat in Micronesia, according to a Drug Enforcement Administration special agent.

DEA special agent Dan Holcolm said that over the past 10 years there has been a steady increase in “ice” trafficking throughout Micronesia—especially in the CNMI and Guam.

“Predominantly most of the ‘ice’ that we’ve seen in this area, CNMI, is coming from mainland China,” said Holcolm during his presentation about regional drug trends at the 6th annual Micronesian Police Executives Association conference at the Saipan World Resort’s Taga Hall.

However, he noted, Guam and some other areas throughout Micronesia have “ice” being smuggled from the U.S. mainland, the Philippines, Taiwan and Hawaii.

He said smugglers use every form of transportation including body courier, Federal Express, USPS, DHL, and sea-borne containers.

The ice supply, he said, are often directly tied to Southeast Asian organized crime.

He said the prices of “ice” range from $200 to $400 a gram in Hawaii; $350 to $450 a gram in the CNMI, and $500 to $650 a gram in Guam.

Holcolm said the general speculation in the DEA is that, as the CNMI is federalized, local prices of “ice” will increase.

He said most “ice” being seized in Micronesia is being produced in “superlabs” operating in Southeast Asia.

However, clandestine methamphetamine labs are also being seized in Micronesia, he added.

To date, the agent emphasized, no clandestine “ice” lab has been found in the CNMI.

In Guam, he said, there was one DEA clandestine lab seizure in 2006; five in 2007, and two in 2008.

With respect to cocaine, Holcom said the demand for such drugs in Southeast Asia is being rapidly outpaced by the demand for “ice.”

“Because of the dramatic upswing in demand for methamphetamine in the past 10 years, the price of cocaine has fallen dramatically,” he said.

The price of cocaine in Guam is $600 per ounce, while it is $1,000 to $1,200 per ounce in Hawaii.

“Ship to ship and load jettisoning is causing significant quantities of cocaine to wash ashore throughout the FSM and Marshall Islands,” he said.

Cocaine, he said, is predominantly shipped from South America to Southeast Asia via freighter.

The agent also discussed other drugs such as ecstasy and Yaa-Baa (a mixture of methamphetamine and caffeine).