Overview and Purpose

• Established in 1999, led by Executive Director Andrew Deserto.
• Focuses on disrupting DTOs and MLOs involved in transportation, manufacture, and distribution of illicit drugs.
• Supports federal, state, and local agencies with strategic intelligence and operational coordination.

Strategy and Operations

• Uses co-located personnel from multiple agencies to identify and dismantle drug organizations.
• Implements 43 approved initiatives across the region.
• Engages 296 agencies with 1,585 personnel, including agents, officers, and analysts.
• Headquarters in Cleveland, Ohio, covering multiple counties in Ohio, Kentucky, and Pennsylvania.

Key Initiatives and Focus Areas

• Supports enforcement, interdiction, training, intelligence, and IT initiatives.
• Short-term goals for 2025 include disrupting 112 DTOs, with significant return on investment in assets and drugs.
• Emphasizes intelligence support through the HIDTA ISC, providing analytical case support, deconfliction, and data sharing.
• Utilizes tools like Case Explorer, ODMAP, and social network analysis to enhance investigations and overdose tracking.

Threat Assessment

• The region faces high levels of substance use disorder and overdose deaths.
• Synthetic opioids, especially fentanyl, are the primary drug threat, highly available and replacing heroin.
• Seizures of fentanyl decreased slightly in 2024, but overall availability remains high.
• Methamphetamine, particularly crystal form, is rapidly expanding, with record seizures of 2,480 kg in 2024.
• Cocaine remains highly available, with increased seizures of powder cocaine, often contaminated with fentanyl.
• Heroin seizures increased but remain below pre-fentanyl dominance levels.
• Marijuana from domestic sources is highly available, with seizures up 50% from 2023.
• Prescription drug misuse persists, with diversion through theft, trade, and counterfeit pills containing fentanyl.
• MDMA seizures reached record levels, with 242 kg in 2024, often linked to clubs and festivals.
• Psilocybin seizures surged, with 120 kg in early 2025, surpassing previous years.
• Other drugs like synthetic cathinones, cannabinoids, LSD, and PCP are present at moderate to low levels.

International and Regional Threats

• Mexican DTOs dominate production and transportation of synthetic opioids, heroin, meth, and cocaine.
• Use of interstate highways facilitates large shipments to major markets like Chicago, Detroit, and New York.

Intelligence and Data Sharing

• The ISC supports tactical, operational, and strategic intelligence, enhancing agency coordination.
• Overdose data collection via ODMAP helps identify spikes and at-risk populations.
• 86,449 overdoses recorded across 82 Ohio counties as of July 2025.
• 349 agencies participate in ODMAP, sharing overdose and drug threat data.

Task Forces and Enforcement

• Multiple federally funded task forces operate across the region, targeting various counties.
• These units focus on drug interdiction, dismantling DTOs, and supporting intelligence efforts.
• Collaboration among agencies enhances regional drug enforcement and intelligence sharing.