Grand theft auto is a booming industry in America with a car being broken into every 30 seconds, organised crime groups making a killing from selling stolen car parts on the black market and Mexican drug cartels converting trucks into 'narco tanks'. But police are developing new tactics to fight back against this trillion dollar industry.
How does the drug trade work? Can it be stopped or should it be regulated? And what are the personal costs? Those are just some of the questions answered in this miniseries, a comprehensive look at society's most abused drugs: cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin and marijuana. First-person perspectives from traffickers, dealers, users, law enforcement and medical professionals detail how the drugs are processed and moved onto the streets, and the effects they have on the human body.
The most powerful drug trafficking organization in the world, the Sinaloa Cartel, has found a new way to exploit American drug demand with Mexican super meth, a stronger and more addictive form of crystal meth.
Dominican drug networks tied directly to the Mexican cartel are distributing countless amounts of narcotics in the historic city of Boston, fueling a widespread epidemic that law enforcement and emergency services can hardly contain. The Dominican drug organizations are increasingly using Puerto Rican dealers as their middlemen to flood the city with heroin. The epidemic touches all communities, making Boston one of the leading cities for heroin distribution.
Baltimore, a once prosperous city, lost many of its jobs along with its steel mills. In return, the city developed one of the biggest heroin problems in the country. For many of those that remain amid the poverty and abandoned homes, the Heroin Hustle is the way of life. One strip of Pennsylvania Avenue alone is estimated to take in $10 million a year from heroin sales. With the business booming, the heroin market is expanding outward to the suburbs, and the authorities are struggling to cope.
The southwest border of the U.S. is the main gateway for illegal drugs, and Dallas, Texas, is often the first port of call for the Mexican cartel drug trade. In this episode, witness how the Mexican cartels have tainted Dallas by turning it into their command and control center for the trade of their narcotics. Buyers desperate to get a hold of the cartel's high-quality product flock to Dallas from all over the country, giving local dealers the chance to make big money
Molly, a powdered form of the drug MDMA, is exploding in popularity across the United States. Formerly marketed in pill form as Ecstasy, Molly is a total rebrand. Marketed as purer, cleaner and without the additives, this powder has become the most fashionable new drug for young people. But as the consumer demand for Molly has exploded, the production of pure MDMA has struggled to keep up with supply. As a result new, dangerous chemicals are finding their way into the market.
