According to the U.S. Department of Justice National Drug Intelligence Center, Delaware ranks fourth among all states in the number of admissions to drug rehabilitation centers for cocaine and fifth for heroin rehab. These facts help to contribute to the major crime problem in the city of Wilmington, where in 2009, the city’s violent crime rating was 330 percent over the national average. Its per capita crime rate makes it one of the worst cities in the country in terms of drug-related crimes as well. In October 2012, Parenting magazine ranked the city of Wilmington as the most dangerous city in the country.
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is working to combat these serious issues. In Wilmington, DEA jobs deal with the many crimes committed in the city relating to the illegal use of drugs.
Drug Threats in Wilmington
In 2002, the National Drug Intelligence Center reported that the major drug threats in the state of Delaware, including Wilmington, were, in order: heroin, cocaine, marijuana, ecstasy and methamphetamine. As of 2010, the major drug threats in Delaware were, in order: crack cocaine, cocaine HCL, heroin, marijuana and Schedule II controlled narcotics (such as the painkillers Oxycontin and percocet). Between 2007 and 2008, there was an increase in New Castle County, Delaware’s white males’ use of crack cocaine. While the amount of heroin abuse in Delaware remained steady over the past four years, the use of other opiates, including prescription painkillers, increased by 400 percent.
Many Wilmington area drug users are poly-drug users, which means that they abuse more than one drug or type of drug. A common combination is opiates and benzodiazepines. Contamination of drugs has become a problem among Wilmington’s drug abusers as well, with animal medications being found in the bloodstreams of those who died from cocaine overdoses.
Drug Trafficking in Wilmington
Per a University of Delaware report, Heroin typically comes into the city of Wilmington through drug trafficking organizations in Philadelphia, who are supplied by South American and Southeast Asian heroin. Marijuana enters Wilmington through Mexican drug traffickers and Vietnamese traffickers out of Canada. Schedule II narcotics are typically diverted through legal prescriptions, stolen from family members, doctor shopping, and residential theft.
How to Become a DEA Agent in Wilmington
Wilmington lies within the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania division of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). Housed within Wilmington is a District Office of the DEA’s Philadelphia Division. Before learning how to become a DEA agent in Wilmington by meeting requirements, it is important to note that either a bachelor’s degree, master’s degree, J.D. or L.L.B. degree is necessary unless one has specialized experience. Even if one meets these requirements, it is only possible to become a DEA agent in Wilmington through training. For information on Wilmington DEA careers, contact Ms. Charmagne Smith, Recruiter Assistant, at (215) 861-3481, or Special Agent Recruiter James Knoll at (215) 861-3292.