by the Drug Enforcement Administration

About the author: The Drug Enforcement Administration is a government agency that strives to decrease the amount of drugs traded and consumed in the United States and in neighboring countries.

Throughout the United States, low-level dealing in drugs is being increasingly handled by violent and highly organized criminal gangs. There are three major types of gangs involved in street sales of drugs: prison gangs, traditional street gangs, and outlaw motorcycle gangs.

Prison Gangs

Since prison gangs operate in a detached environment, the DEA is limited in its ability to target them. But the DEA will often target associates who assist in the drug trafficking process and are not currently incarcerated.

Prison gangs are organized generally along racial lines. They were originally formed by prisoners to protect themselves from other inmates...