I. Summary

Angola does not have significant drug production, trafficking, or use. Cannabis is cultivated and consumed locally, but in relatively modest quantities. Angolan drug counternarcotics officials report seizures of cocaine coming from South America, which they believe was headed for South Africa. Nigerian traffickers appear involved in this cocaine traffic predominantly from Brazil to South Africa. Angola is the only Southern African Development Community member that has not signed the SADC counternarcotics protocol.

Angola is not a major center of drug production, trafficking, money laundering, or precursor chemical diversion, and it is not likely to become one. In 2001, despite serious resource constraints, the Angolan National Police increased dramatically the amount of cocaine and cannabis they seized. The police attributed the increased number of seizures to the ever-greater emphasis they placed on drug seizures and greater awareness of Angola as a transshipment point for cocaine.

Angola has not signed the SADC counternarcotics protocol. There have been no reported cases of public corruption connected to narcotics trafficking.

Although Angola has enacted legislation mandating treatment for those convicted of narcotics use, no public treatment centers are available. Angola cooperates with South Africa in fighting the flow of cocaine from Angola to South Africa, and South Africa has offered training and equipment to the Angolan police. Angola also cooperates on a regional basis via SADC, despite its failure to sign the drug protocol. Angola has signed the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime.

FY 2001 marked the first time the State Department has offered centrally funded anticrime and counternarcotics training programs for Angola; the USG intends to continue to offer counternarcotics law enforcement training to Angolan enforcement officials, especially at ILEA-Gaborone. This stems, in part, from agreements reached during the Bilateral Consultative Commission meetings in which Angola expressed strong interest in receiving law enforcement training. As such, the U.S. Embassy in Luanda is establishing a system for managing a continuing U.S. narcotics training relationship with Angola.

Benin

I. Summary

Benin is a transit route for illegal narcotics moving through West Africa, but it is not a major narcotics producing country. Illegal drug trafficking and GOB drug seizures continued throughout the year. The GOB is seeking to implement a national counternarcotics policy and national action plan, as well as to coordinate drug enforcement operations through the Central Office Against Illegal Drug Trafficking (OCERTID). Benin is a party to the 1988 UN Drug Convention.

Benin is not a major producer of drugs or a source of precursor chemicals. This is not likely to change. The Benin Direction of Pharmacies has a special unit to control precursor chemicals that works with the National Laboratory for Narcotics Control, but the unit seems poorly organized and administration of the unit is weak. The laboratory has reported problems with the functioning of its chemical control equipment and it is unlikely that procedures currently in place present any great challenge to motivated smugglers of precursor chemicals.

Policy Initiatives. The Ministry of Interior completed the draft of a comprehensive national counternarcotics policy and developed a detailed national action plan in 2000. In December 2000, Benin’s leading counternarcotics enforcement officials and government leaders convened a roundtable to discuss counternarcotics priorities and to identify ways to finance, support, and implement the GOB’s counternarcotics policy. Frustrated by a profound lack of resources, authorities in Benin plan thoroughly, but then are forced to acknowledge that plans must remain theoretical until resources become available to implement them.

The GOB has not yet established the infrastructure or legal apparatus to enforce its comprehensive counternarcotics law enacted in 1997. The law is based on the UNDCP model, which is designed to bring countries into compliance with the 1988 UN Drug Convention. It criminalizes money laundering and provides for stronger sentences for narcotics offenses, asset forfeiture, and inter-agency cooperation in narcotics law enforcement.

Accomplishments. Clarification and elaboration of the national counternarcotics action plan was this year’s major accomplishment. The GOB’s national action plan identifies ten counternarcotics strategies to be implemented over the next six years. The plan has three major objectives:

• Improve the strategies to combat the use of illegal drugs;
• Reinforce current programs to fight against illegal drug production and trafficking;
• Develop strategies to prevent drug abuse and provide for the treatment and rehabilitation of drug abusers.

The national counternarcotics policy identifies six priorities and four complementary programs. The six priorities are:

• Coordinate the national effort against illegal narcotics;
• Provide additional resources for the national drug laboratory;
• Provide additional resources to law enforcement agencies, increasing their drug intervention capabilities;
• Reinforce smuggling controls at the Port of Cotonou, Benin’s major shipping port);
• Develop programs to prevent drug use and to treat drug abusers; and
• Create a national health center for drug abusers.

Complementary projects focus on illegal drug production, prescription drug abusers/traffickers, prevention programs for single families, and the creation of a canine brigade.

Law Enforcement Efforts. The country’s porous borders permit African drug traffickers, primarily Nigerian nationals, to transit Benin freely and to access its ports at will. This ease of access has made Benin a transshipment point for the regional and sub-regional narcotics trade in heroin, cocaine, and cannabis. The large Lebanese community in Benin organizes and operates an important part of the drug trade. Some ethnic South Asians living in Benin also traffic in heroin from Afghanistan via Pakistan. In most instances, the different traffickers work with Benin nationals who act as couriers in the distribution/sale process. The retail price per gram ranges from 17,000-25,000 CFA (African Franc) (U.S. $23-$34) for cocaine, 9,000-20,000 (U.S. $12-$27) for heroin and 300-500 CFA (U.S. $40-$70) for marijuana. Even though Nigerian nationals control the drug trafficking activities in Benin, more than 60 per cent of traffickers arrested in 2001 were Benin nationals.

The law enforcement agency with primary responsibility for combating narcotics smuggling and drug abuse is the recently created OCERTID. The OCERTID reports to the director general of the national police, and works with customs, the gendarmes, and the national police drug units. The OCERTID so far has reported no cases of law enforcement involvement in illegal narcotics trafficking.

In 2001, the United States and the GOB signed a letter of agreement (LOA) relating to counternarcotics assistance in 2001. Through this LOA, the Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs granted Benin two machines used for the detection of concealed narcotics for use at the airport and will provide appropriate training. Although this is a small step, it demonstrates the GOB’s commitment to improving the interdiction ability of its law enforcement agencies, with U.S. assistance.

In 2001, Beninese enforcement officials seized 810,830 kilos of cannabis, 13 kilos of cannabis resin, 31.74 kilos of cocaine, 414 grams of opium, 5.2 kilos of LSD, and 79 grams of heroin. No drug traffickers have been extradited to date. Fifty-two traffickers were sentenced to imprisonment in 2001: 35 Beninese, 11 Nigerian, 1 French, 4 Niger nationals, and 1 Ivoirian.

Corruption. The press, civil society, and some senior government officials themselves charge there are corrupt elements in government. Twenty-three magistrates to date have been arrested or are being detained for allegations of taking bribes and engaging in corrupt practices. Numerous officials at the Port of Cotonou were arrested last year for a variety of improprieties in a surprise raid launched by the Minister of Finance. Press reports hinted at problems with the disposition of drug evidence (i.e., disappearance of seized drugs), but the exact extent of corruption and its impact on law enforcement and counternarcotics operations is difficult to assess, partly because resistance to oversight reform still persists within many government entities.

Cultivation/Production. Benin produces a small amount of cannabis for local consumption. It is the only narcotic produced in Benin and is cultivated throughout the country, particularly in hard to access marshy areas and along the borders with Nigeria and with Togo.

Agreements/Treaties. Benin has a quadripartite counternarcotics agreement with Togo, Ghana, and Nigeria. In addition to being a party to the 1988 UN Drug Convention, Benin is a party to the 1961 UN Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, the 1972 Protocol amending the Single Convention, and the 1971 UN Convention on Psychotropic Substances. In December 2000, Benin signed the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons. A drug enforcement cooperation agreement between France and Benin is in force and bolsters Benin’s counternarcotics efforts.

Domestic Programs (Demand Reduction). From November 2000-February 2001, an inter-ministerial team (Comité Interministeriel de Lutte Contre l’Abus de Stupefiants-CILAS) toured several Departments of Benin to discuss demand reduction. The team visited secondary schools, railway stations, and other spots where they hoped to access drug users or those in danger of becoming drug abusers. This hands-on approach seems to be more effective than spot radio and TV messages, but funds available to support it are starkly limited. The Ministry of Justice also has a program to reduce the use of marijuana by prison inmates. Several NGOs have drug education programs and run treatment for drug users. The Lion’s Club International has an education/rehabilitation program, and there is also an NGO-managed SOS drug hotline.

Drug Flow/Transit. Benin is an important transit/staging point for Southeast Asian heroin being smuggled to Nigeria for onward transport to Europe and the United States, and for South American cocaine being transported to Nigeria en route to Europe. There is no evidence that the heroin that enters the United States from Benin is sufficient to have a major impact on the United States. Marijuana from Nigeria transits Benin on its way to other African countries. Nigerians dominate most drug trafficking activities in Benin. In addition to transiting the country overland, drugs depart the country via Cotonou’s airport and seaport.

U.S. Goals and Objectives. The primary objective of the U.S. government is to combat the transit of drugs to the United States and Europe. The goal is to build on successful counternarcotics cooperation efforts, focusing on prevention, interdiction, prosecution, and treatment.

The Road Ahead. Benin is beginning to seriously address the drug problem in the region by implementing coordinated counternarcotics measures. This is obviously the first step down a long road. The U.S. government must continue to engage Benin on the complex issues of counternarcotics enforcement, asset forfeiture, abuse education, and training, particularly in the area of money laundering, and other focused assistance. Border and port control measures are two obvious priority areas, as is increased training of enforcement personnel.

Botswana

I. Summary

Botswana is not a major producer of illicit drugs or precursor chemicals, and it is not a significant drug-transit country. Isolated pockets of marijuana cultivation occur, but eradication efforts keep production levels low. Botswana is a party to the 1988 UN Drug Convention and is the site of Southern Africa’s International Law Enforcement Academy (ILEA).

Botswana is not a major illicit drug producer or a significant drug-transit country, despite an increase in the overall amount of cannabis seized and concern over its porous borders. In 2001, drug control officials seized sizable amounts of cannabis, as well as small amounts of crack cocaine. Due to an increase in the number of drug-related arrests in Botswana, drug control officials are concerned about an upsurge in drug trafficking and abuse. Cannabis remains the drug of choice due to its low price. Individuals caught with drugs in Botswana can expect fines and prison sentences, but most arrests do not result in conviction.

The Government of Botswana created a National Drug Control Coordination Council, chaired by the Office of the President, in 1998. The Government of Botswana also has strict legislation against drug production, drug trafficking, and money laundering, whether associated with the drug trade, terrorism, or other illicit activity. Botswana courts mete out stiff sentences for drug-related offenses, with mandatory sentences of one to five years’ imprisonment for possession of fewer than 60 grams of cannabis, and five to ten years for possession of more than 60 grams. Relatively few of the 378 cases in 2001 in which individuals were arrested for cannabis use proceeded to trial; the authorities preferring leniency to strict pursuit of punishment.

The number of seizures of drugs in Botswana increased markedly in 2001. Police seized over 1,200 kilograms of cannabis during 2001, mostly from Zimbabwean traffickers. (Cannabis seized from Zimbabwe is now thought to originate in Mozambique, rather than from Zambia, as it was thought in 2000.) In 2001, police seized what they believe to be the third of three shipments of cocaine that originated from Brazil, which transited South Africa before it arrived in Botswana. Most of the cocaine entering Botswana for domestic use is believed to be crack cocaine. The BPS (Botswana Police Service) also has reported four cases of illicit cannabis cultivation, resulting in the seizure of 2 kilograms of cannabis. The BPS reports good cooperation on narcotics control with its regional partners, especially South Africa and Zimbabwe. The UNDCP has provided drug detection dogs to Botswana for use in drug searches. There are no indications of senior government officials being involved in drug-related corruption.

Botswana is a party to the 1988 UN Drug Convention, the 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances, the 1961 UN Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, and the 1972 Protocol amending the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs.

The U.S.-sponsored ILEA offered its first course of instruction in September 2001. The ILEA program includes modules on narcotics interdiction. Regional police officials anticipate more cooperation with the USG as ILEA programs continue to develop. Police officials note that they are concerned that Botswana’s porous border with Zimbabwe may lead to increased drug trafficking through Botswana. The GOB recently sent units of the Botswana Defense Force (BDF) to replace the Special Branch of the BPS in conducting alien interdiction on the Zimbabwe border, due to concerns about increased crime in Francistown, where the Special Branch forces were located.

With the most fully developed economy in West Africa and significant opportunities for corruption at all levels, Côte d’Ivoire’s ports, airport, porous borders, and communications infrastructure remain open to drug traffickers. Seizures of heroin and cannabis, as well as seizures of licit pharmaceuticals destined for illegal distribution increased in 2001. The target market for most of the narcotics passing through Côte d’Ivoire (principally heroin) remains Europe, with a smaller share ending up on the North American market. The quantity of narcotics that transit Côte d’Ivoire en route to North America is not sufficient to have a significant impact on the United States. Two years of political instability have detracted from Ivoirian law enforcement’s ability to account for seizures and local consumption and interrupted development of new counternarcotics legislation. U.S. support to Ivoirian counternarcotics efforts was stopped after the Christmas coup of 1999. As political stability returns, authorities speak of new initiatives against narcotics and corruption, but resources are lacking. Côte d’Ivoire is a party to the 1998 UN Drug Convention.

Abidjan, the business and industrial capital of Cote d’Ivoire, is a major West African financial center and a regional hub for shipping. Cote d’Ivoire’s corruption-plagued ports handle a variety of contraband, including narcotics and weapons. Air travel through Côte d’Ivoire has been curtailed with the withdrawal of three major European airlines and the financial collapse of Air Afrique. This loss of service has probably decreased the utility of Abidjan’s airport as a transit point for drugs. Despite improvements to airport facilities and security, airport operating budgets and training remain problematic. The ongoing conflict in neighboring Liberia adds to the pressure for corruption, with players in that conflict paying off officials in Cote d’Ivoire to gain passage for diamonds leaving the region and weapons entering.

Policy Initiatives. Drug enforcement authorities await the re-commencement of the African Anti-Drug Program, an EU initiative that was suspended two years ago due to the political situation. The program was the principal source of guidance and resources for Ivoirian counternarcotics efforts. There are no new unilateral initiatives within the Ivoirian government, which maintains an underfunded training program at Grand Bassam. The special narcotics police remain a low funding priority.

Accomplishments. Because of political instability and minimal funding for counternarcotics initiatives, there were no significant accomplishments during the reporting period. The Ivoirian government has negotiated with the EU to restart the African Anti-Drug Program, but results will not be realized until 2002.

Law Enforcement Efforts. Given limited resources, the Ivoirian government has not made an effort to strengthen the counternarcotics police or the national prosecutor’s office with personnel or budgetary increases or new training. The administrators of the Felix Houphouet-Boigny International Airport in Abidjan have modernized the terminal, increased visible security measures, and implemented a more accountable access badge system. During the first nine months of 2001, seizures of heroin and cannabis increased, and the trend for heroin seizures since 1998 shows a steady yearly increase. Enforcement officials do not know whether this represents better police work or an increase in heroin trafficking. Figures for cocaine seizures are inconsistent, but seem to show a declining trend in the past four years. Cannabis figures are likewise inconsistent for the four-year period, but appear stable or increasing. Despite resource constraints, arrests have increased. 605 individuals were reported arrested through September 30, 2001. All 11 persons arrested in 2001 for trafficking "hard" drugs (i.e., cocaine, heroin) were not Ivoirian nationals (nine Nigerians, one Togolese, and one Gambian). Authorities have also seized considerable quantities of licit pharmaceuticals destined for illegal distribution, reporting seizures of 42,592 valium tablets, 68 kilograms of valium in other forms, and an assortment of other medications, both in pill and unprocessed form.

Corruption. Corruption continues to hamper Ivoirian counternarcotics efforts. The Office of the National Prosecutor did not report a single prosecution for official corruption during the reporting period. Senior counternarcotics police officials report that some lower ranking officials view counternarcotics assignments as desirable because these assignments provide officials opportunities to earn additional income by accepting bribes. The same is true for some security officials at the airport, ports, and borders.

Agreements and Treaties. Côte d’Ivoire is a party to the 1961 UN Single Convention on Psychotropic Drugs, the 1972 Protocol amending the Single Convention, the 1971 UN Convention on Psychotropic Substances, and the 1988 UN Drug Convention. Côte d’Ivoire has signed but not ratified the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime. Côte d’Ivoire is also party to several regional agreements regarding narcotics suppression and control, negotiated among members of the West African Economic Cooperation Association. Officials report discussions of a new West African counternarcotics regime with Ghana, Nigeria, and other interested West African states. However, the effort is nascent, and no written proposals have been made.

Cultivation/Production. Cannabis is the main drug produced internally in Côte d’Ivoire. It is grown in small plots, mixed in with legal plantings, throughout southern Côte d’Ivoire. It is processed and sold at retail levels in small quantities by small dealers. Cities remain the principal destination and distribution points. Law enforcement officials will destroy illegal plantings when discovered, but search and destroy missions are not a priority. Law enforcement officials do not keep records on seizures and volume destroyed at this level of production and do not estimate the total production of cannabis. Police report that there have been no discoveries of processing laboratories for heroin, cocaine, or synthetic substances in Côte d’Ivoire.

Drug Flow/Transit. Ivoirian law enforcement officials do not keep statistics on the flow of drugs through Côte d’Ivoire; information is anecdotal and informal. Based on limited seizures at Felix Houphouet-Boigny International Airport, authorities believe that Nigeria and Pakistan are points of origin for trafficking in heroin via human mules (balloon swallowers) and smuggled packages. The drugs interdicted are usually passing through Abidjan en route to Europe. Major ports in Abidjan and at San Pedro in western Côte d’Ivoire are also thought to be easy transit points, though it is not known how often these ports are used. Côte d’Ivoire’s international borders are porous to passage of all manner of contraband into, through and out of the country due to the corruption of local officials, who supplement meager government salaries with sale of passage. Police officials also report use of the Ivoirian postal system for retail size shipments of drugs, generally heroin and cocaine, which are then sold locally.

Domestic Programs (Demand Reduction). The principal organization to fight the spread of drug use in Cote d’Ivoire, the Regional Education Center for the Fight Against Drugs (CRFLD), is a sub-ministry office in the Interior Ministry. This poorly funded but energetic office is the focal point for government and citizen efforts to discourage drug use. There are no high-visibility public campaigns against drug use in Côte d’Ivoire, though smaller efforts are evident at times. At the national prosecutor’s office, the drug problem is not viewed as a significant threat to Ivoirian society. The EU has not funded its demand-side program headquartered in Abidjan, which provided western expertise in demand and addiction issues, since the 1999 coup.

U.S. Policy Initiatives. The principal U.S. policy aim continues to be to minimize Côte d’Ivoire’s attractiveness to drug smugglers, and thereby reduce the overall flow of illegal drugs through the country, through transit control and anticorruption measures.

Bilateral Cooperation. There are no U.S.-Ivoirian joint projects to control drug production, consumption or trafficking through Côte d’Ivoire. Funding for all such projects was suspended in early 2000 after the December 1999 coup d’état and has not been resumed.

The Road Ahead. Both police and prosecutors see drug consumption and trafficking as steadily increasing problems. However, internal consumption is simply not viewed by the Ivoirian government as a high enough priority to receive a significant share of limited government resources. As long as the principal U.S. policy interest remains interdiction of drugs transiting Côte d’Ivoire en route to the United States and Europe, material and training assistance to Ivoirian authorities would be the most constructive measures to be taken. The Ivoirian authorities would welcome joint initiatives to train, motivate, and help equip counternarcotics police and banking investigators.

Egypt

I. Summary

The Arab Republic of Egypt is not a major producer, supplier, or consumer of narcotics or precursor chemicals. Heroin and cannabis are transported through Egypt, but at decreasing levels in 2001. The Anti Narcotics General Administration, the main drug fighting organization, is competent and progressive and it cooperates fully with the DEA office in Egypt. Egypt is a party to the 1988 UN Drug Convention.

Although opium and cannabis are grown in Egypt, Egypt is not a significant producer or consumer of narcotics or precursor chemicals. The substances most commonly abused in Egypt are cannabis, known locally as "BANGO," and legitimate pharmaceuticals.

Narcotics destined primarily for Western Europe, with small amounts headed for the United States, do pass through Egypt, but this transshipment route continued to diminish in 2001. There is no evidence of significant levels of narcotics reaching the United States through Egypt. Egypt’s long and mostly uninhabited borders combined with the high level of shipping passing through the Suez Canal have made Egypt prone to the transshipment of Asian heroin. Narcotics also pass through Cairo International Airport periodically.

The Egyptian Anti Narcotics General Administration (ANGA) is considered to be the oldest narcotics unit in the Arab world. ANGA has jurisdiction for all criminal matters pertaining to narcotics and maintains offices in all major Egyptian cities, airports, and ports. The U.S. DEA office in Egypt has a superb relationship with ANGA. The DEA’s ANGA counterparts are open, cooperative, and receptive to ideas and training. DEA country attachés have seen progressive improvements in ANGA’s capabilities compared to its limited resources. The DEA assists ANGA in smuggling interdiction operations in the Suez Canal Zone and at Cairo Airport, as well as in crop eradication operations in the Sinai Peninsula and Upper Egypt. The DEA has facilitated training for ANGA officers at regional narcotics training courses in Nairobi, Kenya, and provided in-country training on airport interdictions.

The Government of Egypt (GOE) continues to aggressively pursue a comprehensive drug control strategy which was developed in 1998. ANGA, the Egyptian Ministry of Interior, Coast Guard, Customs Service, and select military units all cooperate in task forces designed to interdict narcotics shipments. Government and private sector demand reduction efforts exist but are hampered by financial and logistical challenges.

Accomplishments. In 2001, the GOE implemented a law passed in 2000 allowing ANGA to keep a portion of the assets seized from narcotics traffickers to support interdiction operations. Final figures on assets seized in 2000 and 2001 are not yet available. In 1999, over 21 million Egyptian Pounds (LEG) were seized (approximately U.S. $5.1 million at an average exchange rate of 4.25 LEG to U.S. $1).

Law Enforcement Efforts. Internal security and combating terrorism are the major focus of Egyptian law enforcement efforts. However, ANGA operates an effective program of investigating and targeting significant drug traffickers, intercepting narcotics shipments, and detecting and eradicating illegal crops. Large-scale seizures and arrests are rare primarily because Egypt does not have a large narcotics market or narcotics abuse culture. In addition to other government and private sector demand reduction programs, ANGA operates its own drug awareness campaign. ANGA’s Eradication Unit conducts monthly operations against cannabis and opium crops in the Sinai. Despite mixed results from a crop substitution project in the Sinai, the amount of illegal crops was smaller in 2001. Final 2000 figures from ANGA report 27,898 criminal cases involving 29,612 defendants.

Corruption. There does not appear to be serious narcotics-related corruption in Egypt. Only low-level local police officials have been identified and arrested. The GOE has strict laws and harsh penalties for government officials convicted of involvement in narcotics trafficking or related activities.

Agreements and Treaties. Egypt and the U.S. have had an extradition treaty in place since the late 1800s. Egypt is a party to the 1988 UN Drug Convention, the 1971 UN Convention on Psychotropic Substances, the 1961 UN Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, and the 1972 Protocol amending the Single Convention. The U.S.-Egypt Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty entered into force on November 29, 2001. Egypt has signed but not ratified the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime.

Cultivation and Production. Cannabis is grown year round in the northern and southern Sinai and in upper Egypt. Opium is grown in the southern Sinai from February through March. The UNDCP reports that opium production in Egypt has been declining while cannabis production has increased. Rugged terrain requires plots of illegal crops to be small and irregularly shaped. ANGA uses aerial observation and confidential informants to identify illegal plots and then conducts daylight eradication operations which consist of cutting and burning the plants. ANGA has yet to implement a planned herbicide eradication program. No heroin processing plants have been discovered in Egypt in the last 11 years. There is no evidence that opiates or cannabis grown in Egypt reach the United States in sufficient quantities to have a significant effect on the United States.

Domestic Programs (Demand Reduction). In 2001, the GOE indicated it planned to revive the dormant National Council for Treatment of Addiction and Against Drug Abuse. Should the National Council become active, it would be an inter ministerial group chaired by the Prime Minister with the Minister of Social Affairs as his representative. Currently, most addicts are still treated by private doctors. The Ministry of Health and Ministry of Education, along with several religious organizations, operate drug awareness programs oriented toward demand reduction. The Ministry of Health is also a co-sponsor with the Ministry of Interior of a separate national counternarcotics campaign. These programs are aimed at school-aged children and rely on the mass media. DEA country attachés also assist the GOE with a drug awareness campaign.

The U.S. counternarcotics policy in Egypt is to engage the GOE in a bilateral program to reduce narcotics transshipment and decrease opium and cannabis cultivation. The policy is supported by the following specific objectives:

• Increase training to ANGA and other government offices responsible for narcotics enforcement.
• Assist with the identification of illegal crop eradication targets.
• Improve narcotics interdiction methodology.
• Improve intelligence collection and analysis.

The Road Ahead. In FY 2002, the U.S. government plans to provide the GOE with additional training in police science, anticorruption measures, and border control operations. The DEA country office will continue to work closely with ANGA to improve interdiction and eradication techniques, and to develop additional sources of information on trafficking and production.

Ethiopia

I. Summary

Ethiopia does not play a major role in the production of illicit narcotics or precursor chemicals associated with the drug trade. Ethiopia is strategically located along a major narcotics transit route between Southwest Asian heroin production and European markets and West African trafficking networks. Cannabis is grown in Ethiopia, but most is consumed in rural areas of Ethiopia itself. Recent seizures indicate that opium poppy is being grown in Ethiopia, but only in a few small plots. More heroin is transiting Ethiopia for markets in West Africa, Europe, and the United States. Nigerian traffickers are active in Ethiopia. The Ethiopian Counternarcotics Unit (ECNU) maintains an interdiction team at Bole International Airport, where the ECNU uses its two drug sniffer dogs to examine, with a degree of randomness, cargo and luggage. The ECNU routinely screens passengers, luggage, and cargo on flights arriving from "high risk" origins, i.e., Bangkok, New Delhi, Mumbai, and Islamabad. Ethiopia is a party to the 1988 UN Drug Convention.

Ethiopia is not now, and not likely to become, a significant producer of narcotic drugs or precursor chemicals. A small share of total cannabis is being produced for export, primarily to neighboring countries; the majority is consumed at home, but absolute quantities in both cases are moderate. For the first time, opium poppy was seized at two locations where it was apparently being grown as an experimental crop. Indications are that the techniques for growing the opium came from India and that the appearance of these apparent experimental plots may be explained by a downturn in coffee prices. No opium gum has been found yet.

The use of heroin and other hard drugs remains quite low, due primarily to the high street price and limited availability of such drugs. To the extent these hard drugs are available, it is in large part due to the "spillover" effect from the transiting of drug couriers through Bole International Airport in Addis Ababa. Bole is a major air hub for flight connections between Southeast and Southwest Asia and Africa, and much of the heroin entering and/or transiting Ethiopia comes from Asia. Many of the flights require up to a two-day layover in Addis, permitting the introduction of these drugs into the local populace.

Law Enforcement Efforts. The ECNU has improved upon its performance in 2000. It has changed leadership and been more proactive at the federal level. At the unit level, the ECNU suffers from managerial/leadership problems, although the unit is getting better at following up on leads. The interdiction team at Bole has improved with the provision of several profiling and interdiction courses. The interdiction unit has improved its ability to identify male Nigerian/Tanzanian drug "mules" who traditionally swallow drugs to smuggle them. The ECNU also followed up on tips and discovered and eradicated two plots of opium poppy cultivation in remote areas. Follow up is limited to assistance provided by the United States, and the local budget does not allow for field operations.

Policy Initiatives. The Ethiopian Ministry of Justice is still updating the penal code, but the updated code could become law in the next three months. Currently the maximum sentence for trafficking is two to three years, which does not serve as an effective deterrent to using Ethiopia as a transit country. Additionally, Ethiopia lacks a central coordinating body to coordinate systematically counternarcotics activities of the Ministries of Education, Health, and Justice. There is no master plan for drug issues.

Corruption. There is no evidence of government corruption relating to illicit drugs. The Anti-Corruption Commission, created in May 2001, has been given substantial police powers to investigate corruption, and is attracting considerable attention with some high profile cases. In 2001, the Ethiopian government arrested and charged ministerial level government officials for corruption unrelated to drugs, and it is likely the government would address drug-related corruption in the same way.

Agreements and Treaties. Ethiopia is a party to the 1988 UN Drug Convention, the 1971 UN Convention on Psychotropic Substances, the 1961 UN Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, and the 1972 Protocol amending the Single Convention. Ethiopia has signed the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime.

The United States introduced no major policy initiatives in 2001, except for initiatives in the areas of money laundering and asset seizure related to terrorist finances. In those areas the United States, through the U.S. Embassy in Addis Ababa, is trying to raise the profile of the issue and encourage criminalization of money laundering.

The focus has remained on the law enforcement side, specifically the ECNU. Ethiopia has limited resources and must rely on assistance from external sources. Overall, the ECNU needs more training, better facilities, and improved access to resources.

Ghana

I. Summary

Ghana combats illicit trafficking of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances and mounts major efforts against drug abuse. It has active enforcement, treatment, and rehabilitation programs. Ghana-U.S. law enforcement coordination continues, and saw several successes in 2001. Ghana is a party to the 1988 UN Drug Convention.

Ghana is increasingly a transit point for illegal drugs, particularly cocaine and heroin from South America, and Southeast and Southwest Asia. Europe remains the major destination, but drugs also flow to South Africa and to North America. Accra’s Kotoka International Airport is increasingly a focus for traffickers. Ports at Tema and Sekondi are also used. Border posts at Aflao (Togo) and Elubo and Sampa (Côte d’Ivoire) see significant traffic. Nigerian traffickers continue to strengthen their presence in Ghana as it becomes a major transportation hub. Trafficking fuels increasing domestic consumption. Cannabis use is increasing in Ghana, as is local cultivation. The government mounts significant public education programs. Production of precursor chemicals is not a major problem.

Policy Initiatives. The Narcotics Control Board (NCB) coordinates government efforts involving counternarcotics activities. These activities include enforcement and control, education, prevention, treatment, rehabilitation, and social re-integration. The NCB’s counternarcotics national strategy, the "National Plan of Action 1999-2003," was submitted to the Cabinet in April 2001, and awaits formal approval. Amendments that the NCB proposed in 1999 to the 1990 narcotics law still await attention. Further proposed amendments include stricter application of bail bond system sanctions.

Accomplishments. The NCB and other law enforcement agencies continued their successful cooperation with U.S. law enforcement agencies. Most notably, this resulted in the extradition of two suspects (one on narcotics charges and the other on armed robbery charges) to the United States. The NCB’s national drug education efforts increased in schools and churches, heightening citizens’ awareness of the fight against narcotics and traffickers. Ghana attended a UNDCP-sponsored conference for heads of law enforcement organizations in Nairobi.

Law Enforcement Efforts. The police’s Criminal Investigative Division’s (CID) narcotics unit based in Accra undertakes counternarcotics operations and prosecutions alone or in joint operations with agents of the NCB. NCB agents are not armed; they rely upon the CID in situations requiring armed force. Regional NCB narcotics squads are located at Kumasi, Koforidua, Ho, and Tema. New NCB offices opened in 2001 at CID headquarters in Accra, Accra Regional Police headquarters, and Kotoka International Airport (Accra). The Customs Excise and Preventative Service (CEPS) headquarters has a counternarcotics unit, with counternarcotics squads at two border posts, Aflao (Togo) and Elubo (Côte d’Ivoire), and at Kotoka International Airport. The government has authority to seize equipment and property, generally upon conviction; several cases are now before the courts.

Figures show a substantial increase in cocaine-related seizures but a decrease in cocaine arrests in 2001. (Figures for arrests and seizures in 2001 for cocaine, heroin, and marijuana are for January through September only, and final figures for the year will be greater.) A gram of cocaine of average purity sells for cedis 105,000 (approx. U.S. $15).

Figures show an increase in heroin-related seizures but a decrease in heroin arrests. A gram of heroin of average purity sells for cedis 155,000 (approx. U.S. $22). Greater interdiction efforts may have raised the street price from year 2000.

Cannabis-related arrests decreased. Cannabis seizures appear roughly on track with those in 2000, which were double that of 1999. (Seizure figures for 2000 have been revised sharply upward. Preliminary figures from NCB last year under-reported quarterly results.) A kilogram of cannabis sells at cedis 15,000 (approx. U.S. $2.10). A wrap or joint sells at approx. cedis 500 (approx. U.S. $.07).

The police narcotics unit and the NCB have worked closely with the INS’s regional office in Accra. Fruitful exchanges of information resulted in several successful investigations. The INS detected one fugitive from U.S. justice coaching visa applicants at the Embassy consular section; arrested by local police, he was later extradited. The NCB continued to work with DHL and Federal Express to intercept packages containing narcotics.

Corruption. In 2001, there were no narcotics-related public corruption cases reported. The new government’s "Zero Tolerance" policy on all forms of public corruption has led to several high-profile prosecutions involving present and past government officials (none involve narcotics).

Agreements and Treaties. Ghana is a party to the 1988 UN Drug Convention, the 1971 UN Convention on Psychotropic Substances, and the 1961 UN Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, as amended by the 1972 Protocol. U.S.-Ghana extradition relations are governed by the 1931 U.S.-U.K. Extradition Treaty, to which Ghana acceded at its independence. Additionally, Ghana is a party to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Protocol Agreement, which includes an extradition provision.

Cultivation and Production. Cannabis (also known as Indian hemp) is easily available and abused widely. Cultivated in rural farmlands, there is a ready market in urban areas. The Volta, Brong-Ahafo, Western, and Ashanti regions are principal growing areas. Most is consumed locally; some is trafficked to neighboring and European countries. Cannabis is usually harvested in September and October, and law enforcement teams increase their surveillance and investigation efforts at these times. Combined NCB and police teams continue to investigate production and distribution, and to destroy cultivated cannabis farms and plants. The NCB believes a local drug laboratory processing cannabis into hashish now exists. Efforts to locate it continue.

Drug Flow/Transit. Cocaine and heroin are the main drugs that transit Ghana, chiefly from South America, and Southeast and Southwest Asia. Narcotics are sometimes repackaged for reshipment to the United States and Europe. New methods of concealment in 2001 included hiding drugs in room air conditioners, rice cookers, and women’s brassieres. While, in absolute terms, drugs transiting Ghana do not yet contribute significantly to the supply of drugs to the U.S. market, Accra is an increasingly important transshipment point from Africa. Direct flights from Accra play an important role in the transshipment of heroin to the U.S. by West African trafficking organizations. For example, these flights account for the largest quantity of heroin seized at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York from Africa. Indications are that the trafficking is on the rise, with Nigerian-based trafficking organizations at the heart of the problem.

The NCB believes Nigerians dominate local cocaine and heroin trafficking routes, often using Malian passports. Many traffickers land in Mali and travel overland to Ghana. Liberian and Sierra Leonan refugees resident in Ghana also participate. Couriers from Curacao, arriving on flights from Europe, are also a concern. Ghanaian passports, easily obtainable, are often used fraudulently. Smugglers often purchase their tickets in Ghana because the exchange rate favors their currencies.

Demand Reduction. The NCB works with schools, professional training institutions, churches, local governments, and the general public. A draft Drug Education Policy is now before the government for use in all schools. The NCB continues its work with Drug Free Clubs in secondary schools throughout the country, and with the Ghana Education Service and its counseling and welfare units to oversee drug education efforts. The Ministries of Health and Education further coordinate their efforts through their representatives on the Board. The NCB also worked with numerous church groups during the year with its Sensitization Program. It has now conducted drug education programs with 106 of the country’s 110 districts assemblies, and with such entities as the Ghana Institute of Management and Professional Training and the Regional Maritime Academy. The NCB once again participated in the International Day Against Drug Abuse in June. It frequently hosts public lectures, participates in radio discussion programs, and encourages newspaper articles on the dangers of drug abuse and trafficking. The NCB continues its collaboration with the UNDCP’s Regional Office for West and Central Africa; the UNDCP’s Rapid Situation Assessment of 1999 forms the basis for this cooperation.

Although treatment programs have lagged behind preventative education and enforcement due to lack of funding, there are three government psychiatric hospitals receiving drug patients, and three private facilities in Accra, run by local NGOs, also assisting drug abusers.

U.S. Goals and Objectives. The USG’s counternarcotics and anticrime goals in Ghana are to strengthen Ghanaian law enforcement capacity generally, to improve interdiction capacities, to enhance the NCB’s office and field operation functions, and to reduce Ghana’s role as a transit point for narcotics.

Bilateral Cooperation. The DEA in Lagos and the INS in Ghana conducted a joint training program for NCB and CID narcotics officers during the summer. In December, a letter of agreement (LOA) between the United States and Ghana, under which the U.S. agreed to provide $84,000 in equipment to the NCB, was approved. Also in December, the Ministry of the Interior and the U.S. Embassy signed an amendment to the LOA to provide $294,500 for various law enforcement programs, including provision of narcotics detection devices for Kotoka International Airport. This amended LOA will be submitted to Parliament for approval not later than early 2002.

The Road Ahead. Improved narcotics interdiction, investigative capabilities, and prosecutorial successes sum up the USG’s major policy goals. A focus on improved oversight of financial transactions and intervention in suspicious cases is a particular concern, particularly given the potential for any narcotics financial networks to be used by terrorist organizations. Internal affairs units for the police and CEPS would assist in purging them of unwanted elements, and ensuring united efforts against the scourge of drugs.

Iran

I. Summary

The Islamic Republic of Iran is a major transit route for opiates smuggled from Afghanistan and through Pakistan to the Persian Gulf, Turkey, Russia, and Europe. There is no evidence that narcotics transiting Iran reach the United States in an amount sufficient to have a significant effect on the United States. Iran is no longer a major drug producing country. An extensive 1998 U.S. survey concluded that the amount of opium poppy cultivation in Iran was negligible, down from an estimated 3,500 hectares in 1993. A follow-up survey in 1999 reached the same conclusion Since then, an office of the UNDCP in Iran has repeatedly assured the international community that poppies are not cultivated in Iran. However, Iran remains a country of concern to the United States because of the quantity of drugs transiting Iran and the possibility, albeit remote, that poppy cultivation could re-commence. There is overwhelming evidence of Iran’s strong commitment to keep drugs moving out of Afghanistan from reaching its citizens, and as Iran strives to achieve this goal, it certainly also prevents drugs from reaching markets in the West. Nevertheless, as with all former major illicit drug producing countries, the USG continues to watch closely for evidence of renewed poppy cultivation or evidence that drugs transiting Iran reach the United States in significant quantities.

Opium addiction in Iran has long historical roots, and it is a major social and health problem for the Islamic Republic’s government. The Iranian government (GOI) estimates that about two percent of Iran’s 65.6 million citizens (1,312,000) are regular drug abusers (drug-dependent addicts), but such observers of drug abuse worldwide as the UNDCP view this estimate as low. Other sources (including informed observers working on drug abuse in NGOs in Iran) estimate that as many as three million Iranians abuse drugs, with perhaps 500-600 thousand "casual" (i.e., non dependent) users. The GOI seems particularly concerned over the sharp increase in intravenous drug abuse; deaths from drug abuse increased by 60 percent to 611 individuals in the first four months of 2001. Inmates in prison and the homeless are the most likely to take drugs by intravenous injection and to contract HIV through sharing needles. Sixty-nine percent of all recorded HIV cases are associated with drug abuse.

The GOI has demonstrated a sustained political commitment to combating narcotics. Iran has been in the forefront of efforts by the international community to combat the Afghan drug trade. In 2000 alone, 65 Iranian law enforcement officers died in efforts to combat drug trafficking, and 3,000 law enforcement personnel have died in clashes with heavily armed drug traffickers over the last two decades. Iran spends a significant amount on drug-related expenses, estimates range from $250-$300 million to as much as $800 million each year, depending on whether treatment and other social costs are included. Iran has made more efforts to combat the Afghan drug trade than any other country. Opiate drug seizures during 2001 were 207 metric tons of opium equivalent, quite a large seizure number in comparison to international seizure statistics, and still down sharply from recent-year seizures on the order of 450 metric tons of opium equivalents. Drug trafficking from Afghanistan under the Taliban became a serious security concern in Iran, with significant killing, kidnapping, and intimidation of villagers along Iran’s border with Afghanistan.

Iran has ratified the 1988 UN Drug Convention, but its laws do not bring it completely into conformity with the Convention. The UNDCP is working with Iran to modify its laws, train the judiciary, and improve the court system.

Land routes across Iran constitute the single largest conduit for Southwest Asian opiates en route to European markets. Entering from Afghanistan and Pakistan into eastern Iran, heroin, opium, and morphine are smuggled overland, usually to Turkey but also to Turkmenistan, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. Drugs are also smuggled by sea across the Persian Gulf. Iran is no longer a major drug-producing country; according to the UNDCP, there are no reports indicating illicit narcotics cultivation in Iran.

One of the most significant developments in Iran during 2001 was the sharp increase in the price of opium. During the first quarter of 2001, the street price of opium in Iran quadrupled from its year-end 2000 level. The price of opium stayed at this sharply higher level through September 2001. Statistics for the final three months of 2001 are not yet available, but reports that a large quantity of stored opium left Afghanistan in late September/early October likely mean that opium prices declined toward the end of the year. The leap in the opium price was apparently due largely to the ban on poppy cultivation in Taliban-controlled areas of Afghanistan, which sharply reduced opium production. But effective Iranian drug law enforcement also, no doubt, played a role.

Policy Initiatives. There are indications of a drug control policy debate in Iran. Over the last several years, the great majority of budgeted expenditures on narcotics went to enforcement. Some voices in Iran are calling for more to be spent on treatment and drug education to reduce demand. These advocates note that up to 60 percent of Iran’s growing population of intravenous drug abusers is HIV positive. They also express concern about the sharp increase in deaths attributable to drug abuse. An abrupt and/or large shift in expenditures is unlikely, but the changes in Afghanistan could encourage the continuing policy debate in Iran and contribute to a shift in policy, as heavily armed trafficking and attendant kidnapping of villagers and clashes with Iranian security forces abate.

Law Enforcement Efforts. The Anti-Narcotics Headquarters coordinates the drug-related activities of the police, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and the Ministries of Intelligence and Security, Health, and Islamic Guidance and Education.

Iran pursues an aggressive border interdiction effort. A senior Iranian official told the UNDCP that Iran had invested as much as $800 million in a system of berms, channels, concrete dams, sentry points, and observation towers, as well as a road along the entire eastern border. According to an official GOI Internet site, Iran has installed 212 border posts, 205 observation posts, 22 concrete barriers, 290 km of canals (depth-4m, width-5m), 659 km of soil embankments, a 78 km barbed wire fence, and 2,645 km of asphalt and gravel roads. It also has relocated numerous border villages to newly constructed villages.

Thirty thousand law enforcement personnel are regularly deployed along the border, and Iran reports that more than 3,000 law enforcement officials have been killed in clashes with heavily-armed smugglers during the last two decades. Interdiction efforts by the police and the Revolutionary Guards have resulted in numerous drug seizures. According to the UNDCP, Iranian officials seized 444 metric tons of opiates (opium equivalent) in 2000, and 207 metric tons of opiates (opium equivalent) in 2001. Thus, seizures fell by roughly fifty-four percent in 2001 in comparison to 2000. The sharp decline in seizures, accompanied by a sharp increase in price indicates that much less opium was moving from Afghanistan into Iran during 2001, with tight supplies most evident during the first six-nine months of the year.

Drug offenses are under the jurisdiction of the Revolutionary Courts. Punishment for narcotics offenses is severe, with death sentences possible for possession of more than 30 grams of heroin or five kilograms of opium. Those convicted of lesser offenses may be punished with imprisonment, fines, or lashes, although lashing is said to have been used less frequently in recent years. Offenders between the ages of 16 and 18 are afforded some leniency. At the end of 2001 forty-seven percent of the inmates in Iranian prisons were incarcerated for drug offenses, ranging from use to trafficking. There were 83,308 inmates with drug-related convictions at the end of 2001. Primarily as a result of a sharp (36 percent) increase in the number of addicts arrested, narcotics-related arrests in Iran during 2001 increased to311,984, an increase of almost 16 percent over 2000. Iran has executed more than 10,000 narcotics traffickers in the last decade; executions continue, but the UNDCP reports that many in Iranian judiciary are questioning the deterrent effect of executions.

Corruption. Although there is no indication that senior government officials aid or abet narcotics traffickers, there are periodic reports of corruption among lower-level law enforcement, which is consistent with the transit of multiple-ton drug shipments across Iran. Punishment of corruption appears to be harsh, and the evidence of Iran’s commitment to keep drugs from its people is compelling.

Agreements and Treaties. Iran is a party to the 1988 UN Drug Convention. Its legislation does not bring it completely into conformity with the Convention, particularly in the areas of money laundering and controlled deliveries. The UNDCP is working with Iran through the NOROUZ Program to modify its laws, train the judiciary, and improve the court system. Iran is a party to the 1961 UN Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, and it has signed but not ratified the 1972 Protocol amending the Single Convention. Iran became a party to the 1971 UN Convention on Psychotropic Substances on August 9, 2000. In addition, Iran has signed bilateral counternarcotics agreements with Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, India, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Nigeria, Pakistan, Qatar, Russia, Turkey, and Turkmenistan. Iran has shown an increasing desire to cooperate with the international community on counternarcotics matters and recently signed separate quadripartite memoranda of understanding on money laundering and drug control with Armenia, Georgia, and the UNDCP, as well as Azerbaijan, Georgia, and the UNDCP. In January 2000, according to press reports, Iranian airport officials visited Cyprus to look into ways to control drug trafficking from Iran to Cyprus. Iran participates with the UNDCP and Pakistan on a reasonably successful project to bolster drug interdiction efforts on the Iran-Pakistan border. Iran is a member of the ten-nation Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO), which established a counternarcotics center as part of its secretariat. In March, the Iranian permanent envoy to the UN’s Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) was elected by a large majority to chair the CND for a one-year term. Under his able leadership, the CND developed a reporting and evaluation program to follow up on commitments made at the 1998 UNGA Special Session on Drugs. Iran has been active participant on counternarcotics issues through the UN’s "Six Plus Two" process on Afghanistan, and signed the Six Plus Two Regional Action Plan in September. Iran signed the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime on December 12, 2000.

Cultivation/Production. A 1998 U.S. survey of opium poppy cultivation in Iran and a detailed multi-agency assessment concluded that the amount of poppy being grown in Iran was negligible. The survey looked at more than 1.25 million acres in Iran’s traditional poppy-growing areas, and found no poppy crops growing there, although the survey could not rule out the possibility of some cultivation in remote areas. A follow-up survey in 1999 reached the same conclusion. The UNDCP office located in Tehran has repeatedly assured the international community since then that poppies are not cultivated in Iran. Thus, the dated U.S. evidence that no poppies are being grown is consistent with Iranian claims and evidence from other concerned countries and the UNDCP.

Iran is generally viewed as a transit country for drugs produced elsewhere, but there are some reports of opium refining near the Turkish/Iranian border. Most refining of the opiates moving through Iran is certainly done elsewhere, either in Afghanistan or in Turkey.

Drug Flow/Transit. Shipments of opiates enter Iran overland from Pakistan and Afghanistan by camel, donkey, or truck caravans, often organized and protected by heavily armed ethnic Baluch tribesmen from either side of the frontier. Once inside Iran, large shipments are either concealed within ordinary commercial truck cargoes or broken down into smaller sub-shipments. Foreign embassy observers report that Iranian interdiction efforts have disrupted smuggling convoys sufficiently to force smugglers to change tactics and emphasize concealment. The use of human "mules" reportedly is on the rise. Individuals and small groups attempt to cross the border with two to ten kilograms of drugs.

Most of the opiates smuggled into Iran are smuggled to neighboring countries for further processing and transportation to Europe. Turkey is the main processing destination for these opiates, most of which are bound for consumption in Russia and Europe. There is a northern smuggling route through Iran’s Khorasan Province, to Turkmenistan, to Tehran, and then on to Turkey. The mountainous, desert, sparsely settled nature of this route makes it hard to police. Traffickers are frequently well-armed and dangerous. The southern route also passes through sparsely-settled desert terrain on its way to Tehran en route to Turkey; some opiates moving along the southern route detour to Bandar Abbas and move by sea to the Persian Gulf states. Bandar Abbas also appears to be an entry point for precursor chemicals moving to refineries in Afghanistan. Iran does not specifically control precursor chemicals used for producing illicit drugs; however, Iranian Customs seized in excess of 20 metric tons of diverted acetic anhydride (AA), a key precursor for heroin, during 2001. Azerbaijan and Armenia provide alternative routes to Russia and Europe that bypass Turkish interdiction efforts. Additionally, despite the risk of severe punishment, marine transport is used through the Persian Gulf to the nations of the Arabian Peninsula, taking advantage of modern transportation and communication facilities and a laissez faire commercial attitude in that area. Iranian enforcement officials have estimated that as much as 50 percent of the opium produced in Afghanistan in past years entered Iran, with as much as 700-800 tons of opium consumed in Iran itself by 1.8-2 million users (median estimate).

As measured by seizures, the United States is an important destination for drugs mailed from Iran. In 2000, the United States led all other destinations for drugs mailed to a foreign destination, but seized by Iranian authorities in Iran (28 cases, involving seizures of 6.7 kilograms of various drugs, primarily opiates). Canada was the second most common destination, with 5.4 kilograms seized. The UK was the third most common destination, with 4.7 kilograms seized. The amount of drugs moving to all destinations by mail and courier service is miniscule, and seizures of some of these shipments before they leave Iran provide the only evidence of this smuggling method.

Domestic Programs (Demand Reduction). The Government of Iran estimates the number of drug addicts at over 1.3 million, with an additional 600,000 casual drug abusers. However, a physician and member of the national committee against AIDS have estimated that there are 3.3 million addicts. The UNDCP estimates that 1.5 to two percent of a population of 65.6 million (984,000-1,312,000) has a serious drug problem. Ninety-three percent of these are male, with a mean age of 33.4 years (plus or minus 10.5 years), and 1.4 percent (ca. 21,000) are HIV positive. In the past, the Islamic Republic attacked illegal alcohol use with more fervor than drug abuse, and was reluctant to discuss drug problems openly. Since 1995, public awareness campaigns and attention by two successive Iranian presidents as well as cabinet ministers and the parliament have given demand reduction a significant boost. Under the NOROUZ plan, the Government of Iran spent more than $68 million dollars in the first year for demand reduction and community awareness. The Prevention Department of Iran’s Social Welfare Association runs 12 treatment and rehabilitation centers, as well as 39 out-patient treatment programs in all major cities. Some 30,000 people are treated per year, and some programs have three-month waiting lists. Narcotics Anonymous and other self-help programs can be found in almost all districts as well and several NGOs focus on drug demand reduction. There are no methadone treatment or HIV prevention programs, although HIV infection in the prison population is a serious concern.

In the absence of diplomatic relations with Iran, the United States has no narcotics initiatives in Iran. The U.S. government continues to encourage regional cooperation against narcotics trafficking. Iran and the United States have expressed similar viewpoints on illicit drugs and the regional impact of the Afghan drug trade. In the context of multilateral settings such as the UN’s Six Plus Two group, the United States and Iran have worked together productively. Iran nominated the United States to be coordinator of the Six Plus Two counternarcotics initiative.

The Road Ahead. The GOI has demonstrated sustained national political will and taken strong measures against illicit narcotics, including cooperation with the international community. Iran’s actions support the global effort against international drug trafficking. Iran stands to be one of the major benefactors of any long-term reduction in drug production/trafficking from Afghanistan. The United States anticipates that Iran will continue to pursue policies and actions in support of efforts to combat drug production and trafficking.

Israel

I. Summary

Neither trafficking nor drug production are significant problems in Israel. However, the Israeli National Police report that all the commonly abused drugs are available in Israel and that drug use is on the rise among the nation’s youths. Several hundred Israelis are currently involved in international narcotics trafficking worldwide, specifically in the smuggling of MDMA (ecstasy) from Europe to the United States, as well as cocaine trafficking. Israeli authorities stepped up ongoing cooperation with USG officials during 2001 and made dozens of arrests of drug traffickers. The Israel Anti-Drug Authority (ADA) has refocused its domestic programs toward at-risk youth groups.

Israel in 2001 enacted nine sets of regulations to implement anti-money laundering legislation passed in 2000 and plans to have a Money Laundering Authority operational early in 2002. Israel has signed the 1988 UN Drug Convention and plans to ratify it in early 2002. Israeli domestic law already implements the Convention’s requirements.

Israeli narcotics trafficking rings have been increasingly involved in the smuggling of ecstasy from its point of production in Europe (primarily the Netherlands) to the U.S. over the past several years. Israeli authorities have been fully cooperative with USG officials, who describe information sharing at an all-time high. During 2001, U.S. DEA officials and Israel National Police authorities worked closely with European counterparts and dozens of arrests of drug traffickers were made. Israeli authorities also allowed DEA officials to participate in several arrests in Israel this year, and extradition proceedings are under way in several cases.

Policy Initiatives. In May 2001 the Israeli Police Commissioner set up a committee to review drug enforcement policy. The committee is headed by the Deputy Director of the Intelligence Division of the Israel National Police and includes representatives from police investigations, intelligence, and research units, and officials of the ADA and other entities. The committee’s report was released at the end of 2001.

Cultivation/Production. There is only negligible illicit drug cultivation or production in Israel.

Law Enforcement Efforts. U.S. DEA officials in Cyprus report that more than two dozen arrests were made this year as a result of three strategic planning meetings held during 2001. These meetings focused on the trafficking of narcotics, specifically ecstasy. Included in those arrested this year was Oded Tuido, the largest ecstasy trafficker known to authorities at the time. Meeting participants included the Israel National Police, U.S. DEA, U.S. Customs, and European security officials. Information sharing with Israeli authorities was higher than ever. The INP opened 17,658 files on drug-related crimes from January to September, a two percent increase over the 17,351 cases opened during the same period last year. This reflects a sharp decline in the ten to 20 percent annual average increase over the past decade. Seizures also were generally down. According to the police, these decreases are a result of the shift of police focus away from drug-related crime to internal security matters during 2001.

This year Israeli Customs authorities participated in several international operations: "Pompidou" on cooperation among airports, "Topaz" on control of chemical substances used for the manufacturing of heroin, and "Sinbad" on surveillance of small sailing vessels in the Mediterranean sea basin. Operation Topaz resulted in the seizure of tens of tons of acetic anhydride abroad (not en route to Israel), which was in transit to illegal laboratories for the purpose of manufacturing heroin. Operation Sinbad resulted in the seizure of 3.5 tons of hashish in transit from Morocco to Spain. Israeli Customs works with Israeli police and shares intelligence with the World Customs Organization. In May 2001 the Israeli Police Commissioner set up a committee to review drug enforcement policy. The committee’s report was released at the end of 2001.

Corruption. Israel has had no cases of narcotics-related government corruption, nor is there any explicit or implicit official support for narcotics-related activities. Israel does not have legislation for public corruption specifically relating to narcotics, but it punishes corruption in all government matters when proven.

Agreements and Treaties. In 2000 Israel passed legislation against money laundering, clearing the last legal hurdle to ratifying the 1988 UN Drug Convention. The Government of Israel is now completing internal administrative processes to ratify the Convention and plans to complete the process in early 2002. In 1991 the U.S. and Israel signed a memorandum of understanding calling for bilateral cooperation to combat illicit narcotics trafficking and abuse. A dual taxation treaty entered into force between the U.S. and Israel in 1994, which grants U.S. tax authorities limited access to bank account information. Israel is a party to the 1971 UN Convention on Psychotropic Substances, the 1961 UN Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, and the 1972 Protocol amending the Single Convention. A customs mutual assistance agreement and a mutual legal assistance treaty are also in force between Israel and the U.S. In December 2000 Israel signed the UN Convention against Transnational Crime and it is in the process of undergoing the necessary domestic review prior to ratification. In November 2001, Israel also signed the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress, and Punish Trafficking in Persons, supplementing this convention. Israel is a party to the European Convention on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters. Israel is one of 36 parties to the European Treaty on Extradition and has separate extradition treaties with several other countries, including the U.S. Under the Israeli extradition law, as recently amended, all persons, whether citizens or not, may be extradited for purposes of standing trial for extraditable offences. If the requested person was both a citizen and resident of Israel at the time the offence was committed, he may be extradited to trial abroad only if the state seeking extradition promises in advance to allow the person to return to Israel to serve any sentence imposed. Israel is party to a number of other bilateral and multilateral agreements that allow for extradition and asset seizure. Israel cooperates with the UNDCP.

Drug Flow/Transit. Most drugs imported to Israel are consumed domestically. Israel is not a major drug flow/transit country, although Israelis play a considerable role in international drug trafficking networks in source, transit, and distribution countries. Israeli Customs seized 1.9 kilograms of cannabis, 31.9 grams of opium and heroin, 2 kilograms of cocaine, 206 ecstasy pills, 2,055 LSD stamps, and 391 grams of other unspecified substances at ports of entry during the first nine months of 2001.

Domestic Programs (Demand Reduction). The ADA sets Israeli drug policy, and works in the areas of prevention, education, public awareness, treatment, and rehabilitation. Many other entities take part in the fight against drug use, including youth movements, sports organizations, kibbutzim, and NGOs. The ADA budget was cut from approximately U.S. $9.5 million during 2000 to approximately U.S. $8 million for 2001, due to overall budget cuts in Israel. According to the ADA, there are 200,000-250,000 drug users in Israel. Of those, some 20,000-25,000 are heroin addicts. ADA officials remain concerned about increasing use of recreational drugs (primarily ecstasy) among the nation’s youth. The ADA launched a national public campaign against ecstasy during 2001. The ADA continues to focus its efforts toward youth generally considered high risk (new immigrants from the former Soviet Union and Ethiopia, Israeli Arabs, and "detached" youths, i.e., dropouts). ADA programs for youths include peer counseling, sports and other recreational activities, and a new computer program currently being adopted for school use. These programs are designed to prevent delinquency, create "alternatives" for youths, and to teach "life skills," as well as "the ability to say no."

The ADA launched a new program for drug-addicted women during 2001 which is showing positive results. It has also initiated an experimental program for users of hallucinogenic substances who have mental disorders as a result of drug abuse. The ADA is also beginning a new program to increase awareness within the country’s Arab sector, where it reports a relatively high percentage of drug abuse.

The Road Ahead. DEA officials were pleased with the arrests and seizures made during 2001 and intend to further crack down on ecstasy and cocaine trafficking rings through increased cooperation. USG and Israeli authorities will continue to conduct strategy sessions throughout 2002. The USG will also seek to increase extradition activities during 2002. Some Israeli enforcement personnel attended U.S. training during 2001, and joint training opportunities should also be available in the future.

Jordan

I. Summary

Jordan’s domestic drug abuse problem remains small due largely to the active enforcement of existing laws, and cultural and religious norms which help limit the use of illegal drugs. Jordan remains a transit country for drugs due to its pivotal location between drug-producing countries to the north, and drug-consuming countries to the south and west. Cooperation between Jordan and neighboring countries, particularly Lebanon and Syria, is ongoing and robust. Cooperation with Israel decreased significantly due to ongoing Israeli-Palestinian hostilities. Jordan is a party to the 1988 UN Drug Convention and looks forward to working closely with the EU and the United States on drug transit issues.

There are no obvious indicators to suggest Jordan will move from a narcotics transit country to a narcotics producing country in the foreseeable future. The modest amount of drug seizures and drug use reported seem to support this assessment.

Policy Initiatives. In December 1999, Jordanian officials announced a government wide project entitled "The National Plan to Combat Drugs and Psychotropic Substances." The duration of the project was originally scheduled from 1999 through 2001. An extension to include the year 2002 was recently announced with an estimated budget for Jordan of U.S. $3 million. The plan encompasses three main objectives: prevention, enforcement, and treatment.

Law Enforcement Efforts. Jordan’s Public Security Directorate maintains an active Anti-Narcotics and Counterfeiting Bureau. In an effort to enhance enforcement, this bureau added an additional 14 officers in 2001, bringing the total of counternarcotics officers to approximately 250. To prepare for better treatment and prevention measures, the unit’s deputy director attended a Canadian-sponsored conference geared toward the challenges of treatment.

Law enforcement and drug policy officials report an increase in the amount of hashish seized in Jordan for 2001. Officials attribute this success to the tough enforcement by the Public Security Directorate’s Anti-Narcotics and Counterfeiting Bureau. Members of this bureau cite a very close working relationship with Lebanon, the purported source country, to eradicate hashish trafficking. Further, bureau members report a vigorous, cooperative, and ongoing drug enforcement effort with Syria and Saudi Arabia.

Statistics provided by enforcement officials for 2001 indicate more than a doubling in seizures of cannabis (from approximately 300 kilograms in 2000 to approximately 800 kilograms in 2001). They attribute this increase in seizures to the cooperative efforts between Lebanon and Jordan. These same Jordanian officials hope to further enhance their existing counternarcotics agreement with Turkish enforcement officials and improve efforts to combat the trafficking of opium and heroin.

Corruption. Jordanian officials report no narcotics-related corruption or corruption investigations during the past year. There is currently no evidence to suggest that senior officials are involved in narcotics trafficking.

Agreements and Treaties. Jordan is a party to the 1988 UN Drug Convention, the 1961 UN Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, the 1972 Protocol amending the Single Convention, and the 1971 UN Convention on Psychotropic Substances. Jordan remains committed to existing bilateral agreements providing for counternarcotics cooperation with Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Egypt, Pakistan, and Hungary. Although the United States views a 1995 bilateral extradition treaty as being in force, Jordan has failed to honor any U.S. extradition requests since a 1997 Jordanian Court of Cassation (Appeals-Level Court) ruling that the Jordanian Parliament had not properly approved the treaty. The United States has repeatedly urged Jordan to rectify any impediments to implementation of the treaty. Jordan is a party to the World Customs Organization’s International Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance for the Prevention, Investigation, and Repression of Customs Offenses (Nairobi Convention), Annex X on Assistance in Narcotic Cases.

Cultivation/Production. Existing laws prohibit the cultivation or production of narcotics in Jordan. These laws have been effectively enforced, aided by Jordan’s desert climate which precludes the cultivation of many plants containing narcotic or psychotropic substances.

Drug Flow/Transit. Jordan remains a transit country for illicit drugs. Jordan’s most challenging burden remains the long, open, and often desolate borders with neighboring countries to the north. While law enforcement sources point to robust and effective enforcement efforts with Syria and Lebanon, the vast array of nomadic tribes associated with trafficking often eludes the most sophisticated efforts of interdiction. None of the drugs that transit Jordan are believed to be destined for the United States.

Statistics for 2001 reveal a reduction in the amount of opium and heroin that transits Jordan. Cannabis seizures have increased. These seizures have been due in large part to the efforts of Lebanon and Jordan to cooperate fully on cross border issues. Statistics also reveal continued seizures of captagon tablets (an amphetamine-type stimulant) destined for Saudi Arabia. In the past, transit problems to Israel were prevalent, but the ongoing hostilities in Israel have provided very limited opportunity for cooperation with Israeli authorities, so it is uncertain what drugs might still move in that direction.

Precursor Chemical Control. There are no reports on the production of precursor or essential chemical control agents in Jordan. There were no reported seizures or smuggling of pre-cursor chemicals in Jordan during 2001. The Jordanian Government does have in place a reasonable system of controls on precursor chemicals, and works closely with its neighbors and major trading partners to counter any attempts at diversion.

Domestic Programs (Demand Reduction). The Ministry of Education and Health makes presentations to school-age youths, conducts awareness briefings, and produces lecture materials on prevention, awareness, and addiction. In 2001, the Ministry opened the National Rehabilitation Center. The new treatment facility in Shafra Beida, a suburb of Amman, has 60 beds available for treatment.

As always, cultural and religious norms are an important factor in drug use. The counternarcotics unit is committed to providing information on illicit narcotics to the Ministry of Moslem Affairs and Holy Places, which directs religious speeches, lessons, and lectures on awareness of drugs and their effects.

Policy Initiatives. The Jordanian government is committed to its efforts, highlighted in the National Anti-Drug Plan, to combat drugs and psychotropic substances. Counternarcotics officials report that the government is also committed to prevention, treatment, and enforcement as a general policy to combat the use and spread of drugs.

Bilateral Cooperation. Jordan’s Anti-Narcotics and Counterfeiting Bureau has a close working relationship with the DEA’s country attaché in Cyprus.

The Road Ahead. The United States expects continued cooperation with Jordanian enforcement and policy officials on counternarcotics matters, and is confident in Jordan’s initiatives and efforts to creatively implement Jordan’s own national strategy to combat drugs of abuse.

Kenya

I. Summary

Kenya is a transit country for heroin and hashish, mostly en route from Southwest Asia and headed for Europe and North America. The quality of heroin transiting Kenya has increased in recent years and is destined increasingly for North America. The exact impact that heroin transiting Kenya is having on the U.S. market is unclear, since specific quantities are unknown. Cannabis/marijuana is grown clandestinely and illegally imported from neighboring countries for domestic consumption. There is a small local heroin market. Airline passenger profiling and other techniques continue to help reduce airborne heroin shipments. Interdiction of narcotics shipments by sea has been less successful, but a program for profiling shipping containers is in effect. The Kenyan government has approved a long-awaited national drug control master plan. The Anti-Narcotics Unit (ANU) of the Kenyan police continues to cooperate well with international and regional counternarcotics officials. Although government officials profess strong support for counternarcotics efforts, the overall program suffers from a lack of resources. Kenya is a party to the 1988 UN Drug Convention and has enacted full implementing legislation.

Kenya is an important transit country and a minor producer of narcotics. The quantities of heroin and hashish transiting Kenya, thought to have a relatively small impact on the United States, were on the rise in recent years, but diminished in 2001. Cannabis or marijuana is produced illegally in commercial quantities for the domestic market with there being no evidence that this production has a major impact on the United States. Small quantities of cocaine and other drugs originating outside Africa transit Kenya for consumers in Southern Africa.

Kenya’s sea and air transportation infrastructure, and the network of commercial and family ties that link some Kenyans to Southwest Asia, make Kenya a important transit country for Southwest Asian heroin. In 2000, officials noted a dramatic shift from low-purity brown heroin to higher-purity white heroin, and believe that the higher-purity product is destined principally for the United States. This trend continued in 2001. Officials now believe that the United States is at least as significant as Europe as a destination for heroin transiting Kenya. It is difficult to estimate the quantities of heroin reaching the United States through Kenya and therefore to assess its impact on the United States. In recent years, Kenya has been an important transit point for Southwest Asian cannabis resin (hashish), and police made several multi-ton hashish seizures in recent years. However, hashish seizures fell off significantly in 2001. Cocaine seizures were also sharply down in 2001. Kenya does not produce significant quantities of precursor chemicals.

Policy Initiatives. In April 2001, the Kenyan Cabinet approved a national drug control master plan in April 2001. The plan is expected to go before the parliament soon to be enacted. A key element of this plan is the identification of a senior civil servant to liaise with donors and to coordinate a broad counternarcotics effort, including a much-expanded preventative education campaign. This would allow the ANU to concentrate on its interdiction mandate. Regular meetings and information sharing between Kenyan, Ugandan, Tanzanian, and Rwandan narcotics officials continued in 2001. This regional cooperation was advanced in 2001 with the establishment of an East African Community Protocol on combating drug trafficking in the East African region, which Kenya has ratified. Regular meetings among Kenyan counternarcotics authorities also improved internal information sharing and operational coordination between various government agencies, airlines, and other entities. In 2001, Kenyan police officers observed cannabis eradication operations in Uganda and participated in an exchange program on airport counternarcotics operations with their Tanzanian and Ugandan counterparts. The ANU officers also have continued a program of outreach to judges and magistrates, conducting seminars on counternarcotics law and the full spectrum of narcotics issues. The ANU continued to publicize its message effectively through local media. The ANU also engages in efforts to raise public awareness on drug abuse by giving lectures at schools and to local groups. Aside from crop eradication programs, Kenya has no crop substitution or alternative development initiatives for progressive elimination of the cultivation of marijuana/cannabis. The ANU remains the focus of Kenyan counternarcotics efforts.

Accomplishments. Many ANU officers have undergone training, much of it through the UNDCP and bilateral programs sponsored primarily by the U.S., German, British, and Japanese governments. The ANU and the Kenyan Customs Service now have a cadre of officers proficient in profiling and searching suspected drug couriers and containers at airports and seaports. There have been some good results with profiling at airports, although generally with respect to couriers rather than major traffickers. Results at seaports have been modest. The ANU continues to build its surveillance capabilities and is able to carry out increasingly sophisticated operations. Inadequate resources, a problem throughout the Kenyan police force, significantly reduce the ANU’s operational effectiveness.

The ANU cooperates with the United States and other nations on counternarcotics investigations and other operations.

Law Enforcement Efforts. Kenya seized 18.17 kilograms of heroin in 2001 (all statistics on drug seizures in this section reflect the period from January to September 2001) and arrested 117 people on heroin-related charges. This amount is a reduction from seizures last year, though the number of arrests nearly doubled from last year’s figure. Officials report a sharp shift from lower-quality brown heroin to higher-quality white heroin, and report that much of the white heroin transiting Kenya is destined for the United States where traffickers are hoping to gain larger profits. Most couriers arrested in Kenya conceal heroin by swallowing it, though some also hide it in their shoes. The ANU concentrates its anti-heroin operations at Kenya’s two international airports.

In a dramatic drop, Kenyan authorities seized only 21 kilograms of hashish in 2001 compared to the 4,715 kilograms that were seized in 2000. Four arrests were made during these seizures. Officials believe Kenyan coastal waters and ports are major transit points for the shipment of hashish from Pakistan to Europe and North America.

2001 marked a significant drop from last year in cocaine seizures. A total of only seven grams of cocaine were seized and four people arrested. The cocaine seized in Kenya is believed to originate from Brazil and Colombia, though its availability and abuse in Kenya is not widespread. Police also arrested one suspect for possession of the psychotropic drug Diazepam.

Kenyan authorities seized 381,085.68 kilograms of cannabis in 2001, and arrested 2,667 individuals. The increase in seizures is attributed to focused operations in the Mt. Kenya region, a major cultivation area. In a week-long operation, police destroyed 14 farms along with 328,362 kilograms of cannabis leaves.

The ANU continued to operate roadblocks for domestic drug trafficking interdiction and is pursuing a variety of policy initiatives for more effective coordination with other government agencies.

Corruption. Corruption remains a significant barrier to effective narcotics enforcement. Despite Kenya’s strict narcotics law, which encompasses most forms of narcotics-related corruption, there are continued but unconfirmed reports of public officials being involved in narcotics trafficking. Police frequently complain that the courts are ineffective in handling narcotics cases, although it is not clear whether this is a result of corruption, misunderstanding of the law, or simple judicial backlog. More broadly, anticorruption efforts are an integral part of an economic recovery program that was negotiated with the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank in 2000, leading to significant prosecutions that year. However, this effort faltered by 2001 when the Kenyan Anti-Corruption Authority was ruled unconstitutional by the High Court and was dissolved. The future of Kenya’s anticorruption initiatives did not appear promising at year’s end.

Agreements and Treaties. Kenya is a party to the 1988 UN Drug Convention, which it implemented in 1994 with the enactment of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Control Act. In 2000 Kenya’s National Assembly ratified the 1971 UN Convention on Psychotropic Substances. Kenya is also a party to the 1961 UN Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs and the 1972 Protocol amending the Single Convention. Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda negotiated a protocol to enhance regional counternarcotics cooperation in 2001. The 1931 U.S.-U.K. Extradition Treaty remains in force between the United States and Kenya through a 1965 exchange of notes.

Under a 1991 Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), amended in 1996, the U.S. donated surveillance and computer equipment to the ANU in 1997. The MOU also provides for sharing of narcotics-related information. The United States and Kenya signed another MOU in 2000 to cover the donation of motorcycles, computers, and related equipment to the ANU. The United States has prepared an amendment to the current MOU in which it seeks to increase its assistance to the ANU.

Cultivation/Production. A significant number of Kenyan farmers illegally grow cannabis or marijuana on a commercial basis for the domestic market. Fairly large-scale cannabis cultivation occurs in the Lake Victoria basin, in the central highlands around Mt. Kenya, and along the coast. Foreign tourists export small amounts of Kenyan marijuana. Officials continue to conduct aerial surveys to identify significant cannabis-producing areas in cooperation with the Kenya Wildlife Service. The State Department did not provide funding for the application of aerial herbicides in 2001, and no aerial eradication efforts were undertaken.

Drug Flow/Transit. Kenya is strategically located along a major transit route between Southwest Asian producers of heroin and markets in Europe and North America. In 2001, the amount of heroin seized in Kenya decreased for the first time in four years, although the number of arrests increased from last year’s figures. Heroin normally transits Kenya by air, carried by individual couriers. West Africans, South Asians, and East Africans remain active couriers. However, the ANU reports a trend of European couriers trafficking in heroin transiting Kenya to Europe and North America. Once in Kenya, heroin is typically delivered to agents of West African crime syndicates.

The police continue to notice a dramatic shift in heroin trafficking from low-purity brown heroin to high-purity white heroin. Officials attribute the increasing amount of white heroin to increased processing capabilities in Pakistan and Afghanistan during 2001. Officials also say that the shift from brown to white heroin has been accompanied by a shift from the European to the North American market.

Local, regional, and international counternarcotics officials are also paying closer attention to maritime transport of heroin, though no seizures were made from this source in 2001. There is also evidence that poor policing along the East African coast makes this region attractive to maritime smugglers. Kenya’s neighbor Somalia has a long coastline and no functioning government. Kenya also has very few maritime interdiction resources.

Postal and commercial courier services are also used for narcotics shipments through Kenya. In the past, Kenya has been a transit country for methaqualone (Mandrax) en route from India to South Africa. Between 1996 and 2000, there had been no Mandrax seizures in Kenya. However, this changed in 2001 when 52,103 Mandrax tablets were intercepted and seven suspects arrested. One person was arrested for possession of the psychotropic substance of Diazepam.

Officials have never identified any clandestine airstrips in Kenya used for drug deliveries and believe that no such airstrips exist.

Domestic Programs (Demand Reduction). Kenya has made some progress in efforts to institute programs for demand reduction. Illegal cannabis and a locally abused mild narcotic called "Khat" are the domestic drugs of choice. Heroin abuse is limited generally to members of the economic elite and a slightly broader range of users on the coast. Solvent abuse is widespread (and highly visible) among street children in Nairobi and other urban centers. There are no reliable statistics on domestic consumption of illicit narcotics.

Demand reduction efforts have largely been limited to publicity campaigns sponsored by private donors and a UNDCP project to bring counternarcotics education into the schools. In 2001, however, the Government of Kenya appointed a National Coordinator for the Campaign Against Drug Abuse to initiate national public education programs on drugs. There are no special government rehabilitation or drug abuse treatment facilities, but some churches and NGOs provide limited rehabilitation and treatment programs for solvent-addicted street children.

Bilateral Cooperation and Accomplishments. The principal U.S. counternarcotics objective in Kenya is to interdict the flow of narcotics to the United States. The USG seeks to accomplish this objective through law enforcement cooperation, the encouragement of a strong Kenyan government commitment to narcotics interdiction and efforts to strengthen Kenyan counternarcotics capabilities.

There was a modest expansion of U.S. bilateral cooperation with Kenya and surrounding countries on counternarcotics matters in 2001. The U.S. provided the ANU with four motorcycles and will be providing computers and related equipment to this unit in the coming year. The United States also took over local chairmanship of the Mini-Dublin Group, which has responsibility for coordinating counternarcotics assistance to Kenya from several Western donors.

The United States is in the process of seeking an amendment to the MOU it signed with the Government of Kenya in 2000 to provide increased assistance to the ANU. Once signed, this amendment will allow the U.S. to assist the ANU to improve its airport interdiction efforts and to combat corruption.

The Road Ahead. The USG will continue to take advantage of its good relations with Kenyan law enforcement authorities to enhance professionalism, operational capacity, and information sharing. Nairobi is also an ideal venue for conducting regional training and launching other regional initiatives. The USG will actively seek ways to maximize counternarcotics efforts both in Kenya and throughout East Africa. Perhaps most significantly, the USG will work with local, regional, and international partners to better understand and combat the flow of international narcotics, particularly heroin, through Kenya to the United States.

Lebanon

I. Summary

Lebanon is not a major illicit drug producing or drug-transit country, although it remains a country of concern to the U.S. During 2001 there was a significant increase in hashish cultivation. Although the Government of Lebanon (GOL), in cooperation with Syrian authorities, was successful in suppressing the cultivation of illicit opium and cannabis crops in the Biqa’ Valley from 1992-2000, the resumption of cannabis cultivation during 2001 is likely attributable the lack of suitable alternative crops to sustain the livelihoods of local farmers at a time of growing economic uncertainty. There was minimal poppy cultivation in 2001. There is practically no illicit drug refining in Lebanon. Drug trafficking across the Lebanese-Syrian border has diminished substantially as a result of Lebanese and Syrian efforts to deter smuggling activity. Lebanon is a party to the 1988 UN Drug Convention.

The deteriorating economic situation in Lebanon—especially in the agricultural sector—led to a resurgence of hashish cultivation by farmers in the Biqa’ Valley in 2001. There were also minor instances of poppy cultivation. Neither the GOL nor the Syrian authorities in the area made any efforts to deter cultivation in the spring of 2001 or to eradicate the resulting crop before the summer harvest. However, in November, the government launched an counternarcotics campaign to discourage new planting. Occasionally producers of illicit crops have shot at strangers who were perceived to be threatening their fields; in June, shots were fired at a CNN team attempting to film cannabis crops.

Approximately 4,010 hectares of land were used for hashish production. In 2000, the Judiciary Police—the law enforcement agency tasked with counternarcotics responsibilities—destroyed opium poppy crops in several areas of the Biqa’ Valley. They performed no eradication in 2001, but illicit cultivation remained very limited.

Five types of drugs are available in Lebanon: hashish, heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine, and other synthetics, such as MDMA (ecstasy). Although hashish and heroin are no longer widely available in large quantities, small quantities continue to be available for local consumption.

Lebanon is not a major transit country for illicit drug traffickers, and most trafficking is done by "amateurs," rather than major drug networks. Marijuana and opium derivatives are trafficked to a modest extent in the region, but there is no evidence that the illicit narcotics that transit Lebanon reach the U.S. in sufficient amounts to have a significant effect on the U.S. South American cocaine is smuggled into Lebanon primarily via air and sea routes from Europe, Jordan, and Syria. Lebanese nationals living in South America in concert with resident Lebanese traffickers often finance these operations. Synthetics are smuggled into Lebanon primarily for sale to high-income recreational users.

There is no significant illicit drug refining in Lebanon; such activity has practically disappeared due to vigilance of the Syrian and Lebanese governments. Small amounts of precursor chemicals, however, shipped from Lebanon to Turkey via Syria, are diverted for illicit use. Legislation passed in 1998 authorized seizure of assets if a drug trafficking nexus is established in court proceedings.

Policy Initiatives. Neither the Lebanese government nor the Syrian government (which maintains security control over the Biqa’ Valley) took any actions to prevent illicit cannabis cultivation in 2001. Although Lebanese Interior Minister Elias Murr sent a circular in May to local government officials advising them that failure to report illicit cannabis and opium cultivation in their areas could subject them to prosecution, there was no follow up, and there have been no prosecutions. However, in November, prior to the poppy-sowing season, the government launched a coordinated campaign to discourage farmers from cultivating illicit crops, and began planning for their eradication. Interior Minister Murr announced a zero-tolerance policy for poppy cultivation and opium/heroin production. The government has continued to support counternarcotics initiatives in coordination with international organizations and other countries through training and program participation.

Accomplishments. The government launched a public awareness advertising campaign in 2001 to discourage drug use and introduced a recently approved civics textbook for use in all public schools, which contains a chapter on narcotics. In December, the Ministry of Health established a system for ensuring that precursor chemicals imported into Lebanon for licit purposes would not be diverted to illicit uses.

In addition to its unilateral efforts, from 1994-2001 the GOL worked with the United Nations Drug Control Program (UNDCP), the UN Development Program (UNDP), and the FAO on a crop substitution and rural development program in the Baalbek-Hermel area. Over the period of the program, UNDP provided about one-third of the funds (an estimated $4.7 million) used in Lebanon’s Integrated Rural Development Program for Baalbek and Hermel. The UNDP operated six healthcare centers and provided loans and vocational training for farmers, but funding for the program ran out in October 2001. Farmers in the Biqa’ Valley reportedly had been dissatisfied with the crop substitution program. During the year, local political figures exerted political pressure on the government to ignore the resurgence of narcotics cultivation. Given the continuing agricultural crisis in the country, and considering that development funds remain limited, impoverished farmers will likely continue to cultivate illicit cannabis, and there is a danger of a return to illicit opium cultivation, unless serious deterrence measures and/or meaningful development alternatives are made available.

Law Enforcement and Transit Cooperation. Lebanese security services coordinate with their international counterparts. The Judiciary Police report that close governmental cooperation exists with the major transit countries, particularly those in Europe. The Lebanese military also closely coordinates its activities against drug traffickers with its Syrian counterpart.

Domestic Programs (Demand Reduction). There is a growing recognition among Lebanese leaders of the need to address the problem of illicit drug use. During the year, the government launched a widespread public awareness campaign to discourage drug use. Textbooks approved for use in all public schools contain a chapter on narcotics to increase public awareness. There are several detoxification programs but the only entity in Lebanon that offers a comprehensive drug rehabilitation program is Oum al-Nour (ON), a Beirut-based NGO. The Government provides 40 to 50 percent of ON’s yearly budget, which is projected at $947,000 for 2002. In addition, the organization receives support from Lebanon’s Ministry of Social Affairs and Ministry of Public Health. ON estimates that the age of Lebanon’s drug addicts has steadily decreased since the end of the country’s civil war in 1990, with pre-college and college-age youth now being the most vulnerable. ON statistics cite that the most commonly abused illicit substance is heroin, but use of "designer" drugs such as methamphetamine and ecstasy is present and possibly rising.

ON operates three drug treatment centers in Lebanon, two for men and one for women. The centers, which have a total capacity of 40 patients, offer a year-long residential program; they are currently operating above capacity. While the treatment facilities for hard-core addicts are adequate, the organization lacks out-patient care for individuals whose addictions do not necessarily warrant hospitalization.

ON also engages in drug prevention activities such as distributing counternarcotics paraphernalia on college campuses and promoting drug awareness among the population through advertisements and education programs.

Law Enforcement Efforts. During 2001 the GOL seized 307.82 kilograms of hashish, 7.28 kilograms of opium, 13.2 kilograms of heroin, 7.68 kilograms of cocaine, and 39 grams of cocaine base. In 2001, 1,182 persons were arrested on charges related to narcotics cultivation, production, transportation, or distribution. In 2001, Lebanese, British, and Egyptian law enforcement authorities cooperated in counternarcotics law enforcement operations.

Corruption. Corruption remains endemic in Lebanon up to the senior level of government. While low-level corruption in the counternarcotics forces is possible, there is no evidence of wide scale corruption within the Judiciary Police or the Internal Security Force, which appear to be genuinely dedicated to combating the war on drugs.

Agreements and Treaties. Lebanon and the United States have no formal bilateral agreements addressing the issues of narcotics trafficking or extradition. Lebanon is a party to the 1988 UN Drug Convention, the 1971 UN Convention on Psychotropic Substances, the 1961 UN Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, and the 1972 Protocol amending the Single Convention.

Cultivation and Production. According to a reliable local expert, approximately 4,010 hectares of land are used for hashish production; minimal land was dedicated to poppy production. There was no eradication of illicit crops during 2001. According to the same local expert, an estimated 238,900 metric tons of hashish was produced in 2001.

Drug Flow/Transit. Illicit drug trafficking via traditional smuggling routes has been curtailed by joint Syrian-Lebanese operations, but nonetheless continues. Drug trafficking along the Israel-Lebanon border has been negligible since the Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon in May 2000 and the subsequent near-sealing of the border. Despite the government’s efforts, however, the flow of illicit narcotics into and out of Lebanon continues—much of it through Syria. The primary route for smuggling hashish from Lebanon during 2001 was overland through Syria and Jordan to Egypt and other destinations in Europe and the Middle East. It is unlikely that any significant quantities are being smuggled into the United States. The GOL has conceded in the past that small quantities of morphine and heroin are smuggled overland from Turkey for local use.

U.S. Policy Initiatives. In meetings with Lebanese officials, U.S. officials continue to stress the need for diligence in preventing the production and transportation of narcotics, and the need for a comprehensive development program for the Biqa’ Valley that would provide the impoverished residents with alternate sources of income. The USG also stresses the importance of anticorruption efforts. USAID, in close cooperation with the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, continues its four-component program to aid and empower key Lebanese stakeholders, local government, media, and civil society in their efforts to fight corruption. On the supply side, USAID assists U.S. and local NGOs to work with villages to promote the substitution of illicit crops with legitimate, economically viable ones.

Bilateral Cooperation. Lebanon and the United States cooperate in counternarcotics law enforcement efforts and the USG assists the GOL by providing drug-related intelligence, when available and appropriate.

The Road Ahead. Given the level of Syrian involvement in Lebanese domestic affairs, success in combating narcotics cultivation and trafficking depends on the will of both the Syrian and Lebanese governments. Although Syria from 1992 until 2000 demonstrated a commitment to counternarcotics actions in Lebanon, in 2001 it made no efforts to deter cultivation or to eradicate illicit cultivation. Nonetheless, the Governments of Lebanon and Syria appear determined to eradicate any illicit cultivation during 2002. The GOL, however, has not successfully developed a socio-economic strategy to tackle the problem of crop substitution. The USG will continue to press the GOL to maintain its commitment to combating drug production and transit and implementing its anticorruption policies.

Lesotho

I. Summary

Lesotho is not a major producer of narcotics or precursor chemicals, nor does it have drug processing laboratories. High quality marijuana is cultivated in the country’s mountainous, rural areas and is smuggled to major cities in South Africa, but is not smuggled outside the region, with the possible exception of some shipments to Europe. Lesotho suffers from the impact of South Africa-based organized crime, mainly in the areas of livestock and motor vehicle theft and armed robbery, against which most of the country’s scarce police resources are deployed. Domestic narcotics abuse is not a serious social problem.

Treaties and Agreements. Lesotho is a party to the 1988 UN Drug Convention, the 1961 UN Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, the 1972 Protocol amending the Single Convention, and the 1971 UN Convention on Psychotropic Substances. It has also approved the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Counternarcotics Protocol. The 1931 U.S.-U.K. extradition treaty remains in force between the United States and Lesotho. In December 2000, Lesotho signed the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, and the Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants.

Lesotho is concerned about the possible impact of organized crime, but its highest priorities in that regard are livestock and motor vehicle theft, both of which were the subject of new laws enacted by Parliament during 2000. Another high profile problem was dealt with by the passage of the Prevention of Corruption and Economic Offenses Act in August 1999. A clear law prohibiting corruption is just the first step. Lesotho strives to enforce all its law, but resources—both human and material—are frequently unavailable. The USG is not aware of any involvement of senior officials in drug-related corruption. Payments to facilitate passage of contraband goods to lower officials at border crossing points might occur, and could facilitate drug trafficking. The GOL would no doubt prosecute any case that would come to the attention of authorities under the Prevention of Corruption and Economic Offenses Act. The Government of Lesotho has continued to try to staff the investigating body provided for by that legislation and to study further and adopt the best practices of SADC partners against public corruption, although resources for these activities are limited. Lesotho’s scarce law enforcement resources have been stretched to the limit dealing with Livestock and motor vehicle theft, and the country has thus far been unable to develop a master plan consistent with the terms of the 1988 UN Drug Convention. A task force working in the Attorney General’s Office is evaluating additional laws based on models prepared by the UNDCP for implementing the 1988 UN Drug Convention.

Bilateral Cooperation. Lesotho sent three participants to the U.S.-sponsored Regional Key Leaders Forum that was held in Gaborone April 24-25. The Government of Lesotho wants to augment its institutional capacity to better fight crime, and has designated four candidates to participate in the International Law Enforcement Academy’s (ILEA) Executive Developme