| International Narcotics Control Strategy Report -2006 Released by the Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs March 2006 Africa and the Middle East
I. Summary Angola is not a country that suffers from significant drug production or drug abuse; however, some cannabis is cultivated and consumed locally. Angola continues to be a transit point for drug trafficking—particularly, cocaine from Brazil into Europe and South Africa. Angola signed and ratified the Southern African Development Community (SADC) counternarcotics protocol in 2003. Angola acceded to the 1988 UN Drug Convention in October 2005.
II. Status of Country Angola is not a major center of drug production, money laundering, or production of precursor chemicals, and is not likely to become one. It is however, a transit point for drug trafficking. Various types of narcotics, the largest quantity being cocaine, enter the country from destinations such as Brazil and are then transported to Europe and South Africa. Police continued to seize cocaine and cannabis in 2005. Increased intelligence sharing and the scanning of incoming containers improved the effectiveness of drug interdiction.
III. Country Actions Against Drugs in 2005 Law Enforcement. Angola cooperates with South Africa, Brazil, and Portugal in fighting the flow of cocaine through Angola to various destinations. South Africa has provided intelligence, training, and equipment to the Angolan police. Angola also cooperates on a regional basis via the South African Development Community (SADC).
Corruption. Although cases of public corruption connected to narcotics trafficking are rare, in June three National Department for Criminal Investigation (DNIC) officials were charged with trafficking in cocaine. As a matter of government policy, however, Angola does not encourage or facilitate illicit production or distribution of narcotic or psychotropic drugs or other controlled substances, or the laundering of proceeds from illegal drug transactions.
Agreement and Treaties. In October 2005, Angola acceded to the 1988 UN Drug Convention, the 1971 UN Convention Against Psychotropic Substances, and the 1961 UN Single Convention as amended by the 1972 Protocol. Angola has signed, but has not yet ratified, the UN Convention on Transnational Organized Crime and the UN Convention Against Corruption.
Domestic Programs/Demand Reduction. In 2004, Angola enacted legislation mandating treatment for those convicted of narcotics abuse. Drug rehabilitation centers have been established in Luanda, Lubango, and Benguela.
IV. U.S. Policy Initiatives and Programs Bilateral Cooperation. In 2005, 28 Angolan police officers participated in State Department-sponsored regional training courses, which included segments on counternarcotics.
The Road Ahead. The U.S. will continue to assist Angola through training of law enforcement officials at ILEA Gaborone and in ILEA Roswell to the degree Angola wishes.
I. Summary While Benin is a low volume narcotics producer, the country remains a transit point for illegal narcotics. During 2005, no new counternarcotics laws or initiatives were introduced in Benin. Benin’s drug enforcement police squad, Office Centrale de Repression du Traffic Illicit de lat Drogue (OCERTID, or Central Office for Repression of Illicit Drug Trafficking) has limited resources. Benin co-hosted the 2005 West African Joint Operations (WAJO) Conference in September, 2005 along with the DEA Attaché from Lagos, Nigeria. The rate of illegal drug seizures remained low in Benin during 2005. Benin is a party to the 1988 UN Drug Convention, and their counternarcotics legislation adopted into law in 1997 is based on the UNDC model.
II. Status of Country Benin remains a small producer of illegal narcotics with marijuana being the only drug produced in significant quantities. It is cultivated throughout the country, primarily along the borders with Nigeria and Togo and in the central area of the country. The primary market for this cultivation is personal use within Benin. There are no current Beninese government plans to eradicate the drug. Benin’s porous borders and lack of port security allow for easy transshipment of narcotics by regional traffickers. All forms of narcotics are known to transit through Benin, but 2005 did not see a significant increase or decrease in this activity.
III. Country Actions Against Drugs in 2005 Policy Initiatives. Benin continued to take few steps towards combating the trafficking of illegal narcotics in 2005. Legislation adopted in 1997, which increased sentences for traffickers, criminalized drug-related money laundering, and permitted the seizure of drug-related assets remains in effect, but little progress has been made towards practically implementing this legislation through enhanced drug law enforcement. Benin does not have a legal mechanism in place to seize assets on behalf of counternarcotics efforts.
Law Enforcement/Accomplishments. Benin continues to work towards the goals of a 2001 bilateral narcotics control agreement signed with the U.S. Of significance in 2005 were Beninese efforts towards regional cooperation. In September, Benin co-hosted the 2005 Western Africa Joint Operations Conference with the U.S.DEA Country Attaché from Lagos, Nigeria. Regional agreements to exchange intelligence between the 19 attending nations and plans for regional training were established. During December, three officers from OCERTID participated in UNODC counternarcotics training in Nigeria. In addition, OCERTID assigned a team to the port of Cotonou during November, 2005. But this team has been hampered by a lack of training in the area of seaport security and container search procedures. The total reported drug seizures in Benin during 2005 were 2,206 kilograms of cannabis; 28.2 grams of cocaine; and 25.2 grams of heroin. Total arrest and prosecution statistics are not available at this time, but sources indicate that existing law enforcement resources are exclusively used to arrest and prosecute small-scale couriers and users.
Corruption. There is no legislation or legal framework in Benin to prevent or punish narcotics-related corruption, and Benin did not take any new steps to prevent narcotics-related corruption in 2005. No known senior Beninese Government official or entity engages in, encourages, or facilitates the illicit production or distribution of narcotic or psychotropic drugs, but it is likely that corruption facilitates the movement of narcotics through Benin.
Agreements and Treaties. Benin is a party to the 1988 UN Drug Convention, the 1961 UN Single Convention as amended by the 1972 Protocol, and the 1971 UN Convention on Psychotropic Substances. Benin is a party to the UN Convention Against Corruption, and to the UN Convention Against Transnational Crime and its protocols against trafficking in persons, migrant smuggling and illegal manufacturing and trafficking in firearms.
IV. U.S. Policy Initiatives and Programs The Road Ahead. Benin continues to profess its commitment to counternarcotics initiatives but needs to implement counternarcotics legislation and address border and port security controls. The lack of training and resources for counternarcotics units requires attention as well, and if remedied, would put Benin on the road to further supporting the 1988 UN Drug Convention.
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 presumed levels have not risen in four years. The Anti-Narcotics General Administration (ANGA) is the main counternarcotics organization in Egypt. It is competent and progressive, and cooperates fully with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) office in Cairo. In 2004, a joint DEA-ANGA investigation uncovered a significant MDMA (ecstasy) laboratory in Alexandria, resulting in the arrest of four individuals, possible indictment of two U.S. citizens, and a secondary ongoing investigation that has already identified more than two million dollars of drug related proceeds. In 2005, several major international investigations were conducted jointly with ANGA. Egypt is party to the 1988 UN Drug Convention.
II. Status of Country Egypt is not a significant producer or consumer of narcotics or precursor chemicals, despite the fact that opium and cannabis plants are grown in Egypt. The substances that are most commonly abused are cannabis, which is known here as "bango," and legitimate pharmaceuticals. Narcotics do pass through Egypt. Egypt’s long and mostly uninhabited borders, combined with the high level of shipping passing through the Suez Canal Zone, have made Egypt prone to the transshipment of Asian heroin. Other types of narcotics periodically pass through Cairo International Airport. The narcotics are primarily destined for Western Europe, with only small amounts headed to the United States. Transshipment has diminished considerably in recent years due to the elevation of security in Egypt and the region as a whole.
The ANGA is the oldest counternarcotics unit in the Arab world. It has jurisdiction over all criminal matters pertaining to narcotics and maintains offices in all major Egyptian cities and ports of entry. Despite limited resources, ANGA has continually demonstrated improvements in its capabilities.
III. Country Actions Against Drugs in 2005 Policy Initiatives. The Government of Egypt (GOE) continues to aggressively pursue a comprehensive drug control strategy that was developed in 1998. ANGA, as the primary Egyptian drug enforcement agency, coordinates with the Egyptian Ministry of Interior, the Coast Guard, the Customs Service, and select military units on all aspects of drug law enforcement. Government and private sector demand reduction efforts exist but are hampered by financial constraints and logistical challenges.
Accomplishments/Law Enforcement Efforts. Internal security and combating terrorism are the major foci of Egyptian law enforcement efforts. Despite these priorities, ANGA is able to operate an effective program against narcotics trafficking. Egypt is a transit country for narcotics. ANGA investigates and targets significant drug traffickers, intercepts narcotics shipments, and detects and eradicates illegal crops. Large-scale seizures and arrests are rare, primarily because Egypt does not have a significant narcotics market or narcotics abuse culture. ANGA operates its own drug awareness campaign in addition to other government and private sector demand reduction programs. ANGA’s Eradication Unit conducts monthly operations against cannabis and opium crops in the Sinai. Continuing a trend over the past several years, the amount of narcotics seized during 2004 was again higher than that of the previous year.
According to the GOE, drug seizures in 2004 included cannabis (80.2 metric tons), hashish (1.9 metric tons), and smaller amounts of heroin, opium, psychotropic drugs, and cocaine. Significant amounts of prescription and "designer" drugs such as ecstasy (6,194 tablets), amphetamines, and codeine were also seized. During the course of 2004, Egyptian law enforcement officials eradicated 171 hectares of cannabis and 65 hectares of opium poppy plants. Late in 2004, a joint DEA-ANGA investigation uncovered an MDMA laboratory located in a small apartment building in Alexandria, Egypt. ANGA raided the laboratory, arresting four individuals and seizing chemicals, paste, and equipment. Additionally, a secondary ANGA financial investigation conducted in 2005 with assistance from the DEA country office has identified over two million dollars in drug proceeds located in Egypt. Since 2003, production of illicit pharmaceuticals and counterfeit narcotics are on the rise in Egypt, which may represent a new trend toward shifting artificial drug labs to the region due to the region’s relatively lax regulation of commercial chemical products. With the passage of the first anti-money laundering law in 2002, which criminalized the laundering of proceeds derived from trafficking in narcotics and numerous other crimes, seizures of currency in drug-related cases have amounted to over 3,000,000 Egyptian Pounds ($520,000). In October 2005, ANGA seized two metric tons of marijuana that originated in the northern Sinai.
Corruption. As a matter of government policy, the Government of Egypt does not encourage or facilitate illicit production or distribution of narcotic or psychotropic drugs or other controlled substances, or the laundering of proceeds from illegal transactions. The GOE has strict laws and harsh penalties for government officials convicted of involvement in narcotics trafficking or related activities. However, low-level local police officials involved in narcotics-related activity or corruption have been identified and arrested.
Agreements and Treaties. Egypt and the United States cooperate in law enforcement matters under an MLAT and an extradition treaty. Egypt is a party to the 1988 UN Drug Convention since 1991, the 1971 UN Convention on Psychotropic Substances, and the 1961 UN Single Convention as amended by the 1972 Protocol. Egypt is a party to the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and its protocols on migrant smuggling and trafficking in persons. Egypt also is a party to the UN Convention Against Corruption.
Cultivation and Production. Cannabis is grown year round in the northern and southern Sinai and in Upper Egypt, while opium poppy is grown in the southern Sinai only from November through March. Rugged terrain means that plots of illegal crops are small and irregularly shaped. ANGA combats this production by using aerial observation and confidential informants to identify illegal plots. Once the crops are located, ANGA conducts daylight eradication operations that consist of cutting and burning the plants. ANGA has yet to implement a planned herbicide eradication program. No heroin processing laboratories have been discovered in Egypt in the last 14 years and no evidence is available indicating that opiates or cannabis grown in Egypt reach the United States in sufficient quantities to have a significant impact. In an ongoing investigation that started in 2004, a joint DEA-ANGA operation uncovered the first ever MDMA laboratory in Egypt and eliminated it before it reached significant production.
Domestic Programs (Demand Reduction). In 2005, the National Council for Combating and Treating Addiction continued to be the GOE’s focal point for domestic demand reduction programs. The Council is an inter-ministerial group chaired by the Prime Minister and has the participation of ten ministries. The group espouses a three-pronged strategy to counter the demand for narcotics: awareness, treatment (including detoxification and social/psychological treatment), and rehabilitation. The group’s efforts over the past year included a range of activities, for example, a media advertising campaign with participation from First Lady Suzanne Mubarak, annual seminars at Al-Azhar University on "Islam and Narcotics," and the establishment of a drug treatment hotline and website. Additionally, the Council sponsors four rehabilitation centers, primarily focused on the Cairo metropolitan area. These centers annually receive thousands of requests from addicts for help.
IV. U.S. Policy Initiatives and Programs Policy Initiatives/Bilateral Cooperation. The U.S. counternarcotics policy in Egypt is to engage the GOE in a bilateral program to reduce narcotics transshipments and decrease opium poppy and cannabis cultivation. The policy includes 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; and improve intelligence collection and analysis. In 2005, the DEA country office initiated Operation Sphinx, a joint DEA-ANGA operation to collect actionable intelligence for enforcement/interdiction action in the Suez Canal and the Gulf of Aqaba. The operation targets sources of information in the maritime industry throughout the region.
The Road Ahead. In fiscal year 2006, the U.S. Government plans to increase its joint operations with ANGA, moving beyond a previously predominant focus on monitoring the narcotics problem. This will involve the DEA country office continuing to work closely with ANGA on joint investigations, as well as improving interdiction and eradication techniques and developing additional sources of information on trafficking and production.
I. Summary Ethiopia does not play a major role in the production, trafficking or consumption of illicit narcotics or precursor chemicals associated with the drug trade. Although Ethiopia is strategically located along a major narcotics transit route between Southwest/Southeast Asian heroin production and European markets and West African trafficking networks, the amount of drugs transiting Ethiopia remains small. Heroin transits Ethiopia for markets in West Africa, Europe and the United States, primarily due to Ethiopia’s good airline connections between those markets and Southwest/Southeast Asia. Nigerian traffickers use Ethiopia as a transit point on a limited basis. Ethiopia now produces more khat that coffee for export. Khat is legal in Ethiopia. Khat is increasingly becoming more popular in the U.S. Seizures are up and illegal importations from Ethiopia, through Europe to the U.S. are rising. Khat is a chewable leaf, with mild narcotic effect. It is part of the culture of several countries bordering the Red Sea. A small amount of cannabis is grown in Ethiopia, but most is consumed in rural areas of Ethiopia itself. The Ethiopian Counter-narcotics Unit (ECNU) maintains an interdiction team at the international airport in the capital. Ethiopia is a party to the 1988 UN Drug Convention.
II. Status of Country Ethiopia is not now, and is not likely to become, a significant producer, trafficker or consumer of narcotic drugs or diverted precursor chemicals. A small volume of cannabis is produced in rural areas, of which a small portion 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, in 2001, opium poppy was seized at two locations where it was apparently being grown as an experimental crop. No further seizures have been reported. 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 that year’s downturn in coffee prices. No opium gum has been found.
III. Country Actions Against Drugs in 2005 The use of heroin and other hard drugs remains quite low, due primarily to the limited availability of such drugs, its high street price when available, and low incomes of most Ethiopians. To the extent such hard drugs are available it is in large part due to the spillover effect from drug couriers transiting through Bole International Airport in Addis Ababa. Bole is a major air hub for flight connections between Southeast and Southwest Asia and Africa, and according to Ethiopian authorities, much of the heroin entering and/or transiting Ethiopia comes from Asia, although absolute quantities in both cases are low. Some of the flights require up to a two-day layover in Addis Ababa, permitting a limited opportunity for the introduction of these drugs into the local market.
Law Enforcement Efforts. The ECNU has shown solid competence in terms of performance over the previous two years. After changing its leadership in 2002, it has since been more proactive at the federal level. The ECNU was expanded from 50 to 150 police and has plans to carry out some border road interdiction efforts in addition to its work at the airport, where its interdiction team 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, such as Bangkok, Mumbai, New Delhi and Islamabad. The interdiction unit continues to improve its ability to identify male Nigerian/Tanzanian drug "mules", who typically swallow drugs to smuggle them. The Ethiopian government does not maintain precise statistics on interdictions, but reports that the overall volume of drugs interdicted has been low, as most seizures involve airline passengers carrying small quantities in luggage or on their person.
Corruption. There is no evidence of government corruption related to illicit drugs. The Anti-Corruption Commission, created in 2001, was given substantial police powers to investigate corruption, and for a short while attracted considerable attention when it arrested and charged several high-level government officials with corruption (unrelated to drugs) in 2001 and 2002. Since then, the Commission seems to have become bogged down bureaucratically and is no longer a formidable organization. There have been no charges of drug-related corruption against government officials.
Agreements and Treaties. Ethiopia is a party to the 1988 UN Drug Convention, the 1971 UN Convention on Psychotropic Substances, and the 1961 UN Single Convention as amended by the 1972 Protocol. Ethiopia has signed, but has not yet ratified, the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and the UN Convention Against Corruption.
IV. U.S. Policy Initiatives and Programs Policy Initiatives. The United States is working to raise the profile of crime-related issues and encourage criminalization of money laundering. A U.S. Treasury advisor to the Ethiopian Central Bank provided advice to the Ministry of Justice in 2004 on drafting anti-money laundering legislation; the legislation was approved in Parliament and was adopted into law in 2005.
The focus of U.S. programs remains on the law enforcement side, specifically the ECNU. State Department narcotics assistance supports curriculum advice and training for police academy instructors in drug investigations. The objective is to institutionalize training, ensuring that courses will be repeatedly offered by Ethiopian trainers, rather than relying on return visits by DEA trainers from the U.S.
The Road Ahead. Ethiopia is likely to remain a minor trafficking center for Africa because of its airport and the flight arrangements described above. The GOE has a solid plan for using U.S. narcotics assistance to good effect and cooperation with the U.S. has been good.
Ghana I. Summary Ghana has taken steps to combat illicit trafficking of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances and has mounted major efforts against drug abuse. It has active enforcement, treatment, and rehabilitation programs; however, lack of resources remains a problem and suspected drug trafficking by a Member of Parliament surfaced this year. Ghana-U.S. law enforcement coordination strengthened in 2005. Interagency coordination among Ghana’s law enforcement, however, remained a challenge and attempts to establish an anticorruption unit at the Customs, Excise & Preventive Service were stalled. Ghana is a party to the 1988 UN Drug Convention.
II. Status of Country Ghana is increasingly a transit point for illegal drugs, particularly cocaine from South America and heroin from 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 (KIA) is increasingly a focus for traffickers. Ports at Tema and Sekondi are also used, and border posts at Aflao (Togo) and Elubo and Sampa (Cote d’Ivoire) see significant drug trafficking activity. In 2005, Nigerian traffickers continued to strengthen their presence, and some South American narcotics rings trafficking cocaine began operating in Ghana. Trafficking has also fueled increasing domestic drug consumption. Cannabis use is increasing in Ghana as is local cultivation. Law enforcement officials have repeatedly raised concerns that narcotics rings are growing in their size, strength, organization and capacity for violence. The government has mounted significant public education programs, as well as cannabis crop substitution programs. Diversion of precursor chemicals is not a major problem.
III. Country Actions Against Drugs in 2005 Policy Initiatives. The Narcotics Control Board (NCB) coordinates government counternarcotics efforts. These activities include enforcement and control, education, prevention, treatment, rehabilitation, and social reintegration. The NCB’s counternarcotics national strategy, the "National Plan of Action 1999/2008", was never implemented due to lack of funding. However, in 2005 the UN Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC) financed three projects: 1) the upgrade of a rehabilitation and treatment center run by REMAR, a Spanish nongovernmental organization; 2) training of judges and officials of the Narcotics Control Board, Ghana Police, the Customs, Excise & Preventive Service and other agencies to combat transnational organized crime, including narcotics and associated financial crimes; and 3) a survey to measure the prevalence of drug abuse and its correlation to HIV/AIDS in Ghana. Each year since 1999, the NCB has proposed to amend the 1990 narcotics law to allow stricter application of bail bond system (i.e., no general granting of bail when flight is a real possibility; higher sureties to assure that defendants appear for trial) and to fund NCB operations using a portion of seized proceeds, but the Attorney General’s office has not acted on these proposals. The NCB also called for amendment, without success, of PNDC Law 236 (1990) to enable it to confiscate property and assets purchased by identified drug dealers using illegal proceeds.
Law Enforcement Efforts. In 2005, Ghanaian law enforcement agencies continued to conduct joint police/NCB operations against narcotics cultivators, traffickers, and abusers. NCB agents, who are not armed, rely upon the police’s Criminal Investigative Division’s (CID) narcotics unit in situations requiring armed force. The Ghana Police Service has assigned several investigators to narcotics cases, holds suspects in its cells and prepares such cases for docket. The NCB continued to work with DHL, UPS, and Federal Express to intercept packages containing narcotics.
The NCB reported that from January to September 2005 arrests rose by 40 percent for cocaine and 20 percent for cannabis compared to the same period the prior year. Meanwhile, arrests for heroin dropped to nearly one-third of their 2004 level. Drug seizure statistics for 2005 show an 11 percent increase in narcotics arrests (782 for January through September 2005 compared to 705 for the same period in 2004). More than 80 percent of these arrests are for cannabis. Despite the upward trend in arrests, the amount of cocaine seized remained steady while that of heroin dropped to one tenth of its 2004 level. The NCB said narcotics rings find trafficking cocaine to Europe easier and more profitable than obtaining heroin from the Far East and trafficking it to the U.S. The Ghana Police Service’s campaign to destroy cannabis farms in the Upper East and Eastern Regions accounted for a nearly 18-fold increase in seizures in 2005. Overall, 2005 saw the highest number of drug trafficking arrests on record. In one of the largest drug busts of 2005, Ghana Police arrested two suspected narcotics ring members claiming Venezuelan citizenship on November 12 in Mpaesem, Ghana. The police seized 580 kilograms of cocaine.
The NCB reported that prices of cocaine, heroin and cannabis remained steady. In 2005, a gram of cocaine sold for cedis 168,350 ($18.50 at the current exchange rate). A cocaine booster sold for cedis 12,000 ($1.32), while crack cocaine sold for cedis 5,000 ($.55). A gram of heroin sold for cedis 145,600 ($16). A heroin booster sold for cedis 10,000 ($1.10). The price of a small parcel of cannabis in 2005 was approximately cedis 5,000 ($.55), while a wrapper or joint sold for cedis 1,000 ($.11). Successful interdiction efforts increased these prices temporarily, but the NCB said they fluctuated near this level throughout the year.
The NCB and other law enforcement agencies continued their successful cooperation with U.S. law enforcement agencies in 2005, sharing information, as well as extraditing individuals wanted on narcotics-related charges. The U.S. extradited one person to Ghana, and Ghana extradited two persons to the U.S.
Corruption. Despite the regular arrests of suspected narcotics traffickers, Ghana has an extremely low rate of conviction, which law enforcement officials indicate is likely due to corruption within the judicial system. The backlog of cases pending trial and the limited resources facing the judiciary remain problems in controlling drug trafficking in Ghana.
The Customs, Excise & Prevention Service (CEPS) says finding a location away from its headquarters has kept it from establishing an internal affairs unit. In October 2005, a supervisor of KIA’s cargo handling company was arrested attempting to smuggle cocaine using an airport tractor and his unusual access to an airplane. Media outlets alleged that this occurred with either the approval or the involvement of ruling party officials. In November 2005, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers arrested Eric Amoateng, a Member of Ghana’s Parliament in New York, during the seizure of 62 kilograms of heroin. Amoateng has been provisionally charged and arraigned and is expected to face trial for drug trafficking in the U.S. NCB officials complain that courts often release suspected smugglers, including foreign nationals, on bail that is often set at only a tiny fraction of the value of the drugs found in a suspect’s possession. The court requirement of a surety in addition to bail is often either dropped, or court registrars will fraudulently use the identical property as surety for multiple cases. In September 2004, the NCB was held in contempt of court for withholding the passports of suspects charged with drug trafficking who had been released on bail. The NCB retained the passports while they waited for the Attorney General to file a request not to permit bail, which was ultimately never filed. The NCB eventually had to turn over the passports on a court order. At least one of the suspects in this case, a Ghanaian citizen possessing a Dutch passport, has since traveled in and out of Ghana while on bail. In August 2005, the Attorney General’s office filed an appeal to protest a retiring judge’s acquittal of two of these suspected traffickers.
In 2004 and 2005, there were no cases of alleged evidence tampering. In April 2005, the Ghana Police interdicted two policemen who allegedly facilitated a suspected Nigerian drug trafficker’s escape from custody. In May 2005, the Ghana Police Criminal Investigations Division took into custody two suspected traffickers and four policemen who allegedly demanded a $60,000 bribe to release the traffickers when they first encountered them with narcotics. In June 2005, all six were granted bail.
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, as amended by the 1972 Protocol. U.S.-Ghana extradition relations are governed by the 1931 U.S.-U.K. Extradition Treaty. In 2003, Ghana signed a bilateral Customs Mutual Assistance Agreement with the United States. Ghana has signed, but has not yet ratified the UN Convention Against Corruption.
Cultivation and Production. Cannabis (also known as Indian hemp) is widely cultivated in rural farmlands. 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. In 2005, combined NCB and police teams continued to investigate cannabis production and distribution, and to destroy cultivated cannabis farms and plants. In October 2005, a joint operation between the NCB and police destroyed three acres of cannabis in Akatsi and took two Ghanaians and two Jamaicans into custody. In February 2003, the NCB implemented a pilot program designed to reduce the area under cultivation, under which 140 marijuana cultivators volunteered to give up marijuana in exchange for government assistance with planting and processing new food crops and immunity from prosecution. The NCB expanded the program from 120 farmers in 2004 to 325 in 2005. The Ministry of Women and Children’s Affairs also donated two cassava-processing plants to the Essam, Eastern Region community to provide alternative income to farmers growing cannabis.
Drug Flow/Transit. Cocaine and heroin are the main drugs that transit Ghana. Cocaine is sourced mainly from South America and destined for Europe, while heroin comes mainly from Southeast and Southwest Asia on its way to Europe and North America. Cannabis is shipped primarily to Europe, specifically to the United Kingdom. Narcotics are sometimes repackaged in Ghana for reshipment, and the most lucrative concealment method uses carry-on, wheeled luggage. Drug traffickers have grown increasingly inventive. In November 2004, British Customs and Excise seized 23 kilograms of cocaine hidden in live snails from Ghana at London’s Heathrow Airport. Investigators have found cocaine packed as fish and packaged cannabis concealed in smocks and sacks of processed cassava.
Although there is no hard evidence that drugs transiting Ghana contribute significantly to the supply of drugs to the U.S. market, there are indications that direct shipments to the United States are on the rise. Accra is an increasingly important transshipment point from Africa. In November 2004, two alleged leaders of a drug smuggling ring from Ghana were indicted in Columbus, Ohio for shipping heroin for distribution across central Ohio, indicating a direct flow of illicit narcotics from Ghana into the U.S. Midwest. The November 2005 arrest of a Ghanaian parliamentarian indicated a similar flow of heroin to the New York area. In the past, direct flights from Accra played an important role in the transshipment of heroin to the U.S. by West African trafficking organizations. In July 2004, the Federal Aviation Administration banned Ghana’s only direct flights to the United States for safety reasons. However, this did not appear to reduce the trafficking of drugs between the two countries. Instead, drug traffickers rerouted the flow through Europe, according to the NCB. In October 2005, the NCB arrested a cargo handling supervisor attempting to smuggle 12 kilograms of cocaine through the country’s sole international airport. Combined with almost weekly arrests of drug mules, this arrest raises concerns about the volume of narcotics transited by air through Ghana. The NCB reports that narcotics air transit through Ghana has reduced somewhat in favor of land routes to Abidjan, largely due to the break down of law and order in Cote d’Ivoire, which favors narcotics traffickers. The biggest challenge in Ghana, however, is the unpatrolled coastline.
Domestic Programs. The NCB works with schools, professional training institutions, churches, local governments, and the general public to reduce local drug consumption. The Ministries of Health and Education further coordinate their efforts through their representatives on the Board. Board Members and staff frequently host public lectures, participate in radio discussion programs, and encourage newspaper articles on the dangers of drug abuse and trafficking. Ghana observed the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking in June 2005, in Cape Coast, Central Region. 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. The NCB’s national drug education efforts continued in schools and churches, heightening citizens’ awareness of the fight against narcotics and traffickers. In 2005, the NCB continued broadcasting TV programs to explain narcotics’ effects on the human body, individual users and society, which are being broadcast on state television in local languages. Also in June, the NCB organized an event in Cape Coast to highlight drug abuse in Ghana in conjunction with the UN’s International Day Against Drug Abuse and Trafficking.
IV. U.S. Policy Initiatives and Programs Bilateral Cooperation. 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. In 2002, the United States provided the Government of Ghana counternarcotics assistance in the form of surveillance and detection equipment, worth $64,000, including two narcotics detection devices ("Itemizers") installed at Kotoka International Airport in December 2003. Similar equipment funded in FY 2000 and FY 2001 is effectively maintained and has facilitated a number of drug arrests and seizures. Funding provided in FY 2002 for training for the Police will continue to assist in suppressing corruption and strengthening the capacity of the police to interdict illegal drugs. A four-week, interagency counternarcotics training course, funded by the U.S. in FY 2002 and focused on drug interdiction at Ghana’s air and seaports, took place in November 2004. Future assistance, committed in August 2005, will focus on advanced narcotics investigations skills, airport interdiction and financial crimes investigations. In August 2005, the U.S. government signed an agreement to provide Ghana’s law enforcement agencies with an additional $200,000 in assistance to fight narcotics trafficking.
The Road Ahead. Tougher confiscation provisions, with a portion of such resources dedicated to fighting narcotics trafficking, would strengthen Ghana’s counternarcotics regime. Better oversight of financial transactions is particularly important given the potential for any narcotics financial networks to be used by terrorist organizations or for internal corruption.
Jordan I. Summary Jordan’s geographical location between drug producing countries to the north and drug consuming countries to the south and west, makes it a transit country for illicit drugs. Historically, Jordanians do not consume significant quantities of illicit drugs, and according to the public security officials there are no known production operations in the Kingdom. Statistically speaking, however, drug use continues to grow in Jordan. According to statistics for the first 11 months of 2005, total drug seizures for the year will be slightly below, or close to 2004 seizures, excluding Captagon seizures (fenethylline), a synthetic amphetamine-type stimulant. There was an increase in reported drug-related cases and subsequent arrests. The drugs of choice among users arrested for drug possession in Jordan continue to be cannabis and heroin, and people arrested for drug-related crimes fall predominantly between the ages of 18 and 35 years old. Additionally, drug movement coming from Iraq has picked up seven-fold. Cooperation among neighboring countries in combating the drug trade is ongoing. Jordan is a party to the 1998 UN Drug Convention.
II. Status of Country There are currently no indications that Jordan will move from a predominantly drug transit country to a drug producing country. Statistics produced by the Public Security Directorate/Anti-Narcotics Department (PSD) appear to confirm this assessment. Jordan’s vast desert borders make it vulnerable to illicit drug smuggling operations. Jordanian authorities do not believe that internal drug distribution is a profit-making venture.
III. Country Actions Against Drugs in 2005 Policy Initiatives. Due to sustained usage of hashish and heroin among people predominantly between the ages of 18 and 35, Jordan continues its drug awareness campaign focused at educating young people of the dangers of drug use. Authorities continue to provide educational presentations in schools and universities throughout the country. Jordan also publishes a number of brochures and other materials aimed at educating Jordan’s youth. Cartoons aimed at younger children designed to dissuade youngsters from trying drugs have also been developed and broadcast this year. In July 2005, DEA sponsored a one-week Asset Forfeiture and Financial Investigations Seminar in Amman, which was presented to Jordanian law enforcement, financial institutions, and other attendees.
Law Enforcement. Jordan’s PSD maintains an active counternarcotics bureau, and it maintains excellent relations with the U.S. DEA, Nicosia Country Office based in Cyprus. In 2004, PSD began utilizing x-ray equipment on larger vehicles at its major border crossings between Syria and Iraq, which netted numerous drug seizures in 2005. PSD stated that since 1997 it has worked cooperatively with the military on the Syrian and Iraqi borders to intercept traffickers entering through those areas. Seizures of Captagon tablets are up about 11 percent from last year’s statistics, but PSD claims not to have observed any wide-spread use of the drug in Jordan. PSD reports that 80 percent of all seized illicit drugs coming into Jordan are bound for export to other countries in the region. Jordan’s general drug traffic trend continues to include cannabis entering from Lebanon, heroin from Turkey entering through Syria on its way to Israel, and Captagon tablets from Bulgaria entering through Syria on the way to the Gulf. The majority of Jordan’s drug seizures take place at the Jaber border crossing point between Jordan and Syria, although seizures from Iraq have risen significantly compared to last year. Since the removal of Saddam Hussein, PSD has observed an increasing trend of trafficking hashish and opium from Afghanistan through Iraq and into Jordan. So far in 2005, there have been 28 seizures at the Iraq border resulting in the arrest of 24 people, up from a total of 4 cases in 2004.
Corruption. As a matter of government policy, Jordan neither encourages nor facilitates the illicit production or distribution of drugs or substances, or the laundering of proceeds from illegal drug transactions. There is currently no evidence to suggest that senior level officials are involved in narcotics trafficking.
Agreements and Treaties. Jordan is party to the 1988 UN Drug Convention, the 1971 UN Convention on Psychotropic Substances, and the 1961 UN Single Convention as amended by the 1972 Protocol. Jordan is a party to the UN Convention against Corruption, and has signed, but has not yet ratified, the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime. Jordan continues to remain committed to existing bilateral agreements providing for counternarcotics cooperation with Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Egypt, Pakistan, Israel, Iran, and Hungary.
Cultivation and Production. Existing laws prohibit the cultivation and production of narcotics in Jordan. These laws have been effectively enforced.
Drug Flow and Transit. Jordan remains primarily a narcotics transit country. Jordan’s main challenge in stemming the flow of illicit drugs through the country remains its vast and open desert borders. While law enforcement contacts confirm continued cooperation with Jordan’s neighbors, the desolate border regions and the various tribes, with centuries-old traditions of smuggling as a principle source of income, make interdiction difficult. None of the narcotics transiting Jordan are believed to be destined for the United States.
Domestic Programs. Jordan maintains a robust program of awareness, education, and rehabilitation. Education programs target high school and college-aged kids. Authorities continue to provide educational presentations in schools and universities throughout the country. According to a representative of the local UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), since 2001 the Jordanian government, in conjunction with the UNODC, has strengthened treatment and rehabilitation services for drug abusers in Jordan. Most notably, a national treatment and rehabilitation strategy and coordination mechanism has been put in place; the Police Treatment Center has been upgraded to provide and facilitate treatment and rehabilitation services to drug abusers referred by the court; and the five primary health centers in Jordan are now able to provide outreach services for early intervention and counseling. In August 2005, the Jordanian Drug Information Network (JorDIN) was officially established. This new UNODC initiative was implemented with the view to support the development of a comprehensive drug use monitoring system covering drug abuse indicators in Jordan, composed of the Ministries of Health and Education, the University of Jordan, and other organizations. In the future, JorDIN will enable the GOJ to better quantify rates of success for rehabilitation and treatment of drug users. The UNODC representative further stated that with each year, Jordan has made real progress in drug abuse treatments.
There are currently three locations at which people in Jordan can receive treatment and rehabilitation services: the National Center for the Rehabilitation of Addicts operated by the Ministry of Health; the Police Treatment Center operated by the PSD’s Anti-Narcotics Department, and a private treatment facility operated by Al-Rashid Hospital in Amman.
IV. U.S. Policy Initiatives and Programs Policy Initiatives. In July 2005, DEA sponsored a one-week Asset Forfeiture and Financial Investigations Seminar in Amman.
The Road Ahead. U.S. Officials expect continued cooperation with Jordanian officials in counternarcotics related issues.
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. The largest single share of opiates leaving Afghanistan (ca. 60 percent) passes through Iran to consumers in Iran itself, Russia and Europe. There is no evidence that narcotics transiting Iran reach the United States in an amount sufficient to have a significant effect. Iran is no longer a major drug-producing country. There are an estimated 3 million opiate abusers in Iran, with 60 percent reported as addicted to various opiates and 40 percent reported as casual users. The latest opiate seizure statistics from Iran suggest Iran is experiencing an epidemic of drug abuse, especially among its youth. There is overwhelming evidence of Iran’s strong commitment to keep drugs leaving Afghanistan from reaching its citizens. As Iran strives to achieve this goal, it also prevents drugs from reaching markets in the West. More than 3,400 Iranian law enforcement personnel have died in clashes with heavily armed drug traffickers over the last two decades, and Iran reports that another 48 died in 2004. Iran spends a significant amount on drug-related expenses, including interdiction efforts and treatment/prevention education. Estimates range from $250-$300 million to as much as $800 million each year, depending on whether treatment and other social costs are included. Traffickers from Afghanistan continue to cause major disruption along Iran’s eastern border, but Iranian security forces have had excellent seizure results for the last two years by concentrating their interdiction efforts in the eastern provinces. Iran is a party to the 1988 UN Drug Convention, but its laws do not bring it completely into compliance with the Convention. The UNODC is working with Iran to modify its laws, train the judiciary, and improve the court system.
II. Status of Country Iran is a transit country and a major consumer country of opiates and hashish. Entering from Afghanistan and Pakistan into eastern Iran, heroin, opium, and morphine are smuggled overland, usually to Turkey. Drugs are also smuggled by sea across the Persian Gulf. Iran is itself a major opiate consuming country, with the highest share of population abusing opiates in the world. The UNODC estimates that 2.8 percent of the Iranian population over age 15 used opiates in 2001 (latest data available). A sharp increase in the share of unrefined opium in total opiate seizures made by Iranian enforcement in 2005 suggests that drug traffickers in Afghanistan have consciously decided to serve the growing opium market in Iran, rather than ship refined or semi-refined opiates (heroin and morphine base) for ultimate consumption in Europe.
III. Country Actions Against Drugs in 2005 Policy Initiatives. A group of Iran’s neighbors, and major narcotics assistance donor countries working together in a regional organization under UNODC sponsorship (the "Paris Pact") organized a visit to Iran to discuss Iran’s counternarcotics efforts, and its needs for narcotics-related assistance. Among the policy recommendations to emerge from this review was the need not to overlook exit routes along the Iranian/Turkish border, and to strive for more intelligence-led investigations of trafficking organizations. The Paris Pact review also made recommendations to improve treatment and drug education, and to encourage more effective courts and decrease corruption. UNODC has put together an assistance program for Iran containing enforcement, demand reduction, and judicial sector projects and requested donors to consider contributions towards the estimated $22 million cost of the program. Approximately half of the amount necessary has already been pledged, largely by European donors, significantly Great Britain. Iran continues to spend at least 50 percent of its budgeted counternarcotics expenditures on demand reduction activities as a continuing response to the growing social and health impact of more dangerous drug abuse (e.g., heroin vice opium), and the trend towards more intravenous heroin abuse, with certain addict populations sharing needles. Police forces engaged in narcotics suppression activities have begun to complain publicly that their budgets are inadequate for their interdiction responsibilities.
Law Enforcement Efforts. The Drug Control 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. The long-time head of the Drug Control Headquarters, Ali Hashemi, was replaced after this summer’s Presidential elections in Iran, by Fada Hussein Maleki, an official with provincial administration experience in a region (Baluchistan) beset by narcotics trafficking.
Iran pursues an aggressive border interdiction effort. A senior Iranian official told the UNODC that Iran had invested as much as $800 million in a system of mud walls, moats, concrete dams, sentry points, and observation towers, as well as a road along its entire eastern border with Pakistan and Afghanistan. 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 sites, so that their inhabitants are less subject to harassment by narcotics traffickers.
Thirty thousand law enforcement personnel are regularly deployed along Iran’s border with Afghanistan and Pakistan. Interdiction efforts by the police and the Revolutionary Guards have resulted in numerous drug seizures. Iranian officials seized 199 metric tons of opiates (opium equivalent) just during the first seven months of 2005. Opiate seizures in 2005 (projected) were on track to be just 9 metric tons less (-2.54 percent) than the all-time record seizures achieved in 2004. Iran and Pakistan alternate for the right to be the country with the highest volume of opiate seizures in the world.
Iranian opiate seizures in the first seven months of 2005 display some interesting trends:
One possible explanation for these seizure trends is a return of Iranian addicts to traditional raw opium abuse, after a period when disruptions in supply from Afghanistan forced a switch to heroin. A large share of heroin and almost all of the morphine base transiting Iran is headed for markets in Europe (heroin) or for further refining in Turkey (morphine base). Hashish seizures in Iran in the first seven months of 2005 were 35 metric tons. If hashish seizures are projected out for the whole of 2005 (60 metric tons), and compared with 2004’s seizures of 86.5 metric tons, they would register a sharp decline of more than 30 percent.
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 lashings, although it is believed that lashings have been used less frequently in recent years. Offenders between the ages of 16 and 18 are afforded some leniency. More than 60 percent of the inmates in Iranian prisons are incarcerated for drug offenses, ranging from use to trafficking. Narcotics-related arrests in Iran during 2004 continued a sharp upward trend, mounting to 417,240, an 11 percent increase over drug arrests in 2003. Almost two-and-one-half times more drug abusers were detained than drug traffickers. Iran has executed more than 10,000 narcotics traffickers in the last decade.
Corruption. It would seem that corruption plays a more important role in narcotics trafficking in Iran than heretofore thought. Corruption cases reached the courts in Iran, and were also featured in media reports. The election campaign highlighted incidents of corruption, and to some extent the results can be read as a populist reaction to perceptions of corruption in leadership circles. Although there is no specific indication that senior government officials aid or abet narcotics traffickers, comparison of the situations in other narcotics-transit countries suggests that in addition to corruption among lower/mid-level law enforcement, there is also probably involvement of higher level officials as financiers and protectors of narcotics traffickers. Nevertheless, punishment of corruption can be harsh, and the evidence of Iran’s commitment to keep drugs from its people is compelling. A high-profile effort is currently under way in Iran to highlight corruption and discourage its spread, but some cynicism might be justified on the question of its seriousness, with an eye on those in the top infrastructure who escape punishment for apparent corruption. Iran has signed, but has not ratified, the UN Convention Against Corruption.
Agreements and Treaties. Iran is a party to the 1988 UN Drug Convention; however, its legislation does not bring it completely into compliance with the Convention, particularly in the areas of money laundering and controlled deliveries. The UNODC is working with Iran through the NOROUZ Program to modify its laws, train the judiciary, and improve the court system. UNODC has also proposed new assistance projects for Iran’s courts and prosecutors after the recent Paris Pact review of Iran’s counternarcotics efforts. The proposed assistance, which is projected to cost in excess of $7.5 million, focuses on modernization of the courts, especially increased use of computerization in courts, transparency, and corruption reduction. UNODC is seeking donor commitments currently. Iran is also a party to the 1971 UN Convention on Psychotropic Substance, and the 1961 UN Single Convention as amended by the 1972 Protocol. Iran has signed, but has not yet ratified, the UN Convention on Transnational Organized Crime. Iran has shown an increasing desire to cooperate with the international community on counternarcotics matters. Iran is an active participant in the Paris Pact, a group of countries that actively seeks to coordinate efforts to counter opiate smuggling in Southwest Asia, and as noted above, Iran hosted an expert round table and review of its counternarcotics efforts by this group in 2005.
Cultivation/Production. A 1998 U.S. survey of opium poppy cultivation in Iran and a detailed U.S. multi-agency assessment concluded that the amount of poppy being grown in Iran was negligible. The survey studied 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. Iran is now 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 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 Baloch 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. The Iranian town of Zahedan is reportedly a center for the opiate trade as it first enters Iran, and then moves westward. Foreign embassy observers report that Iranian interdiction efforts have disrupted smuggling convoys sufficiently to force smugglers to change tactics and emphasize concealment more than they have in the past. The use of human "mules" is on the rise. Individuals and small groups also attempt to cross the border with two to ten kilograms of drugs, in many cases ingested for concealment. Trafficking through Iran’s airports also appears to be on the rise. Still, many traffickers move drugs in armed convoys, and are ready for a fight if challenged.
A large share of the opiates smuggled into Iran from Afghanistan is 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. Essentially all of the morphine base, which represented almost 25 percent of all opiates seized in the first seven months of 2005, in Iran, is likely moving towards Turkey, as is some share of the much diminished 15 percent, or so, of opiates moving as heroin. Significant quantities of raw opium are consumed in Iran itself, but some quantities also move on to the west to be refined and consumed as heroin in Europe and elsewhere. There is a northern smuggling route through Iran’s Khorasan Province, to Turkmenistan, to Tehran, and then on to Turkey. The mountains and desert, which are sparsely populated along this route, make 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, but has made a number of important seizures, mostly at Bandar Abbas, of acetic anhydride, used in the refining of heroin. All precursor chemicals seized were consigned? to Afghanistan. Trafficking through Iran is facilitated by wide-spread smuggling traditionally used to provide necessities, and to escape high taxation. There are also reports that enforcement authorities accept bribes to pass shipments, and fail to enforce laws that prohibit street sales of narcotics inside of Iran.
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. Hashish moves extensively along this route, as well. Oman and Dubai appear to be important destinations, but some Iranian hashish even finds its way to Iraq. Iranian enforcement officials have estimated that as much as 60 percent of the opium produced in Afghanistan in past years entered Iran, with as much as 700-800 metric tons of opium consumed in Iran itself by its ca. 3 million users.
Domestic Programs (Demand Reduction). Smoked opium is the traditional drug of abuse in Iran, but opium is also drunk, dissolved in tea. Opium and its residue are also injected, dissolved in water, by a small number of addicts. Iranians have clearly been using more heroin during the past several years. Heroin has not replaced opium, the traditional drug of choice in Iran, but lower street prices for heroin, and temporary shortages of opium (after the Taliban successfully prohibited opium production in Afghanistan in 2000/01), plus higher prices for opium, have encouraged some addicts to switch from opium to heroin. Some heroin is smoked or sniffed, but a growing share is injected. Recent seizure statistics, where the share of opium seized is up sharply, suggests a return to more traditional patterns of abuse in Iran, namely opium as the predominant drug of abuse. There are also many reports that young people in Iran have turned aggressively to drug abuse as an escape from what they perceive as difficult economic and social conditions. Significant seizures (6 metric tons in 2004) of synthetic drugs have also been reported, again suggesting that young people are driving drug abuse in Iran to even higher levels.
Ninety-three percent of opiate addicts are male, with a mean age of 33.6 years (plus or minus 10.5 years), and 1.4 percent (about 21,000) are HIV positive. In the past, Iran focused more aggressively on illegal alcohol use than on 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 UNODC’s NOROUZ narcotics assistance project, the GOI 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. Eighty-eight out-patient treatment centers are now operational. 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 now methadone treatment and HIV prevention programs in Iran, in response to growing HIV infection, especially in the prison population.
IV. U.S. Policy Initiatives and Programs Policy Initiatives. In the absence of direct 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 Paris Pact group, the United States and Iran have worked together productively. Iran nominated the United States to be coordinator of an earlier UN-sponsored coordination effort on narcotics called the "Six Plus Two" counternarcotics initiative. The U.S., for its part, has approved licenses which allow U.S. NGOs to work on drug issues in Iran.
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, as it is one of the biggest victims of the short term increase in opium/heroin production there now. The United States anticipates that Iran will continue to pursue policies and actions in support of efforts to combat drug production and trafficking.
I. Summary Israel is not a significant producer or trafficking point for drugs. The Israeli National Police (INP), however, report that during 2005, the Israeli drug market continued to be characterized by high demand in nearly all sectors of society and a high availability of drugs including cannabis, ecstasy, cocaine, heroin, hashish and LSD. The INP also reports a continuing demand for ecstasy in 2005, but a lower level of seizure compared with 2004. The amount of marijuana seized is less than half that in 2004, and there was a slight decrease in the amount of hashish seized. The INP reports that the amount of heroin seized has doubled since last year and that the level of demand is unchanged. The quantity of LSD seized in 2005 is considerably less then the previous years. Widespread use of ecstasy by Israeli youths is a continuing source of concern for authorities. There was a decrease from last year in the number of arrests for drug use, and possession, not for personal use, but arrests for trafficking have increased. The number of drug arrests for 2005 was 3,640 (Note: All 2005 data are for the period January through October and were obtained from the Research Department of the Israeli Police Headquarters, unless otherwise indicated.) Israel is a party to the 1988 UN Drug Convention.
II. Status of Country Israel is not a major producer of narcotics or precursor chemicals. Israeli narcotics traffickers operating outside of Israel continue to be deeply involved in the international ecstasy trade. The INP reports that during 2005, the Israeli drug market was characterized by a high demand in nearly all sectors of society and a high availability of drugs including cannabis, ecstasy, cocaine, heroin, hashish and LSD. The INP estimates the annual demand of the Israeli market to be 100 tons of marijuana, 20 tons of hashish, 20 million tablets of ecstasy, 4 tons of heroin, 3 tons of cocaine, and hundreds of thousands of LSD blotters. Officials are also concerned with the widespread use of ecstasy and cannabis among Israeli youth, and say that drug use among youth mirrors trends in the West. The INP indicates that most of the hashish in Israel now comes from Afghanistan and Morocco, which have replaced Lebanon as the major source. Another source of concern for law enforcement authorities is the synthetic drug Gamma Hydroxybutyrate (GHB), and its analogues, Gamma Butyrolactone (GBL), and Butanediol (BD), better known as Date-Rape Drugs. This class of drugs has been outlawed in Israel since 2004.
III. Country Actions Against Drugs in 2005 Policy initiatives. In 2005, the INP continued its general policy of interdiction at Israel’s borders and points of entry because the biggest quantities of drugs cross into Israel from Jordan, Egypt, and Lebanon. Together with the Israeli Anti-Drug Authority (IADA), the INP concentrated specifically on the Jordanian and Egyptian borders, where the majority of heroin, cocaine, and cannabis entered Israel. The INP and the IADA have jointly developed programs to help Israeli youth, especially in the Arab community, where there has been a marked increase in use of illegal drugs and drug-related violence since 2004. Both organizations continue to identify and investigate several major families involved in the drug trade in Israel. In 2005, the INP combined its investigations and intelligence units into one branch called the Special Operations Division (SOD).
Law Enforcement Efforts. INP reported a high demand for cocaine and a total of 158 kilograms seized in 2005, a figure almost six times that of 2004. Other reported seizures for 2005 are as follows: 7,000 kilograms of marijuana; 730 kilograms. of hashish; 200,000 ecstasy tablets; 140 kilograms of heroin; and 1,866 LSD blotters. There was a slight change from last year in the number of arrests reported by the INP. In 2005, the INP reported 15,427 arrests for drug use, 3,047 for drug trafficking, and 5,233 for drug possession not for personal use. Israel destroyed 686 illicit labs in 2005, compared with 528 in 2004. The figure for drug arrests in 2004 was 4,340, dropping to 3,640 in 2005. In 2005, there were several high profile drug cases. In one instance, the INP arrested seven members of an ecstasy ring involved in smuggling 90,000 pills from Europe, and the seizure of 30 kilograms of pure heroin at a border crossing between Israel and Jordan, estimated at NIS 3.5 million ($777,777). In total there were 24,393 felony cases related to the narcotics crimes.
Corruption. As a matter of government policy, Israel does not encourage or facilitate the illicit production or distribution of drugs or substances, or the laundering of proceeds from illegal drug transactions. Israel does not have specific legislation for public corruption related to narcotics, but vigorously enforces its general laws against malfeasance in government.
Agreements and Treaties. In June 2002, Israel ratified the 1988 UN Drug Convention after passing all the necessary laws to make Israeli laws consistent with the Convention. Israel is a party to the 1971 UN Convention on Psychotropic Substances, and the 1961 UN Single Convention as amended by the 1972 Protocol. A customs mutual assistance agreement, an extradition treaty and a mutual legal assistance treaty are in force between Israel and the U.S. Israel signed the UN Convention against Transnational Crime and it is in the process of passing the necessary changes to Israeli law required for ratification. Israel has signed, but has not yet ratified the UN Convention against Corruption.
Cultivation/Production. There is negligible cultivation and production of illicit drugs in Israel.
Drug Flow/Transit. Israel is not a significant transit country, although Israeli citizens have been part of international drug trafficking networks in source, transit, and distribution countries. Israeli citizens abroad in locations such as France, Spain, Germany, Denmark, Holland, and Belgium serve as brokers and transporters of ecstasy to the U.S. and elsewhere. Israeli officials are particularly concerned about drugs being smuggled into Israel from neighboring countries Lebanon, Jordan and Egypt. Israel also works with Germany and Holland to interdict the flow of ecstasy—with Turkey to interdict the flow the heroin and with South American countries to interdict the flow of cocaine.
Demand Reduction. A number of both public and private entities are working to reduce the demand for drugs through awareness and prevention programs. The Israeli Anti-Drug Authority (IADA) is one of the main governmental actors in this effort. Its mission, among other things, is to spearhead prevention efforts, initiate and develop educational services and public awareness, and treat and rehabilitate drug users. It coordinates with and directs the activities of a number of government ministries involved in reducing demand. The IADA also seeks to change the public opinion to counter increasing social acceptance of recreational drug use. Prevention programs target high-risk segments of the population like the Arab sector, as well as youths, students, backpackers, new immigrants, and others. The IADA offers workshops and lectures for immigrants from Russia and Ethiopia in their respective languages and tailored to their particular cultural needs. The IADA is working to reduce demand for narcotics among soldiers by providing officers with the skills to combat effectively the use of drugs within their units. There is an ongoing public awareness campaign aimed at parents and designed to focus their attention on their children’s whereabouts and activities. The IADA also concentrates on human resources development, including the development of a professional infrastructure, and is establishing a unified standard for training purposes, including development of a curriculum for nurses, police, prison employees, physicians, and counselors, as well as other drug prevention, treatment, and enforcement professionals. The IADA also performs basic, epidemiological, and evaluative research in the narcotic drug field. The INP participates in demand reduction initiatives by lecturing at schools at all levels above 10 years of age and in the army about the impact of drugs on the body and mind.
IV. U.S. Policy Initiatives and Programs Bilateral Cooperation. DEA officials characterize cooperation between the DEA and the INP as outstanding. All DEA investigations related to Israel are coordinated through the DEA Nicosia Country Office. The INP has liaison officers in Bangkok, Paris, The Hague, Bogotá, Berlin, Moscow, Ankara, and Washington, DC. Through these offices, there were several significant joint investigations conducted in 2005 leading to arrests of 36 Israelis abroad in 2005.
Road Ahead. The DEA regional office in Nicosia, Cyprus, looks forward to continued cooperation and coordination with its counterparts in the Israeli law enforcement community. The GOI is seeking to widen and build on relations with other countries and has created an office of International Relations within the IADA to pursue this objective.
I. Summary Kenya has become an increasingly significant transit country for cocaine from South America bound for Europe. The seizure of more than one ton of cocaine in December 2004 raises concerns that international drug trafficking rings have made inroads in Kenya and may benefit from a climate of official corruption, which allows them to operate with near impunity. Heroin and hashish transiting Kenya, mostly from Southwest Asia bound for Europe and the U.S., have markedly increased in purity in recent years. Some share of the heroin is destined increasingly for the U.S., even as the overall transit volume is believed to have declined. There is a growing domestic heroin and cocaine market and use of marijuana is becoming more widespread, particularly on the coast and in Nairobi. Although government officials profess strong support for counternarcotics efforts, the overall program suffers from a lack of resources and corruption at various levels. Kenya is a party to the 1988 UN Drug Convention.
II. Status of Country Kenya is a significant transit country for cocaine and heroin and a minor producer of cannabis. It is believed that Kenya is becoming an increasingly significant transit country for multi-ton shipments of cocaine from South America destined for European and African consumers; however, cocaine seizures have decreased significantly from the dramatic spike in 2004. 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 significant transit country for Southwest Asian heroin and hashish. Although it is impossible to quantify exactly, officials now believe that the United States is at least as significant as Europe as a destination for heroin transiting Kenya. Seizures of Southwest Asian cannabis resin transiting Kenya have fallen off dramatically since 2000 and the 2005 figures remain relatively constant with figures for 2004. Cannabis or marijuana is produced in commercial quantities for the domestic and export market, however there is no evidence of its impact on the United States. Kenya does not produce significant quantities of precursor chemicals.
III. Country Actions Against Drugs in 2005 Policy Initiatives. Kenya has abandoned the wholesale adoption of the 2001 National Drug Control Master Plan (NDCMP). Rather, Kenya is currently drafting legislation which would implement select provisions of the NDCMP by creating a Drug Control Authority. Counternarcotics agencies, notably the Anti-Narcotics Unit (ANU) within the Kenyan Police Service, continue to depend on the 1994 Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (Narcotics Act) for enforcement measures and interdiction guidelines. The twelve year-old Act is generally sufficient to sustain current interdiction efforts, but the Act’s major weakness remains its ambiguity and inconsistencies in the area of drug seizure, analysis, and disposal. In 2005, the government of Kenya worked with the United Nations Office for Drugs and Crime (UNODC) to draft revisions to the Narcotics Act covering the seizure, analysis, and disposal of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances. Despite the recognized need, the revisions have yet to be implemented. Kenya has no crop substitution or alternative development initiatives for progressive elimination of the cultivation of narcotic crops. The ANU remains the focus of Kenyan counternarcotics efforts.
Law Enforcement. As a result of UNODC and bilateral training programs, 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. Profiling has yielded good results in recognizing couriers but not major traffickers. Seaport container-profiling has proven difficult. Despite the official estimate that much of the narcotics trafficking through Kenya originates on international sea vessels, ANU maritime interdiction capabilities remain virtually nonexistent. Personnel turnover at the ports is high and Kenya has no functioning maritime interdiction capability. Six officers are assigned to Kenya’s (and East Africa’s) principal port of Mombasa for profiling purposes only; the two officers who have been trained in maritime interdiction have no boats from which to operate. Corruption continues to thwart the success of long-term port security training and inadequate resources also sap morale, and impose real restrictions on what can be achieved. Both corruption and resource constraints are real problems throughout the Kenyan police force and significantly reduce the ANU’s operational effectiveness.
Seizures of heroin and cocaine decreased in 2005, while seizures of cannabis and its derivatives increased. Kenya seized 30 kilograms of heroin in 2005, a 10-kilogram decrease from the quantities seized in 2004 (all statistics on drug seizures in this section reflect the period from January to November 2005 as provided by the ANU) and arrested 103 people on heroin-related charges. The ANU concentrates its antiheroin operations at Kenya’s two main international airports. Kenyan authorities seized 49,854 kilograms of cannabis and its derivatives in 2005 and arrested 4,648 suspects. As in the previous year, the ANU saw an increase in cannabis cultivation during targeted raids in 2005, in which 153,720 plants were destroyed. 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. Weak laws, an ineffective and inefficient criminal justice system and widespread corruption are the main impediments to an effective counternarcotics strategy for Kenya.
Seizures of cocaine and arrests for cocaine trafficking were low, compared to 2004. Kenya seized 5 kilograms of cocaine in 2005 and made 4 arrests. However, Kenya has yet to achieve a successful prosecution stemming from the December 2004 record seizure of cocaine. All seven defendants accused of trafficking 295 kilograms of cocaine seized in the Netherlands related to the cocaine shipment seized in Kenya were acquitted in November due to lack of evidence. The presiding magistrate stated that the case was neither adequately investigated nor prosecuted and the state failed to comply with sections of the Narcotics Act. Given the lackluster performance of legal and law enforcement authorities in the case, the magistrate questioned the commitment of the Office of the Attorney General to combating drug trafficking.
The Kenyan government (through Customs and the Criminal Investigations Department of the Kenyan police service) is collaborating with UNODC in setting up a drug law enforcement program targeting key entry points of drugs into the East African region. This program complements another UNODC program focusing on developing drug control capacity in the port of Mombasa.
Corruption. As a matter of government policy, Kenya does not encourage nor facilitate the illicit production or distribution of narcotic or psychotropic substances, or the laundering of proceeds from illegal drug transactions. However, official corruption remains a significant barrier to effective narcotics enforcement at both the prosecutorial and law enforcement level. Despite Kenya’s strict narcotics laws that encompass most forms of narcotics-related corruption, reports continue to link public officials with narcotics trafficking. The December 2004 cocaine seizure has heightened public concern that international drug trafficking rings enjoy protection by high-level officials for their activities in Kenya. The November 2005 acquittal of seven suspects accused of trafficking cocaine to the Netherlands raises questions about the ability or willingness of legal and law enforcement authorities to combat drug trafficking. The December 31 murder of the lead police officer investigating the theft of shipping containers, possibly in connection with a drug trafficking ring, illustrates the challenges facing authorities in interdicting drug trafficking through the Port of Mombasa. The murdered officer was killed after reportedly refusing substantial bribe offers. As in previous years, airport and airline collusion and outright involvement with narcotics traffickers continued to occur in the year covered by this report. Several Kenya Airways employees were arrested for smuggling of small quantities of cocaine into European airports, increasing public concern about the threat that some of last year’s one ton cocaine seizure, still warehoused in Kenya, might find its way back out to the streets.
Agreements/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. Kenya is also a party to the 1961 UN Single Convention as amended by its 1972 Protocol, and the 1971 UN Convention Against Psychotropic Substances. Kenya is a party to the UN Convention Against Corruption, and to the UN Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime and its protocols against migrant smuggling, trafficking in persons, and illegal manufacturing and trafficking in firearms. The 1931 U.S.-U.K. Extradition Treaty remains in force between the United States and Kenya through a 1965 exchange of notes, but the extradition relationship has not been entirely satisfactory to the U.S. of late. Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda established a protocol to enhance regional counternarcotics cooperation in 2001.
Cultivation and Production. A significant number of Kenyan farmers illegally grow cannabis 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. Aerial surveys this year identified large cannabis crops in several areas, of which 153,720 plants were destroyed.
Drug Flow and Transit. Kenya is strategically located along a major transit route between Southwest Asian producers of heroin and markets in Europe and North America. Heroin normally transits Kenya by air, carried by individual couriers, but as a result of profiling measures and enhanced counternarcotics efforts, ANU officials believe traffickers are finding Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) an increasingly inconvenient exit point for East African drugs. ANU officials continued to intercept couriers transiting newly created land-routes from Uganda and Tanzania, where it is believed the drugs arrive by air. The increased use of land-routes demonstrates, in the minds of ANU officials, that traffickers have noted the increase in security and narcotics checks at JKIA. Postal and commercial courier services are also used for narcotics shipments through Kenya. There is evidence that poor policing along the East African coast makes this region attractive to maritime smugglers, particularly for cocaine shipments. Kenya also remains a transit country for methaqualone (mandrax) en route from India to South Africa. However, total mandrax seizures for 2005 amounted to only 5 tablets, down from 5,000 seized in 2004. Officials have never identified any clandestine airstrips in Kenya used for drug deliveries and believe that no such airstrips exist.
Domestic Programs. The National Campaign Against Drug Abuse (NACADA) continues to combat drug abuse, although the quasi-governmental organization’s budget remains negligible. While there are no reliable statistics on domestic consumption of illicit narcotics, NACADA estimates that twenty-one percent of 10 to 21 year olds have used cannabis. Kenya has made some progress in efforts to institute programs for demand reduction. Illegal cannabis and legal khat are the domestic drugs of choice. Heroin abuse is generally limited to members of the economic elite and a slightly broader range of users on the coast. Academics and rehabilitation clinic staff argue that heroin use in Nairobi and along the coast has grown exponentially in the past few years. Nairobi and Mombasa each have an estimated 10,000 heroin addicts. Cocaine use is also expanding in urban centers. Solvent abuse is widespread (and highly visible) among street children in Nairobi and other urban centers. Demand reduction efforts have largely been limited to publicity campaigns sponsored by private donors and a UNODC project to bring counternarcotics education into the schools. NACADA continues to pursue demand reduction efforts via national public education programs on drug abuse. Churches and nongovernmental organizations provide limited rehabilitation and treatment programs for heroin addicts and solvent-addicted street children. With the support of USAID, the Ministry of Health is developing two rehabilitation and drug abuse treatment facilities in Nairobi and Mombasa. UNODC supports a youth network on drug demand reduction.
IV. U.S. Policy Initiatives and Programs U.S. Policy Initiatives. The principal U.S. counternarcotics objective in Kenya is to interdict the flow of narcotics to the United States. A related objective is to limit the corrosive effects of narcotics-related corruption in law enforcement, the judiciary, and political institutions, which has created an environment of impunity for well-connected traffickers. The USG seeks to accomplish this objective through law enforcement cooperation, the encouragement of a strong Kenyan government commitment to narcotics interdiction, and strengthening Kenyan counternarcotics and overall judicial capabilities.
Bilateral Cooperation and Accomplishments. There was a modest expansion of USG bilateral cooperation with Kenya and surrounding countries on counternarcotics matters in 2005. Counternarcotics training opportunities and equipment offers have also been the hallmark of bilateral assistance to the ANU. The United States remains active in the Mini-Dublin Group, which has responsibility for coordinating counternarcotics assistance from several Western donors. Additionally, the USG provided U.S. speaker programming on drug abuse to raise public awareness of the growing rates of heroin addiction in the coastal region. USAID also provides support to projects to develop addiction treatment services to heroin addicts in Nairobi and on the Kenyan coast.
The Road Ahead. The USG will continue to take advantage of its good relations with Kenyan law enforcement to build professionalism, operational capacity, and information sharing. 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 through Kenya.
I. Summary Lebanon is not a major illicit drug producing or drug-transit country, but with a history of opium cultivation and its central location, conditions in Lebanon bear close watching. The Lebanese government reported complete success in eradication of poppy and cannabis crops for 2004. It took serious actions to prevent cannabis cultivation and to eradicate illicit crops before harvest in the Biqa’ Valley. It appears that crop destruction operations like these will continue to be routine operations. However, illicit crop cultivation is likely to continue to remain an option for local farmers due to an increasingly difficult economic climate and a lack of investment in alternative crops.
Cultivation of illicit crops increased slightly from 2004 to 2005. There is practically no illicit drug refining in Lebanon, and no production, trading or transit of precursor chemicals. Drug trafficking across the Lebanese-Syrian border has diminished substantially as a result of Lebanese and Syrian efforts to deter smuggling activity. The government continued its ongoing drug reduction efforts through public service messages and awareness campaigns. Lebanon is a party to the 1988 UN Drug Convention.
II. Status of Country At least five types of drugs are available in Lebanon: hashish, heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine, and other synthetics, such as MDMA (ecstasy). Hashish and heroin are reported to be rare, due to the destruction of local crops, but small quantities of cocaine arrive in Lebanon to meet local demand, and the government reported increased interest in synthetic drugs. Lebanon is not a major transit country for illicit drugs, 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 significant amounts. South American cocaine is smuggled into Lebanon primarily via air and sea routes from Europe, Jordan, and Syria, or directly to Lebanon. Lebanese nationals living in South America, in concert with resident Lebanese traffickers, often finance these operations. According to a report issued by the Judicial Police in 2003, very small quantities of cocaine were smuggled in 2003, as compared to an average of approximately 500 kilograms in previous years. Synthetics are smuggled into Lebanon primarily for sale to high-income recreational users.
The stagnating economic situation in rural Lebanon and the lack of investment in alternative crops continues to make illicit crop cultivation appealing to local farmers in the Biqa’ Valley in eastern Lebanon, though in ever-lesser quantities due to efforts by the government to eradicate illicit crops. The government also continued a counternarcotics campaign to discourage new planting. According to Lebanon’s Internal Security Forces (ISF), approximately 273,555 square meters of opium and 641,890 square meters of hashish were eradicated in 2005.
There is no significant illicit drug refining in Lebanon. Such activity has practically disappeared due to the vigilance of the Syrian and Lebanese governments. Small amounts of precursor chemicals, however, shipped from Lebanon to Turkey via Syria, were previously diverted for illicit use. Legislation passed in 1998 authorized seizure of assets if a drug trafficking nexus is established in court proceedings.
III. Country Actions Against Drugs in 2005 Policy Initiatives. The Ministry of Interior again made counternarcotics a top priority. The Judicial Police reported that no one was exempt from the law, and made narcotics-related arrests in 2004 for the first time in 35 years. The government also continued its vigorous campaign to discourage drug use by expanding public awareness on university campuses, through media campaigns, and in written advertisements.
Accomplishments. In 2005, the Government of Lebanon continued hashish and poppy eradication. Lebanese law enforcement officers cooperated with law enforcement officials bilaterally and through Interpol. Several European and Persian Gulf countries have illicit drug enforcement offices in Beirut with which local law enforcement authorities cooperate. The Government of Lebanon received from the UNODC and the UNDP a $362,000 grant for "the development and implementation of a national action plan on drug demand reduction in Lebanon" from 2004-2006.
Law Enforcement Efforts. The ISF stated that from January to November 2004, they eradicated all cultivated crops during the year. The ISF reported seizures of 900 kilograms of hashish, and significantly lesser quantities of other illicit drugs. The number of arrests for use was 960, for dealing 847, for distribution 142, and lesser numbers for planting, smuggling, and transporting. The total number of persons arrested in 2004 for drug related crimes was 1,424, including the arrest in June of one of the major drug dealers in Lebanon. Abou Ali Sadek el-Masri was apprehended in his home in the Biqa’ Valley in a joint operation carried out by the ISF and the Lebanese Armed Forces. Results for 2005 were not yet available, as this report neared completion.
Corruption. Corruption remains endemic in Lebanon up to the senior levels of government, but the U.S. is unaware that government corruption is connected with drug production or trafficking or the protection of persons who deal in illicit drugs. While low-level corruption in the counternarcotics forces is possible, there is no evidence of wide-scale corruption within the Judiciary Police or the ISF, which appear to be genuinely dedicated to combating drugs. Lebanon is not a party to the UN Convention Against Corruption.
Agreements and Treaties. Lebanon is a party to the 1988 UN Drug Convention, the 1971 UN Convention on Psychotropic Substances, and the 1961 UN Single Convention, as amended by the 1972 Protocol. Lebanon also is a party to the UN Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime and its protocols against migrant smuggling and trafficking in persons.
Cultivation and Production. There are conflicting reports of illicit crop cultivation. Statistics from the Judicial Police this year show that 273,555 square meters of opium and 641,890 square meters of hashish were eradicated during 2005. However, a respected agricultural research center reported that in fact there were no eradications of illicit crops because farmers did not plant illicit crops. According to the director of the center, farmers have been thoroughly intimidated by police efforts to eradicate illicit crops. Knowing that the crops will be destroyed, and given the poor economic climate, farmers are loath to invest in crops that they believe will be destroyed. In either case, the end-result is that Lebanon is not believed to be a significant drug producing country any more.
Drug Flow/Transit. Illicit drug trafficking via traditional smuggling routes has been somewhat curtailed by joint Syrian-Lebanese operations in the past. . Drug trafficking along the Israel-Lebanon frontier has been negligible since the Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon in May 2000 and the subsequent near-sealing of the UN-demarcated Blue Line. The primary route for smuggling hashish from Lebanon during 2004 was overland to Arab countries such as Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, and via sea routes to Europe. According to the ISF, large exports of hashish from Lebanon to Europe are more and more difficult for smugglers due to increased seashore patrols and airport control. The ISF asserts that no hashish has been smuggled into the United States.
Domestic Programs (Demand Reduction). Lebanese leaders understand that they need to address the problem of illicit drug use. In 2002, the government launched a public awareness campaign to discourage drug use and which remains on-going. Textbooks approved for use in all public schools contain a chapter on narcotics to increase public awareness. The current law on drugs dictates that a National Council on Drugs (NCD) be established, whose services and activities will include substance abuse treatment, prevention, awareness, and assistance to substance users and their families, in addition to setting up a national action plan. Since 2001, the government has been engaged in the establishment of this council; however, the NCD has not yet been formed.
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 of Lebanon, through the Ministry of Social Affairs and the Ministry of Public Health, provided 36 percent of ON’s 2004 budget, which was $1,000,000. ON estimates that the age of the average drug addict in Lebanon has been decreasing since the end of the country’s civil war in 1990, with pre-college and college-age youth now being the most vulnerable. In 2004, 60 percent of ON’s clients were under 24 compared to 5 percent for the same age group in 1990. ON statistics, based on their patient base, indicate that the most commonly abused illicit substance is heroin, but use of "designer" drugs such as methamphetamine and ecstasy is increasing. ON operates three drug treatment centers in Lebanon, two for men and one for women. The centers, which have a maximum capacity of 70 patients, offer a year-long residential program for hard-core addicts, and sometimes operate above capacity. The program strives for recovery for the residents’ physical, psychiatric, spiritual, and social well-being without the use of drug maintenance. A new section, funded by USAID, was built in one of the men’s centers and became operational in September. The new section, which can accommodate 12 to 15 patients, has taken in 21 patients since September. ON offers no outpatient drug withdrawal programs. ON also engages in drug prevention activities such as distributing educational materials on college campuses and promoting drug awareness among the population through advertisements and education programs. The organization also has a research office and a center for statistical studies.
Another drug rehabilitation center for men opened in Zahleh in the Biqa’ Valley in coordination with the Saint Charles Hospital and the Ministry of Health. The center can accommodate up to 16 patients. The center’s team of psychiatrists, clinical psychologists and social workers also does clinical training with drug addicts at the hospital. A new walk-in outpatient therapeutic facility for addiction that offers prevention, awareness, and psychological treatment to drug users and their families called Skoun (which means "internal tranquility" or "silence" in Arabic) opened last year in downtown Beirut. The center is currently treating some 20 outpatients. Other associations that fight drugs are: Jeunesse Anti-Drogue (JAD), which is primarily committed to drug awareness, but also provides medical treatment and psychological rehabilitation on an outpatient basis; Jeunesse Contre la Drogue (JCD), which raises awareness of substance abuse and AIDS, and helps users get proper treatment and rehabilitation; and Association Justice et Misericorde (AJEM), which was established to assist prisoners. One recurrent problem is the lack of coordination between concerned ministries and sometimes between the various NGOs that work on substance abuse.
According to the report "Substance Use and Misuse in Lebanon", released by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in May 2003, ISF participants in the study reported that individuals arrested for substance-related offenses most commonly use heroin, hashish/marijuana, and cocaine. Furthermore, the participants noted that synthetics use is on the rise and so is Benzhexol use in prisons. On the other hand, ecstasy use was perceived as uncommon. As for data from treatment/rehabilitation centers, they showed that ecstasy and medicinal opiates are on the rise. Data gathered from street substance users showed that codeine and other medication abuse are on the rise, and additionally, that the young population is increasingly inhaling thinner.
IV. U.S. Policy Initiatives and Programs U.S. Policy Initiatives. In meetings with Lebanese officials, U.S. officials continued to stress the need for diligence in preventing any return to the production and transportation of narcotics in Lebanon, and the need for a comprehensive development program for the Bekka’ Valley that would provide impoverished residents with alternate sources of income The USG also stressed the importance of anticorruption efforts.
Bilateral Cooperation. USAID continued 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 assisted U.S. and local NGOs working with villages to promote the substitution of illicit crops with legitimate, economically viable ones. The Sustainable Forage Development Program, ongoing since 2002, has proven the feasibility of forage cultivation as an alternative to illicit cropping, producing an average net income of $900 per hectare; more than 1,030 farmers in the Biqa’ and South Lebanon have joined the program. USAID also helped increase the receiving capacity of one of Oum el Nour’s rehabilitation centers (see above on Domestic Programs). In 2003, the Department’s INL Bureau funded a narcotics demand reduction program administered by a Beirut-based NGO, the Justice and Mercy Association (AJEM). This ongoing project was designed to create a drug treatment facility in Roumieh p |
