CAUTION: The following review of the regional drug situation has been excerpted, as background information only, from the 1995 Annual Report of the International Narcotics Control Board, which is under embargo until 9 a.m. (European Time) on 28 February 1996. The Board annually assesses the drug situation in each region, based on information obtained from a variety of sources, including Government authorities. No part of the report or this excerpt may be used before its official release:
Since the last report of the Board was published, Guinea-Bissau has acceded to the 1961 Convention, Chad, Guinea-Bissau, Mali and Swaziland have acceded to the 1971 Convention and Algeria, Cape Verde, Chad, Guinea-Bissau, Lesotho, Mali and Swaziland have become parties to the 1988. In Africa, 40 States are parties to the 1961 Convention, 39 are parties to the 1971 Convention and 30 are parties to the 1988 Convention.
The Board urges the Governments of Angola, Central African Republic, Comoros, Congo, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Gambia, Mozambique, Namibia, Sao Tome and Principe and United Republic of Tanzania, which are not parties to any of the three main international drug control treaties, to become members of the international drug control system by acceding to the treaties.
In 1995, the Board sent missions to Benin, the Gambia, Ghana and Togo.
Regional Development
A training seminar for drug control administrators from countries in northern and western Africa was held by the Board at Tunis in March 1995. At the seminar, which was hosted by the Government of Tunisia, competent authorities reviewed the practical application of control measures, something that is often needed in African countries. Some diversions of controlled substances by using falsified import certificates have already been prevented as a direct result of the seminar. The seminar provided a good opportunity to gather information about methods used in the assessment of medical needs in African countries.
The Board appreciates the assistance provided by the United Nations International Drug Control Programme (UNDCP) to many African Governments in the development of adequate drug control legislation and in the creation of national coordinating bodies. The Board is aware that in many African States enormous problems have been created by political and social conflict; thus, there are severe economic and social situations that should be dealt with as a matter of priority. At the same time, however, the Board wishes to draw the attention of Governments to the links between the drug problem and criminality and corruption and to their negative effects on, for example, economic stability and public health. The Board urges Governments to speed up the process of the adoption of adequate drug control legislation and the establishment of operational national coordinating bodies.
The Board welcomes the adoption in Cape Verde, Gambia, Guinea, Mauritania, Mauritius and Zambia of new drug legislation that is based on the provisions of the international drug control treaties.
The Board appreciates the creation of interministerial drug control coordinating bodies in Angola, Congo, Gabon, Guinea, Uganda and United Republic of Tanzania.
The Board welcomes the initiatives taken to counter money laundering in several African countries. In Egypt, Ghana, Mauritania and Zambia measures were adopted to implement article 3 of the 1988 Convention, enabling the investigation of money laundering offences, and article 5, enabling the confiscation of assets derived from illicit drug trafficking. In Kenya, the Narcotic Drug and Psychotropic Substances Control Act of 1994, which provides for the implementation of provisions of the 1988 Convention, includes penal provisions for money laundering offences and states the possibility to forfeit property and proceeds derived from drug trafficking.
Nigeria has concluded an agreement with the United Kingdom on cooperation and mutual legal assistance in criminal matters, with a view to combating money laundering by seizing assets derived from drug trafficking. In addition, Nigeria has adopted a new law on money laundering, but the lack of mandatory requirements for financial institutions to monitor transactions made by their customers and to report suspicious transactions unfortunately limit the likelihood of money laundering activities being detected in that country.
In 1994, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) of Nigeria reported the arrest of eight major organizers of illicit drug trafficking activities. Their personal assets were confiscated and an investigation of their financial accounts was initiated. The Board appreciates the first steps undertaken by NDLEA against such major organizers of the illicit drug traffic, who had in the past managed to avoid conviction.
At the Seventh Meeting of Heads of National Drug Law Enforcement Agencies, Africa, held at Addis Ababa from 14 to 18 October 1994, a working group on consequences of and countermeasures to money laundering concluded that, in order to combat money laundering, it was necessary for States to have the proper legislation in place and that voluntary measures alone would not be enough. The Board urges African States to apply the provisions of the 1988 Convention to counter money laundering activities.
Cannabis
Cannabis is illicitly cultivated in most countries in Africa. Large-scale illicit cannabis cultivation continues in the mountainous Rif area of Morocco. Large seizures of Nigerian cannabis arriving in Europe suggest that there is substantial illicit cannabis cultivation in that country. The eradication of cannabis plantations was reported in Egypt (7 million plants in 1994) and in the Sudan; in South Africa and Swaziland more than 6,000 tonnes of illicitly cultivated cannabis plants were eradicated, mainly by using aerial spraying techniques.
According to International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) reports, South Africa is a major supplier of cannabis; yearly illicit cannabis cultivation is estimated to be more than 175,000 tonnes (dry plant weight). Although most of the cannabis cultivated in the country is for domestic abuse, some of it has been smuggled into Europe.
According to reports of the World Customs Organization, of the total amount of cannabis resin seized in Europe, the share accounted for by Moroccan cannabis resin increased from 35 per cent in 1992 to over 44 per cent in 1993 and to 70 per cent in 1994. The traffic is organized by criminal gangs having connections with syndicates in western and southern Europe.
Western countries have reported the seizure of large consignments of cannabis resin arriving from West Asia through ports in eastern and western Africa. In 1994, 26 tonnes of cannabis resin of Pakistan origin, packed in three containers, were seized in Canada; the cannabis resin had been sent to that country through ports in eastern Africa, via Kenya, Mozambique, South Africa and Uganda. According to ICPO/Interpol, in 1995, 40 tonnes of West Asian cannabis resin were seized in Mozambique.
The Board urges African States to increase their efforts to counter the illicit cultivation of and illicit traffic in cannabis and to cooperate with western European States in the development of measures against the joint activities of African and European criminal trafficking organizations. The Board also urges Governments in western Europe to assist African States in their efforts and to take more concrete action against the persisting illicit demand for cannabis in their own countries.
A sharp increase in the abuse of cannabis was reported in several countries in western Africa in 1994. In those countries, cannabis is either smoked alone or mixed with cocaine or heroin.
Opium, Heroin
Illicit opium poppy cultivation continues in Egypt; however, more than 10 million poppy plants were eradicated in 1994 in remote areas of the Sinai peninsula and along the Nile. Smaller-scale, sporadic opium poppy cultivation has been discovered in Chad, Côte d'Ivoire and Nigeria.
In 1994, there was an increase in heroin seizures in several African countries. Trafficking in heroin originating in Asia has spread from eastern to western Africa. African seaports and airports are frequently used as transit points for large shipments of heroin destined for Europe or North America. Nationals of countries in Africa (mainly western Africa) are frequently used as couriers to transport smaller heroin consignments. At the same time, there is also local abuse of heroin, as it has become readily available at low prices in many major cities in the region.
Cocaine
According to ICPO/Interpol, Africans are also increasingly being used as couriers for transporting cocaine from South America through northern and western Africa to Europe.
South Africa has expressed its concern over an increase in the availability and abuse of cocaine, particularly in its major cities. The quantity seized and the number of cocaine addicts asking for treatment have increased significantly in the last four years. The abuse of cocaine has been reported in several countries in western Africa, where the practice has spread to the lower social classes due to low cocaine prices. The abuse of crack has been reported in Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal and South Africa.
Psychotropics
The Board notes with concern the abuse of psychotropic substances in the region. There is evidence that diversion of legally imported shipments and inadequate supervision of the pharmaceutical supply system play an important role in the propagation of such abuse. The Board appreciates the efforts of several Asian and European States to seek assurance of the legitimacy of orders and import authorizations. The Board recommends that States exporting psychotropic substances should follow the example of India and some European States by asking the authorities of importing States and/or the Board to confirm the authenticity of documents whenever doubts on the legitimacy of transactions exist. At the same time, the Board urges African States importing psychotropic substances to respond in a timely and proper manner to such inquiries.
The smuggling of methaqualone out of Bombay into eastern and southern Africa continues; according to ICPO/Interpol, it remains one of the most profitable illegal enterprises, even more profitable than heroin smuggling. The main target country for methaqualone is still South Africa, where the extent of the abuse of Mandrax (a product that combines methaqualone with an antihistamine) is the largest in the world. In South Africa, Mandrax is illegal and is not available even with a prescription, but seizures of methaqualone have been rising in that country in the 1990s.
There were attempts to establish clandestine laboratories for the illicit manufacture of methaqualone or other psychotropic substances in several countries in eastern and southern Africa, in particular Kenya, Mozambique, South Africa, Swaziland and Zambia. A complete laboratory for the manufacture of a hallucinogenic amphetamine derivative, concealed in containers destined for Kenya, was seized by the Belgian customs administration at Antwerp in 1994.
The illicit traffic in and abuse of synthetic stimulants (amphetamines and amphetamine-type compounds, such as pemoline) continue to create problems mainly in central and western Africa. Significant amounts of benzodiazepines and ephedrine from India and countries in Europe are frequently smuggled into Africa.
The abuse of benzodiazepines, above all diazepam and flunitrazepam, was reported in several African countries. One factor contributing to the problem is the fact that psychotropic pharmaceutical preparations can be obtained easily from legitimate distributors without a medical prescription and from "parallel markets".
The Board recommends that UNDCP and World Health Organization (WHO) should assist African States, upon request, in developing the structures necessary to ensure that their pharmaceutical infrastructure and its supervision are in conformity with international standards.
Khat
The consumption of khat (Catha edulis) is a controversial issue. The habit is considered by some Governments in Africa to be a problem, but measures against the trade in khat have been taken in only a limited number of countries. The extent of interregional trade in khat (mainly in the eastern part of the continent) is substantial and shipments of khat have been seized in countries on other continents where its trade and use are prohibited.
A working group of the Eighth Meeting of Heads of National Drug Law Enforcement Agencies, Africa, held at Kampala from 23 to 27 October 1995, observed that the consumption of khat had created serious social and health problems in some eastern and central African States; it recommended, inter alia, that States in which khat plants grew should introduce vigorous measures to eradicate the growth of such plants.
Demand Reduction
There are few demand reduction programmes in Africa; in many countries in the region, the number of treatment facilities is limited. The Board appreciates the efforts of the Government of Nigeria to establish separate drug units in psychiatric hospitals and psychiatric departments of general hospitals. In several African countries, non-governmental organizations have taken steps to establish facilities for the care of drug addicts.
In the opinion of the Board, knowledge about drug abuse forms, trends and consequences in Africa is limited. The Board hopes that rapid assessment surveys to be carried out by WHO with UNDCP assistance will contribute to a clarification of the forms of abuse of some drug classes or individual drugs (for example pemoline). The Board is prepared to contribute to those surveys.
Fact-finding Missions
In April 1995, the Board sent a mission to the Gambia. The main objective of the mission was to promote the accession of that State to the international drug control treaties and to enhance its cooperation with the Board. The Board appreciates that, pursuant to its recommendation, a national drug control council has been established to elaborate a national drug policy. The mission also recommended the Government to allocate appropriate medical staff to the treatment of drug addicts.
Also in April 1995, a mission of the Board visited Ghana. The mission found that although the Government of Ghana was seriously committed to meeting its obligations under the international drug control treaties, it should pay more attention to the increased transit traffic in and abuse of cocaine, heroin and psychotropic substances.
In June 1995, the Board sent a mission to Benin. The main objective of the mission was to follow up the legal assistance on national drug control legislation provided to the country by UNDCP. The Board urges the Government to speed up the process of ratifying the 1988 Convention and the adoption of the new legislation. The Board recommends the reactivation of the commission responsible for the coordination of drug control matters. There is a need to conduct a drug training programme for judges, if necessary with the assistance of UNDCP. The Board recommends the strengthening of controls, in particular in the autonomous port of Cotonou, which is a potential entry point for illicit drugs.
Also in June 1995, a mission of the Board visited Togo to promote that State's compliance with the provisions of international drug control treaties. The Board urges the Government to adopt the comprehensive draft drug control legislation, if necessary with the further assistance of UNDCP.
As in the case of Benin, the Board recommends the Government of Togo to revitalize the activities of the coordination commission on drug-related matters and to undertake national training programmes for customs officers, magistrates of the public prosecutor's office and judges. The Board urges the Government of Togo to find an efficient way to destroy the large amounts of seized drugs in that country. In the opinion of the Board, there is a need for a survey to be undertaken to improve the knowledge of the drug abuse situation in Togo.
The entire text of the INCB Report for 1995 can be found on INCB's Home Page accessed from : http://www.undcp.org beginning 27 February 1996