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:
In 1995, Lebanon acceded to the 1971 Convention and Uzbekistan acceded to the 1961 Convention, the 1971 Convention and the 1988 Convention. Of the 24 States in West Asia, 18 are parties to the 1961 Convention, 17 are parties to the 1971 Convention and 15 are parties to the 1988 Convention. Georgia, Kazakhstan, Tadjikistan, Turkmenistan and Yemen are not parties to any of the international drug control treaties. The Board urges all States in the region that have not already done so to become parties to those treaties.
In 1995, the Board sent missions to the Islamic Republic of Iran, Kazakhstan, Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates.
Subregional Coordination
The Board notes with satisfaction the increasing cooperation between member States of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) and also between them and UNDCP.
The Board highly appreciates the close cooperation in the field of drug control between Egypt, Israel and Jordan and the Palestinian Authority, as well as their cooperation with UNDCP, which was promoted during the meeting of an operational technical working group held at Cairo in July 1995.
The Board also appreciates the close subregional coordination between law enforcement agencies of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf.
The Board welcomes the drafting of a new comprehensive drug control strategy by the League of Arab States, extending the strategy of the previous Arab convention, which is oriented mainly towards law enforcement, to include social problems. The Board notes with satisfaction the ongoing coordination between law enforcement agencies of the Council of Arab Ministers of the Interior.
The Board welcomes the establishment of national interministerial coordinating committees on drug control in Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan and encourages Governments of CIS member States in the region to speed up the adoption of new drug control laws with the assistance of UNDCP and to increase the cooperation between their national law enforcement agencies as provided by the agreement of police forces of CIS member States for the coordination of operational drug control activities, signed at Kiev in 1992.
The Board welcomes the initiatives undertaken by UNDCP for the establishment of drug control cooperation in central Asia and hopes that the programme to be submitted for signature to heads of State or Government of central Asian countries and the Executive Director of UNDCP at the political summit planned for early 1996 will constitute a major step towards closer cooperation between the signatories.
In the opinion of the Board, there is an urgent need to create appropriate legal frameworks and to strengthen law enforcement structures in CIS member States because the illicit cultivation of narcotic plants and the illicit production of, manufacture of, traffic in and abuse of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances are on the increase and all of these problems are closely connected with the growing crime rate and in particular with the activities of criminal organizations. Similarly, there is an urgent need to regulate and control the system for the licit supply of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances.
Heroin and opium are increasingly being transported across the territories of the five CIS member States in Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tadjikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan), mainly from Afghanistan and Pakistan to countries in Europe. It is expected that such transit traffic will expand rapidly with the introduction of new international air and railway connections, the extension of the Karakorum highway and the restoration of the silk road, which is in the planning stage.
Some of the CIS member States are major manufacturers of chemicals that can be used for the illicit manufacture of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances. The Board urges those States to take immediate measures against the diversion and illicit export of such chemicals, in particular acetic anhydride.
Money Laundering
In the opinion of the Board, special attention should be paid in CIS member States to the problem of money laundering. The absence of mechanisms to control new financial institutions and banking activities and promising investment possibilities offer opportunities for persons who engage in money laundering. In some CIS member States, hard-currency casinos, restaurants, shops and hotels also provide opportunities for such criminal activity.
The Board notes with satisfaction that the member States of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf have agreed to implement recommendations against money laundering formulated by the Financial Action Task Force; however, the magnitude of the international movement of foreign exchange and promising investment opportunities frequently hinder the implementation of those recommendations.
The Board hopes that the creation of a committee within the banking system for self-control and international cooperation and the forthcoming adoption of a new draft law containing provisions against money laundering will enable the Government of Lebanon to improve its control of the large flow of foreign exchange and the fast-growing banking sector in that country.
Cannabis
Large-scale illicit cannabis cultivation and cannabis resin production have continued in Afghanistan. Afghanistan and Pakistan continue to be important suppliers of illicit drug markets in Europe. The large-scale illicit traffic in cannabis and cannabis resin continues to create problems for the transit countries in West Asia, as well as in Europe.
Wild-growing cannabis covers large areas in CIS member States. Cannabis grows wild not only on approximately 140,000 hectares in Kazakhstan and 6,000 hectares in Kyrgyzstan, but also in the other CIS member States in Central Asia (Tadjikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan) and in the CIS member States in the Caucasus (Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia). The illicit cultivation of cannabis has also been reported in all of the CIS member States, but the controversial estimates do not allow a realistic assessment of the extent of that cultivation. There are contradictory reports regarding the potency of the cannabis varieties in central Asia. The Board recommends the countries concerned to clarify the THC content of wild-growing and cultivated cannabis varieties in the CIS member States.
The abuse of cannabis and cannabis resin continues to be substantial in Afghanistan and Pakistan and has increased in the CIS member States. Such abuse has been reported in most countries in West Asia.
Successful campaigns to eradicate illicit crop cultivation were conducted in the Beqa'a valley in Lebanon in 1991 and 1992. Since then, no cultivation of illicit crops has been observed there. But former cannabis and poppy growers still do not have an alternative source of income and such a situation leads to strong tension. To solve the problem, UNDCP and UNDP initiated an integrated area development programme. The Board invites Governments and development agencies to support ongoing UNDCP efforts aimed at preventing a re-emergence of the illicit cultivation of narcotic plants in Lebanon.
Opium, Heroin
In Afghanistan, UNDCP has conducted a comprehensive survey on the extent of illicit poppy cultivation and opium production in crop year 1994/1995. The survey has confirmed the findings of the survey conducted in the crop year 1993/1994. Calculated illicit opium production is about 2,300 tonnes, about one third less than in crop year 1993/1994. The decrease is attributed to large-scale eradication, lower prices (because of oversupply in crop year 1993/1994) and increased cultivation costs. The effective border control and fight against drug trafficking by some of the neighbouring countries have also contributed to the reduction in production and prices. CIS member States are urged to similarly reinforce control of their borders with Afghanistan. Illicit opium production has only risen in the province of Badakhshan, mainly due to the emerging new trafficking through neighbouring CIS countries in Central Asia. In Pakistan, according to the Government, the area under poppy cultivation and the amounts of opium produced have considerably diminished since the introduction of a ban on such activity in 1979, but illicit poppy cultivation has continued in tribal areas, where most federal laws are not enforced.
In the CIS member States in Central Asia, Gorno-Badakhshan (in southern Tadjikistan), Penjikent (at the Tadjik-Kyrgyz border), Taldy-Kurgan and Kzyl-Orda (both in southern Kazakhstan) and the Samarkand area (in Uzbekistan) are the major illicit opium production areas, and the opium poppy is cultivated in those areas on small plots. In 1994, 400 hectares of illicitly grown poppy were eradicated in Penjikent and operation "Mak" in northern Tadjikistan resulted in the seizure of 200 tonnes of opium and cannabis resin and in the arrest of dozens of well-armed gangs. The Government of Uzbekistan has continued the annual "Black Poppy" operations, leading to the manual eradication of an average of 150 tonnes of opium poppy plants and 25 tonnes of cannabis plants per year. In the CIS member States in the Caucasus, opium poppy is cultivated mainly in Georgia, where 200,000 poppy plants and 500,000 cannabis plants were destroyed in 1994.
Illicit heroin manufacture has continued in West Asia. Large amounts of morphine and heroin base have been smuggled out of Afghanistan and Pakistan, particularly into Turkey, where clandestine laboratories for the manufacture of heroin hydrochloride have been dismantled in the eastern provinces and, increasingly, in the Istanbul area.
According to ICPO/Interpol reports, some laboratories have also been detected in Lebanon. In Afghanistan, the number of clandestine heroin laboratories is on the increase. Many laboratories are located in the northern part of Afghanistan, in close proximity to its borders with Tadjikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, to facilitate the procurement of chemicals needed for illicit heroin manufacture. In Kazakhstan, large amounts of acetic anhydride are manufactured and illicitly used, also in "kitchen laboratories", to manufacture heroin.
The abuse of heroin (mainly heroin smoking) continues to create enormous problems in Pakistan. Increasing heroin abuse has been reported in Afghanistan. Heroin abuse is also on the increase in Turkmenistan, where "brown sugar" (heroin base) smoking among young people is creating more problems than the old habit of eating opium among elderly people. Intravenous injection of opiates (opium infusions or poppy straw extracts) has been reported in Armenia, Georgia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.
Cocaine
In 1994, law enforcement authorities in Georgia detected the illicit cultivation of coca bush on an experimental basis in Adjaria, an area in the country with a subtropical climate, and in the mountains of Svatenia. According to local authorities, illicit traffickers have begun exploring the possibility of cultivating coca bush on a large scale in Georgia. In the opinion of the Board, it is important for the Government of Georgia to take measures to prevent coca bush from being cultivated on its territory and to initiate action against the attempts by international criminal organizations to introduce illicit coca bush cultivation in that country.
According to ICPO/Interpol reports, coca base is smuggled out of countries in South America into Lebanon, where it is converted in clandestine laboratories into cocaine hydrochloride and subsequently illegally exported, via Turkey, to other countries, mainly in Europe.
Cocaine abuse is not considered to be a problem in most countries in West Asia.
Psychotropics
As for psychotropic substances, major problems are caused by stimulants: amphetamine and fenetylline in Arab countries and methcathinone in central Asia.
The smuggling of important quantities of illicitly manufactured fenetylline (Captagon) tablets out of European countries into States in the area of the Persian Gulf has continued. Analysis of seized samples has revealed that those tablets often contain amphetamine or caffeine instead of fenetylline. The abuse of amphetamine and (fake or real) fenetylline has been reported in Israel and Lebanon, as well as in States in the area of the Persian Gulf.
The large-scale illicit manufacture of, traffic in and abuse of methcathinone (ephedrone) have been increasing in CIS member States in central Asia. Methcathinone can be easily manufactured from ephedrine, which is extracted from the Ephedra plant. Ephedra grows abundantly in Kyrgyzstan, where 500 tonnes of it are harvested annually for the licit manufacture of ephedrine. In Kazakhstan, approximately 2,000 tonnes of Ephedra may be harvested annually in the mountain ranges of the country. There are reports on clandestine laboratories manufacturing ephedrine, which is subsequently converted into methcathinone.
A sharp increase in the abuse of LSD has been reported in Israel, a development that is similar to that in several European countries.
Demand Reduction
The Board highly appreciates the demand reduction programmes of the Government of Israel, which include preventive programmes conducted in many schools, different treatment and rehabilitation possibilities, the active involvement of the media and special programmes for various ethnic and religious groups.
The Board also appreciates similar efforts in some other countries but deplores the lack of demand reduction activities in many countries in West Asia and invites the Governments of the States in the region to consider the undertaking of such preventive programmes a priority issue and to request the assistance of UNDCP, WHO and non-governmental organizations in that endeavour.
Fact-finding Missions
In June 1995, the Board sent a mission to the Islamic Republic of Iran to discuss all aspects of drug control in that country. The Board notes with satisfaction that the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran is conducting a systematic fight against illicit drug trafficking. The Board is aware of the difficulties encountered by the national law enforcement authorities in preventing the smuggling of cannabis resin, opium, morphine and heroin into the country and in preventing its territory from being used to transport most drugs to Europe from its neighbouring countries. The Board appreciates the efforts of the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran in that direction and recommends that the Government should be provided with assistance in the form of equipment for law enforcement activities.
The Board recommends that the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran should undertake an epidemiological study of the drug abuse situation in that country and should develop a nationwide demand reduction preventive programme.
The mission discussed with the Iranian authorities the possible consequences of any exports of codeine manufactured from seized opium. Such activity would be in conformity with the provisions of the international drug control treaties but would not be in line with the relevant Economic and Social Council resolutions. The mission reminded the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran of the adverse impact that such action would have on the balance between supply of and demand for opiates.
A mission of the Board visited Pakistan in June 1995. The Board appreciates that the illicit poppy cultivation and opium production have been reduced in Pakistan, mainly in those districts where projects for integrated development are being implemented. The Board is concerned, however, about the extent of the illicit trafficking in and abuse of narcotic drugs in Pakistan. The Board is aware of the external and internal difficulties facing the country (the unstable situation in Afghanistan, the non-enforcement of federal law in tribal areas etc.) that hinder efforts by the Government to deal with the problem in a concerted manner.
The Board appreciates the law enforcement actions that have led to the seizure of substantial amounts of cannabis resin and opium. At the same time, the Board urges the Government of Pakistan to give the highest priority to implementing the federal narcotic laws and regulations in tribal areas where those laws and regulations are still not enforced and where there is substantial illicit cultivation, production, manufacture and trafficking. The Board notes with concern that successful law enforcement action is often not followed by the punishment of traffickers and invites the Government to increase its action against the underlying factors (corruption, political influence of criminals etc.).
The Board trusts that the new administrative structure, the new control of narcotic substances ordinance of 1995, the increased regional and bilateral cooperation and the ongoing UNDCP assistance will allow the Government of Pakistan to effectively combat the drug problem.
The Board notes with particular concern the drug abuse situation in Pakistan but appreciates the increased awareness of that problem and encourages the Government to expand its demand reduction activities to include all of its aspects.
The Board recommends that the Government of Pakistan should strengthen its control of the licit trade in phenobarbital and other psychotropic substances as provided by the 1971 Convention, as well as the cooperation between national agencies in the control of precursors. The Board urges the Government of Pakistan to pay more attention to money laundering activities, which are often facilitated by liberal financial regulations and policies.
In June 1995, the Board sent a mission to the United Arab Emirates. The Board had been alerted to the fact that the country had been used to divert substances used for the illicit manufacture of methamphetamine in Mexico and for the conversion of morphine into heroin in West Asia. The mission of the Board therefore discussed with the Government of the United Arab Emirates measures necessary for the implementation of article 12 of the 1988 Convention and recommended that the Government should ensure the implementation of those measures by all of the national authorities involved in precursor control, particularly by the customs services. The Board notes with satisfaction that the Government has already started to implement measures to prevent a reoccurrence of incidents involving diversion.
In the United Arab Emirates promising investment opportunities and the lack of adequate legislation offer possibilities for persons who engage in money laundering. The Board welcomes the drafting of the first law to include measures against money laundering and to provide for the confiscation of assets derived from drug trafficking activities. The Board urges the Government of the United Arab Emirates to adopt and implement that law as soon as possible.
In September 1995, the Board sent a mission to Kazakhstan to invite the Government to ratify the three main international drug control treaties, since Kazakhstan is not a party to any of them.
Accession to the 1961 Convention and the implementation of the provisions of that Convention are a matter of priority because Kazakhstan is the only CIS member State that is a manufacturer of morphine, codeine and other natural and semi-synthetic opiates and it is an important supplier of those alkaloids to other CIS member States. There had been some indications that opiates manufactured in the pharmaceutical plant at Chimkent had been diverted. Vast areas of Kazakhstan are covered with wild-growing cannabis. There are reports on the illicit cultivation of opium poppy and on the increasing abuse of opiates (mainly extracts prepared in "kitchen laboratories").
Ratification of the 1988 Convention and the implementation of its provisions are of crucial importance because there is evidence that the territory of Kazakhstan is increasingly being used as a transit point by international drug traffickers. Kazakhstan is a major manufacturer of acetic anhydride and there are reports that that chemical is being smuggled out of the country into clandestine heroin laboratories in Afghanistan.
There is an urgent need for strict controls over the precursors and chemicals in Tables I and II of the 1988 Convention. Wild-growing Ephedra plants constitute a potential source for illicit ephedrine manufacture. In addition, ephedrine is a precursor of methcathinone (called ephedrone in CIS member States) and there is evidence that the clandestine manufacture and the abuse of that substance (which is under the control regime of the 1971 Convention) constitute problems in Kazakhstan. Without the application of the provisions of the 1988 Convention it would be very difficult to prevent the illicit manufacture and abuse of methcathinone. The Board is confident that the Government of Kazakhstan will speed up the adoption of adequate drug control legislation, making use of the assistance provided by UNDCP. The Board appreciates the recently introduced national coordination mechanism and encourages the Government of Kazakhstan to develop the administrative structures that are necessary for the establishment of a functional national drug control system. The Board invites international organizations to assist the Government in its efforts.
The entire text of the INCB Report for 1995 can be found on INCB's Home Page accessed from : http://www.undcp.org