|
|
|
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
INTERNATIONAL NARCOTICS CONTROL STRATEGY REPORT, MARCH 1996: KAZAKSTAN
United States Department of State
Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs
I. Summary
Kazakstan is confronting a significant narcotics problem. Major
international heroin trafficking groups are accelerating efforts to
smuggle drugs through Kazakstan, and it remains a major international
source of marijuana. As of September 1995, the Ministry of Interior
(MVD) reported seizures of over six tons of illegal narcotics and 8,500
drug-related crimes in Kazakstan. Illicit opium cultivation also
continues to be a problem, according to national law enforcement
authorities. Despite a highly publicized campaign by the Government of
Kazakstan (GOK) to combat narcotics trafficking (and crime and
corruption in general), efforts to form and implement an effective
antidrug strategy have been slow. GOK authorities bolstered
interdiction in 1995, and the number and size of illegal narcotics
seizures increased. Nevertheless, interdiction efforts continued to be
hampered by shortages of experienced personnel and equipment, alleged
wide-scale corruption, and inadequate legislation. Kazakstan is not yet
a party to the 1988 UN Convention.
II. Status of Country
Kazakstan continues to play a large and growing role as a conduit for
illegal drug smuggling. Because it is a transportation and
communication bridge between Europe and Asia, increasing amounts of
illegal drugs, primarily opium, from Southwest Asia and China are
smuggled through Kazakstan to Russia, other Newly Independent States
(NIS), and Europe. GOK officials speculate that illegal narcotics are
smuggled from the Afghan-Tajik border to Almaty, Kazakstan via Dushanbe,
Osh, and Bishkek. Moreover, a recent increase in seizures along the
border with China reflects increased trafficking of Southeast Asian
heroin through Kazakstan.
Domestic production of illegal drugs is on the rise, according to GOK
officials. Marijuana remains the primary illicit drug crop, although
ephedrine and opium production are also increasing. While the NIS
appears to be the major market for such production, drug narcotics from
Kazakstan have been seized as far away as Western Europe.
The clandestine diversion of legal medications from hospitals, clinics,
and suppliers is also increasing. The possible diversion and
trafficking of precursor chemicals to and from Kazakstan remains a
growing concern.
Health officials state that drug abuse is much higher than reflected in
the number of registered addicts; 6,000 in 1995. This number primarily
reflects cannabis users in regions where cultivation is high. In
Chymkent, a recent survey indicates one out of every 14 citizens uses
cannabis. Health officials note that the use of homemade opium poppy
straw and other opiates is on the rise.
III. Country Actions Against Drugs in 1995
Policy Initiatives. The GOK is slowly developing a comprehensive
antidrug strategy, but adoption, funding, and implementation of the
strategy remains a low priority. The GOK has not yet become a party to
the 1988 UN Convention, and the drug strategy for 1994-1997 is currently
undergoing policy and funding review. On paper, government antinarcotics
activities are overseen and supervised by the State Drug
Enforcement Committee, chaired by a Deputy Prime Minister. In practice,
however, this committee appears to do very little to coordinate the
activities of the various law enforcement agencies.
Notable government efforts in 1995 included a wide-scale restructuring
of the law enforcement and criminal justice systems. The GOK law
enforcement organizations also underwent a major restructuring, which
included the creation of the State Committee for Investigations (GSK) as
the primary law enforcement organization responsible for government
anti-narcotics operations. The biggest challenge to the GSK, however,
is to conduct operations under severe resource and financial
constraints. Other initiatives in 1995 included the establishment of an
internal anti-corruption campaign, approval of a new customs code by
presidential decree, and increased cooperation with other NIS law
enforcement agencies.
Although police efforts do not appear to be a major deterrent to
international drug smuggling, Kazakstani law enforcement agencies
confiscated record amounts of illegal narcotics in 1995. Seizures
included two record cargoes of marijuana that totalled 1,220 kilograms.
As of September 1995, the MVD reported that approximately six tons of
illegal narcotics had been seized and 8,500 drug-related crimes were
reported. During the first seven months of 1995, over 260 kilograms of
illegal drugs had been confiscated by Kazakstani Customs.
Cultivation and Production. Cultivation of opium poppy, cannabis, and
ephedra is illegal in Kazakstan. However, MVD officials report that
seventy percent of all illicit opium poppy is grown in southern
Kazakstan, though the extent of the total growth is unknown. Kazakstani
authorities also estimate that the country's potential marijuana yield
is in excess of 5,000 metric tons per year. According to GOK estimates,
138,000 hectares of cannabis grow wild in the Chu valley, approximately
30,000 hectares of cannabis grow in the Taldy-Korgan region, and lesser
amounts exist in the Almaty city region and Kzyl-orda and south
Kazakstan oblasts. Despite the substantial quantity of cannabis
harvested, Kazakstan has not been added to the 1996 "majors list" as a
drug producing country because such cannabis is consumed locally or is
exported to countries other than the United States, and thus does not
significantly affect the United States. Ephedra plants, from which the
illegal drug ephedrine is derived, grow wild in the Zailyiski and
Junggar mountain ranges and in the Taldy-Korgan and Dzhambyl regions.
GOK authorities estimate that approximately 2,000 tons of ephedra can be
harvested in a single summer, and they believe illicit production of
ephedrine is increasing.
The Chymkent pharmaceutical factory, the only such plant in the NIS, has
the capability to produce five to eight types of opiates for legal use,
including morphine, codeine, promedol, thebaine, and ethyl-morphine.
Between 1973 and 1992, the pharmaceutical plant in Chymkent legally
processed 150 tons of Indian opium annually. After a temporary shut
down from 1991 to 1992, production resumed in 1993, with the purchase of
50 tons of raw opium from India. According to GOK officials, the
factory is again shut down due to financial constraints.
Corruption. Corruption is reportedly widespread within the GOK,
particularly within the law-enforcement organizations. Despite recent
government efforts to bring corruption under control, corruption still
remains a very serious obstacle for law enforcement and is likely
hampering the effectiveness of Kazakstani anti-narcotics efforts.
Nevertheless, the USG does not have any specific reports of official
narcotics-related corruption in Kazakstan.
Agreements and Treaties. The GOK has drafted a new penal code which
will assist GOK efforts to implement the international drug conventions.
The GOK does not have an anti-narcotics or anti-crime treaty or
agreement with the USG at this time.
Legislation to support fuller compliance with the UN Conventions has
been drafted, but has not yet been adopted. Kazakstan is a party to the
October 1992 agreement between the NIS police forces regarding the
coordination of drug control activities. In 1993, the Committee for
National Security (KNB) entered into bilateral agreements with
counterpart service in Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Ukrainian, and
Uzbekistan. Currently, Kazakstan, Russia, and Belarus are in the
process of establishing a customs union. Kazakstan is a member of the
Customs Cooperation Council (CCC), INTERPOL, and is an observer at the
UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs.
Domestic Programs. The GOK maintains a treatment and prevention
program, currently administered by the Ministry of Health. According to
the MVD, in 1995 there were over 17,000 registered drug users in
Kazakstan. An additional 6,000 individuals were officially registered
as addicts, although government officials believe that the actual number
is at least ten-times larger. Typically, government rehabilitation
programs are chronically short of medication, bed space, funding, and
qualified personnel.
IV. US Policy Initiatives and Programs
Policy Initiatives and Bilateral Cooperation. In 1995, the USG
continued a counternarcotics dialogue with the GOK and urged the GOK to
give increased priority to the drug issue. USG goals and objectives for
Kazakstan include support for GOK efforts to reform the law enforcement
and criminal justice systems, including (1) the drafting of
internationally acceptable legislation; (2) technical assistance to law
enforcement organizations, including the development of an effective
customs control regime; (3) support to identify the nature and scope of
illegal narcotics trafficking, cultivation, production, and abuse in
Kazakstan; and (4) promoting cooperation with international
organizations on narcotics-related activities in Kazakstan.
Against this backdrop, during 1995, the USG provided Kazakstan law
enforcement officers with regional anti-narcotics seminars and workshops
in Almaty, Aktau, and Antalya, Turkey; and an assessment of road, rail,
and air customs facilities throughout Kazakstan; funded GOK
participation in a drug and chemical diversion control conference in
Istanbul, Turkey, and invited the Director General of GOK Customs to the
United States.
Moreover, the USG has worked with the UNDCP to encourage increased drug
control support for Kazakstan. The UNDCP opened a regional office in
Tashkent in June 1993. The United States continues to urge Western
European nations most directly effected by heroin smuggling through
Central Asia to increase earmarked contributions for UNDCP.
The Road Ahead. The United States will continue to urge Kazakstan to
expand its counter-narcotics activities and to implement effective antidrug
institutional and legislative changes. The U.S. plans to continue
to provide assistance through UNDCP and to provide bilateral law
enforcement, customs and demand reduction training assistance.
|
