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U.S. Department of State
1996 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report, March 1997

United States Department of State

Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs


KYRGYZSTAN

I. Summary

Kyrgyzstan is a significant conduit for drug traffickers seeking Western markets for Afghan opiates. Specifically, Kyrgyzstan is becoming a major transit point for smuggling opium to Russia and Western Europe. The unsettled political situation in Tajikistan, inexperienced and undertrained police authorities, and potential corruption make Kyrgyzstan increasingly vulnerable to the drug industry. Kyrgyzstan was once one of the world's largest suppliers of licit opium poppy, and after the Soviet ban on opium poppy cultivation in 1973, has continued to have problems with some illicit cultivation. Although no official estimates are available, Government of Kyrgyzstan (GOK) officials believe illicit cultivation is declining. Cannabis grows wild throughout the county and GOK officials estimate that there may be as much as 40,000 hectares under cultivation. The USG has no reports of drugs cultivated in Kyrgyzstan entering the US. The GOK became a party to all three UN drug conventions and has taken limited steps to develop a counternarcotics response, including cooperation with the USG.

II. Status of Country

Kyrgyzstan's location makes it attractive to increased transit trade, as heroin and hashish traffickers seek new routes from Pakistan and Afghanistan to Russia and the West. The growing use of this route by traffickers to channel drugs from Afghanistan to the Newly Independent States (NIS) and the West resulted in a corresponding rise in drug related crimes in Kyrgyzstan in 1995. There is no reason to believe such crime has abated. Moreover, the increased trafficking through Tajikistan, combined with the Kyrgyz law enforcement agencies' limited resources, suggests that drug trafficking will continue to grow.

GOK officials report six primary trafficking groups in Kyrgyzstan, all centered in Osh. They repackage Afghan opiates and smuggle them north using all available transportation methods.

Kyrgyzstan once supplied more than 16 percent of the world's raw licit opium which was consumed in the Soviet Union. Although illicit opium cultivation continues, there are no reliable estimates of its extent. GOK officials believe that this cultivation is declining.

In 1993, President Akayev expressed concern that Kyrgyzstan has one of the largest drug abuse problems in Central Asia with 50,000 consumers. Over the last three years, drug use, particularly among youth, has become more prevalent. Nevertheless, there are no new statistics in 1996.

Although Kyrgyz officials indicated in 1995 that there were allegations of drug money laundering in the nascent Kyrgyz banking system, there have been no such reports or evidence of this in 1996. Officials in the Central Bank of Kyrgyzstan are concerned about potential problems and are working with USG experts to develop systems to prevent financial fraud and money laundering in Kyrgyzstan. The Kyrgyz Senate is discussing new laws on asset forfeiture. Under the Soviet criminal code, a criminal's assets could be seized and thirty percent of the proceeds earmarked for law enforcement agencies.

III. Country Actions Against Drugs in 1996

Policy Initiatives. The GOK has undertaken nascent steps to develop a national counternarcotics strategy. The most significant development during 1996 was developing the National Drug Intelligence Unit (NDIU) to coordinate antidrug efforts. Additionally, the GOK developed a new plan outlining responsibilities for each of the antidrug entities. Since the break-up of the former Soviet Union, Kyrgyzstan has not had a working legal framework to cover many aspects of asset seizure, money laundering, and prosecution of conspiracies to traffic narcotics. Counternarcotics legislation is ready, however, and could be passed in the coming year.

Most current law enforcement efforts focus on interdiction activities carried out by the 180 counternarcotics officers in the lead drug control agency within the Ministry of Interior (MVD). UNDCP is supporting efforts to expand the field offices within Kyrgyzstan. However, bureaucratic rivalries and infighting limit coordinated interdiction activities, and the GOK still lacks many of the basic resources to institute effective, coordinated law enforcement efforts. The president recently mandated a thirty percent cut in personnel of all government agencies which is likely to affect the effectiveness of this agency. Even in the face of limited manpower and resources, the MVD has established a trend of increasing seizures and arrests.
Two seizures include the seizure of 101 kgs of opium gum in March 1996 in the city of Osh, and the November seizure of 218 kgs of opium gum.

The GOK is increasing cooperation with the West and anticipates greater cooperation as a member of Interpol. Within the NIS, however, there appears to be only limited cooperation, as there is among the joint Russian - Kyrgyzstani Border Guard forces along the border with Tajikistan.

Corruption. GOK law enforcement authorities indicate that narcotics-related corruption is common. Several cases underscore this point. In February, in Bishkek the MVD seized 8.5 kgs of opium gum from the brothers of several key GOK officials. These included the brother of a deputy in the Kyrgyz Parliament, the brother of the Ministry of National Security (MNB) Deputy Chief in Osh, the brother of a senior official in the MVD, and the brother of a Deputy Chief of Investigations in the MVD. The case has not been completed.
In another case the MVD apprehended a Ministry of Defense official, brother of another Kyrgyz parliamentary deputy. The GOK also is concerned about confiscated narcotics. They are to be destroyed after seizure, but might actually be re-sold.

Agreements and Treaties. Kyrgyzstan is a party to the 1988 UN Convention as well as the UN drug conventions of 1961 and 1971. Kyrgyzstan agreed to the Central Asian counternarcotics protocol between the Central Asian countries and UNDCP in May. Kyrgyzstan does not yet have an extradition treaty with the US.

Cultivation and Production. Although Kyrgyzstan was once a key supplier of licit opium poppy for the Soviet Union, the GOK continues the ban on opium poppy cultivation, first imposed by the Soviet Union in 1973. Prior to 1973, over 7,000 hectares of opium poppy were cultivated annually and sent to a plant in Kazakhstan for licit morphine processing. Moscow banned cultivation because of difficulties in controlling the licit cultivation and the processing of opium. Instead, it began to import licit opium poppy straw from India.

Although there are no reports of opium production, various sources indicate that opium poppy continues to grow wild and is cultivated for illicit purposes. Most cultivation is in remote mountainous regions. Authorities did report the discovery of an opium poppy field in Bishkek three years ago. There are also reports that ephedra grows wild in Kyrgyzstan. A UN report indicates that ephedra is collected for the licit manufacture of ephedrine at a plant in Chymkent in Kazakstan; Kyrgyz officials indicate that such cultivation is illegal. Cannabis is also grown in Kyrgyzstan. Kyrgyz officials estimated in 1994 that such cultivation totaled approximately 40,000 hectares and that the product was consumed primarily in Central Asia and other NIS.

Domestic Programs. Economic conditions in Kyrgyzstan prompted the GOK three years ago to slash funds allocated to the country's five drug treatment centers in Bishkek, Osh, Karakol, Naryn, and Talas.

IV. U.S. Policy Initiatives and Programs

Policy Initiatives and Bilateral Cooperation. In 1996, the USG encouraged Kyrgyzstan to modernize its legal framework for combating drug smuggling and to implement the international drug control treaties. The USG also urged increased cooperation with the UNDCP and neighboring countries for regional counternarcotics efforts. The USG provided law enforcement and customs training to GOK officials at regional workshops and seminars.

The Road Ahead. Over the next year, the USG will encourage Kyrgyzstan to implement the 1988 UN Convention, expand drug control activities, and establish the necessary legislative institutions. The USG will offer law enforcement training opportunities and will encourage Russia and Western European countries to cooperate more closely with Kyrgyzstan's law enforcement authorities. Another goal is to make government agencies more effective in countering public corruption, which also would greatly assist the development of democracy.

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