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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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