This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 09 HANOI 001430 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE FOR INL/AAE; EAP/BCLTV; INR/EAP/SEA; L/LEI 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SNAR PREL PGOV KCRM PINS VM CNARC
SUBJECT:  NARCOTICS CERTIFICATION FOR VIETNAM FOR 2005 
 
Ref: A. SECSTATE 94578; B. Hanoi 0001; C. 03 Hanoi 3156; D. 
03 Hanoi 3288; E. 03 Hanoi 0353; F. 03 Hanoi 0549; G. 04 
Hanoi 2734; H. 04 Hanoi 663. 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary and Comment:  Vietnam has made substantial 
progress on the key metric of opium poppy cultivation and 
heroin production.  Interagency Mission consensus is that 
Vietnam now has less than 200 hectares of opium under 
cultivation, and that represents a shifting patchwork of 
small fields used by ethnic minorities in remote areas for 
local consumption and is not refined into heroin.  This 
assessment is also shared by the UN Office of Drugs and 
Crime (UNODC) and by the members of the Mini Dublin Group. 
No individual or agency inside or outside the USG considers 
Vietnam to have more than trace amounts of opium under 
cultivation.  Vietnam's presence on the "Majors List" as a 
"major drug-producing country" is based on a five-year old 
imagery survey which is universally considered out of date. 
A scheduled full poppy cultivation estimate in 2002 was not 
completed, but an official USG report states that "it is 
likely that opium poppy cultivation in Vietnam is less than 
1,000 hectares."  Moreover, Vietnam has successfully 
completed a USG-funded, UNODC-administered crop substitution 
program in Ky Son District.  Based on the above, Mission 
Vietnam recommends removing Vietnam from the Majors List in 
¶2005. 
 
¶2. (SBU) Summary and Comment continued:  The GVN continues 
to focus intensively on battling its primary drug problem - 
domestic consumption of imported heroin - and to develop its 
understanding of the emerging amphetamine-type stimulant 
(ATS) threat.  Corruption remains a problem in narcotics 
enforcement (as it does in many other areas), but the 
authorities, including the National Assembly, the Prime 
Minister and the Communist Party, are making efforts to 
address it.  New legal instruments to tackle drug use and 
trafficking, and internationally funded training of 
Vietnamese counterdrug personnel (including U.S. training) 
have contributed to a substantial increase in the quantity 
of drugs seized in the past year, and, the GVN has told us, 
a major increase in the wholesale price of heroin in Ho Chi 
Minh City.  The GVN has also created new laws to combat 
money laundering, a key component of its bid to join the 
World Trade Organization (WTO).  Within the limits of its 
relatively ineffective public service infrastructure, the 
GVN is doing a decent job of fighting narcotics and exhibits 
serious political will to confront traffickers.  Limited 
capacity and widespread corruption are the main obstacles to 
continued success in counternarcotics efforts. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Summary and Comment continued:  The GVN could 
accomplish more in its domestic counternarcotics efforts and 
contribute more effectively to regional and international 
efforts if it would relax legal and policy restrictions 
against operational cooperation with international law 
enforcement representatives in Vietnam.  Existing legal and 
procedural prohibitions prevent Vietnamese counterdrug 
forces from sharing information deemed "sensitive" (which 
includes some important data, including the outcome of 
informant-assisted drug investigations that could validate 
sources of counternarcotics intelligence) and from 
cooperating directly with foreign counterparts.  The 
bureaucratically cumbersome process of working through 
liaison offices sacrifices investigative momentum and 
deprives Vietnamese and foreign investigators of the 
benefits of creative problem-solving.  Senior U.S. 
officials, including the Ambassador and high-ranking 
visitors from the United States, have raised this issue with 
Vietnam's political leadership, which has in the past 
insisted that only formal legal treaties and agreements 
(such as an MLAT) can resolve this dilemma.  The Embassy 
remains actively engaged in working with the GVN to solve 
this problem.  End Summary and Comment. 
 
¶4. (U) In response to incoming request (Ref A), post is 
providing responses keyed to 2005 certification instruction 
points as follows: 
 
¶5. (U) Implementation of the counternarcotics Master Plan 
for 2001-2005 in coordination with the United Nations Office 
of Drugs and Crime (UNODC): 
 
-- This is an ongoing activity that continues to make slow 
but steady progress.  Since the last report, UNODC has 
continued its support with a USD 276,000 project designed to 
help the GVN finalize the plan (which now is extended to 
2010).  The USG contributed USD 100,000 to the project. 
According to Bui Xuan Hieu, Section Chief, Vietnam Standing 
Office for Drug Control (SODC), Prime Minister Phan Van Khai 
approved the national drug control masterplan through 2010 
on March 10, 2005.  The Government is now working to 
implement the plan. 
 
¶6. (U) Continued focus on narcotics-related corruption, 
including policy statements that make it clear that 
narcotics-related corruption will not be tolerated and will 
be severely punished, including the removal and prosecution 
of corrupt officials, when found: 
 
-- Corruption has become a hot topic for debate in Vietnam, 
especially during the ongoing summer National Assembly 
session.  Corruption is one of six other issues that has 
gained more attention from the citizenry nationwide in 
advance of National Assembly hearings.  Vietnam's first anti- 
corruption Law is expected to be passed during the June 2005 
session; 
 
-- The UN, law enforcement agencies and the GVN view 
corruption in Vietnam as an endemic problem that exists at 
all levels and in all sectors.  In its public statements, 
the GVN takes a strong stand against corruption in general, 
but has not singled out narcotics-related corruption for 
specific attention.  In early 2005, the Government 
Inspectorate proposed eight additional acts of corruption in 
the draft corruption law, making a total of 15.  Prime 
Minister Phan Van Khai declared in his proposal for the 
creation of an anti-corruption agency, "anyone in any 
position who commits or shelters corruption would be dealt 
with publicly by the law".  In addition, 2005 saw the case 
of former Vice Minister of Trade Mai Van Dau, arrested for 
further investigation into claims of corrupt activities in 
connection with quota allocation for garment exports.  Dau 
was relieved of his post by a decision from the Prime 
Minister (Ref B).  Another case involved La Thi Kim Oanh 
(Ref C), a former official of the Ministry of Agriculture 
and Rural Development.  She was sentenced to death for 
misappropriating USD 4.9 million and causing a loss of USD 
2.2 million to the state budget; two Vice Ministers were 
found guilty of related charges, although their sentences 
were suspended upon appeal.  There have recently been a 
number of other corruption cases. 
 
-- In a May 2005 case, Tran Nghia Vinh and Ho Manh Quan, 
Petrolimex Joint Stock Company (PJICO) General Director and 
Deputy General Director, were arrested for bribery. 
According to the police, Vinh and Quan accepted about USD 
120,000.  The case is under further investigation.  Also in 
May, Tang Ba Trang, Chief Investigator, Hai Duong Provincial 
Police, was arrested in a separate case for bribery. 
According to the MPS investigation office, Trang asked for 
and accepted about USD 11,000 from a number of mobile phone 
shops.  In a separate case in 2004, Nguyen Quang Thuong, 
Deputy Director of Petrol Vietnam, along with eight other 
individuals, was arrested for taking a USD 3 million bribe. 
Also in May, Nguyen Hoang Duong, Officer from Uong Bi Town 
People's Court in Quang Ninh, was arrested in a drug-related 
corruption case.  Duong, according to initial investigation 
reports, acted as a middleman for bribes in a Vietnam - Laos 
drug case.  In another case, four policemen from Ha Giang 
Province were arrested in June, 2005.  The State 
Inspectorate reported 257 corruption cases in 2003 
throughout the country involving 556 individuals, causing a 
loss of USD 104 million.  In 2004, there were 185 corruption 
cases; 
 
-- Senior GVN officials continue to speak out against 
corruption.  Prime Minister Phan Van Khai said during the 
Government's January 2005 meeting that, in 2005, Vietnam 
"declared war" against corruption.  Separately, in a meeting 
with voters, Khai called for the people's combined efforts 
against corruption.  In January, during a conference on 
state inspection, State President Tran Duc Luong called for 
stepping up the combat against corruption.  Furthermore, 
President of the Vietnam Journalists' Association Hong Vinh 
urged local reporters to provide in-depth coverage of the 
fight against corruption; 
 
-- In addition to a 2002 bilateral anti-corruption agreement 
between Vietnam and Sweden providing about USD 2.7 million 
to fund research on socio-economic policy and anti- 
corruption measures over a three-year period, Ms. Maria 
Norrfalk, SIDA General Director, said in November 2004 that 
the next priority for Sweden's development assistance in 
Vietnam is to aid Vietnam's combat against corruption. 
 
¶7. (U) Developing and implementing regulations enabling the 
tools provided in the new counternarcotics law to be used 
fully and effectively to investigate major drug-trafficking 
groups: 
 
-- The National Assembly passed a comprehensive 
counternarcotics law on December 9, 2000, which came into 
effect on June 1, 2001.  The GVN directed the Ministry of 
Public Security (MPS) and other ministries, including the 
Ministry of Justice (MOJ), to agree on a common approach for 
implementation.  In addition, MOJ was tasked with working 
with MPS and other relevant agencies to review existing 
counternarcotics legal documents and make appropriate 
amendments to facilitate implementation of the new law. 
There is now a donor coordination group consisting of 
Sweden, Denmark and the USAID-funded Support for Trade 
Acceleration (STAR) project that meets once a month to 
discuss legal issues; however, the focus is not specifically 
on narcotics; 
 
-- Between 1953 and 2004, Vietnam passed more than 70 
decrees and legal documents concerning drug issues.  More 
recently, the GVN has made public eight decrees related to 
the counternarcotics law.  These decrees: 
 
a.  list narcotic substances and precursor chemicals; 
b.  guide the control of lawful drug-related activities in 
Vietnam; 
c.  stipulate the rehabilitation schedule, procedures and 
regimes for drug addicts assigned to compulsory 
rehabilitation centers; 
d.  designate and define "family organization" and 
"community-based" rehabilitation; 
e.  prescribe the regime of compensation and allowances for 
individuals, families, agencies and organizations suffering 
life, health and property damage while participating in drug 
prevention activities; 
f.  stipulate the rewards and commendations for individuals, 
families, agencies and organizations recording achievements 
in drug prevention; 
g.  assign responsibility on international cooperation in 
the field of drug prevention.  (Note:  According to DEA's 
Hanoi Country Office, this decree contains no concrete 
formulation for creating a framework to allow for 
information sharing and/or cooperative law enforcement 
efforts.  The decree also does not provide implementing 
regulations for international controlled deliveries, which 
is mentioned in the 2001 drug law); and, 
h.  regulate the management of private treatment centers and 
stipulate conditions and procedures to grant and revoke 
working licenses for such centers. 
 
-- An eighth (and key) decree, concerning law enforcement, 
has apparently been issued, but according to an MPS 
official, it has not been made public due to its 
"sensitivity." 
 
-- A preliminary analysis by a UNODC legal official 
concluded that the decrees are "insufficient in terms of 
establishing a proper drug control legal system."  The 
decrees tend to focus on drug control areas, which are 
"generally less complex and controversial," the official 
added.  There is still a need for "new and proper" legal 
instruments in areas such as procedures, conditions, systems 
for investigations, international cooperation, extradition, 
controlled delivery and maritime cooperation, according to 
the analysis; 
 
-- Another problem is Vietnam's lack of judicial capacity. 
UNODC's Chief lamented that this issue is "still not 
adequately addressed" by the donor community.  Without 
improved judicial capacity, concrete progress in this area 
"will be difficult," she opined; 
 
-- While not directly related to the drug law, on May 29, 
2003, the GVN issued Decree 58, which deals with the control 
of import, export, and transit of drug substances, 
precursors, additive drugs, and psychotropical substances. 
According to the decree, only businesses authorized by the 
Ministries of Health, Industry and Public Security can 
import/export drug substances, precursors, addictive drugs 
and psychotropical substances for specific, licit purposes. 
The GVN has tasked MPS to coordinate with other concerned 
ministries and agencies to manage and control the 
import/export of these narcotic substances; 
 
-- While the counternarcotics law allows for law enforcement 
techniques such as controlled deliveries, the GVN appears 
reluctant to engage in this area and/or meaningfully 
cooperate with DEA's Hanoi Country Office or other law 
enforcement entities in Hanoi.  DEA has informed MPS' 
counternarcotics unit (C-17) about several major heroin 
shipments transiting Vietnam.  C-17 officials did not 
noticeably respond or react to the DEA-provided information, 
or did not share information about its follow-up.  According 
to DEA, a willingness on the part of MPS to coordinate 
investigative action could have resulted in major seizures. 
MPS has declined to accept DEA offers to fund operations. 
Furthermore, MPS continues to maintain that it is unable to 
share operational information with DEA due to "national 
security considerations" (Ref D). 
 
¶8. (U) Increased seizures of opium, heroin and amphetamine- 
type stimulants (ATS), followed by increased investigations 
and prosecutions of traffickers: 
 
-- The GVN continued to arrest and prosecute drug 
traffickers in 2004 and 2005 (Refs G and H).  According to 
SODC, in 2004, there were 12,000 drug cases with 18,260 
offenders arrested.  The seizures include 239.4 kilograms of 
heroin, 58.6 kilograms of opium, 1,021 kilograms of 
cannabis, 21,543 doses of unspecified drugs, 39,467 ATS 
pills and 5,528 vials of addictive pharmaceuticals.  To 
compare with 2003, heroin seizure was up by 57.4 percent, 
synthetic drugs by 46 percent and cannabis by 39.2 percent, 
but opium was down by 79 percent.  Seizures of heroin, 
opium, ATS, addictive pharmaceuticals and cannabis in 25 
border provinces respectively accounted for 82 percent, 94 
percent, 78 percent, 83 percent, and 96 percent of the 
country's total volume.  According SODC, there were 170,400 
drug abusers by the end of 2004, an increase of 9,700 people 
(six percent) as compared to 2003.  ATS use, especially 
ecstasy among teenagers, continued to soar.  During early 
2005, police in major cities have discovered cases involving 
significant ecstasy use.  In a single case, HCMC police 
raided a karaoke bar in Binh Thanh District to arrest 148 
users and seize 30 ecstasy pills and 5 packages of ketamine. 
In another case, Hanoi police arrested members of an ecstasy 
trafficking ring in Hai Phong and seized 2,750 ecstasy pills 
(959.246 grams of MDMA) with a value of USD 51,000; 
 
-- Drug crimes in the southwest continue to be thorny. 
Since 2001, authorities detected 1,158 cases, arrested 2,573 
offenders, and seized 22.7 kilograms of heroin, 1.2 kilogram 
of opium, 1987.5 kilograms of cannabis, 52,549 ATS pills and 
314,672 vials of addictive pharmaceuticals.  The number of 
cases and offenders was up respectively by 169 and 319 
compared with the 1998 - 2000 period; 
 
-- Strengthened suppression in HCMC led to a sharp increase 
on the heroin price, from USD 21,000/kilogram in 2003 to USD 
36,000/kilogram in 2004, according to SODC's "monthly 
journal."  In 2004, the city authorities discovered 1,135 
cases, arrested 2,326 suspects and seized 22.9 kilograms of 
heroin, 2.7 kilograms of opium, 14 kilograms of cannabis, 
2,000 ATS pills and other evidence; 
 
-- Concerning prosecutions, the GVN, according to law 
enforcement sources, moves fairly vigorously to prosecute 
those arrested.  As noted above, those prosecuted are 
generally street-level dealers.  GVN law enforcement 
authorities have not demonstrated the will or ability to use 
street-level arrests to pursue higher-level narcotics 
traffickers, according to DEA; 
 
-- Vietnam's threshold for the death penalty is among the 
lowest in the world and drug sentences tend to be harsh. 
Possession of 100 grams of heroin or 20 kilograms of opium 
can result in the death penalty, according to SODC. 
Although the number of offenses subject to the death penalty 
has been reduced from 44 to 29 in the Revised Penal Code, in 
recent years, most of the death sentences were handed down 
on drug traffickers, according to MFA Spokesman Le Dung. 
Substantial cases, and sentences, develop in all parts of 
the country.  According to recent press accounts, HCMC 
People's Court handed down at the end of a five-day trial on 
January 10, 2005, death sentences to six traffickers, and 
life sentences to five others.  Ringleader Cu Thi Ngoc Hanh 
and accomplices were convicted of trafficking 2.8 kilograms 
of heroin and 2,430 ATS pills on Saigon River in 2002.  In 
Haiphong, the City People's Court sentenced early in the 
year Dinh Thi Xuan to death for trafficking 1.5 tons of 
cannabis.  Xuan had already received two sentences worth 16 
years in jail by the People's Courts in HCMC and Quang Ninh 
province for drug trafficking in 2003 and 2004.  Most 
recently, on May 25, 2005, HCMC People's Court handed down 
in the country's biggest ever case 16 death penalties, nine 
life sentences and other lengthy prison terms for 
trafficking an accumulated amount of 820 kilograms of heroin 
and possessing weapons. 
 
¶9. (U) Productive cooperation with regional neighbors, 
including Laos, the PRC, Burma and other countries, to 
reverse threatening trends in narcotics trafficking: 
 
-- During late 2003 and throughout 2004, Vietnam continued 
efforts in regional and international cooperation. 
According to press reports, a November 16 - 19 trilateral 
meeting on Drug Control Cooperation among Cambodia, Laos and 
Vietnam was held in Phnom Penh under the chairmanship of 
Teng Savong, Cambodian Deputy Minister of Interior and Chief 
of the Office of the National Committee on Drugs. 
Vietnamese Vice Minister of Public Security Le The Tiem, who 
headed the Vietnamese delegation, said during the meeting 
(while acknowledging increased drug trafficking along the 
Vietnam-Cambodia border), that enhanced counternarcotics 
coordination by the police, customs and border army forces 
between the countries had created strength and effectiveness 
in drug control, particularly along the borders.  Vice 
Minister Tiem urged the three countries to sign "many more" 
counternarcotics agreements both at the sub-regional and the 
international level.  In 2004, the law enforcement forces of 
Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia detected 2,100 cases with 3,200 
offenders, and seized 100 kilograms of heroin, 63 kilograms 
of opium, 940 kilograms of cannabis, 25,000 ATS tablets and 
3,800 vials of addictive pharmaceuticals. 
 
-- At the 3rd Meeting of the ASEAN Inter-Parliament 
Organization (AIPO) Drugs Investigation Board May 6-9, 
Nguyen Thi Hong Xinh, member of the National Assembly's 
Commission on Social Affairs, presented Vietnam's 
achievements in its fight against drugs.  Representatives of 
eight member-states including Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao, 
Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and Singapore participated in 
the meeting, which was organized in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. 
 
-- The Republic of Korea pledged USD 534,000 to help 
Vietnam's anti-drug efforts.  A two-year project was signed 
on July 27 by representatives of SODC and the Korean 
International Cooperation Agency (KOICA).  The project will 
develop an Intranet system linking the three major cities of 
Hanoi, Danang and Ho Chi Minh City to modernize the 
administrative network and provide training to Vietnamese 
officials.  This is the first program of international 
cooperation between the two countries in the field of drug 
control; 
 
-- During the official visit by Burmese Prime Minister Khin 
Nyunt to Vietnam on August 9, Vietnamese Public Security 
Minister Le Hong Anh and Burmese Interior Minister Tin Lang 
signed an agreement on cooperation in crime prevention; 
 
-- Police Colonel Pham Ho, Chief of Interpol Vietnam, led 
the Vietnamese delegation to the 24th meeting of the ASEAN 
Police Chiefs on August 16 in Chiang Mai, Thailand. 
Representatives of ten ASEAN member countries, the 
International Police General Secretary and observers of 
police services from Australia, New Zealand and East Timor 
discussed the establishment of an ASEAN police information 
center to fight economic, cyber and hi-tech crimes and drug 
trafficking; 
 
-- Vietnamese and Thai security forces plan to set up a 
hotline to exchange information about regional drug 
trafficking.  An agreement on the hotline was reached on 
September 13 during the first Vietnam - Thailand Bilateral 
Meeting on Drug Control Cooperation in Ho Chi Minh City; 
 
-- During the September 27 - October 2 visit to Vietnam by 
Mr. Kideng Thamavong, Vice Chairman of Lao Commission of 
Drug Control, Police General Le The Tiem, Vice Minister of 
Public Security had a meeting with the commission to discuss 
the implementation of the bilateral agreement on drug 
control cooperation signed in July 1998; 
 
-- According to SODC, for the entire year of 2004, there 
were 32 counternarcotics visits with about 200 officials to 
and 26 from Vietnam.  Simultaneously, Vietnam held during 
the year 17 training courses for more than 400 
counternarcotics officers.  Concerning counternarcotics 
cooperation projects, Vietnam continued to implement seven 
national projects and two regional ones with a total value 
of USD 4.5 million.  Vietnam has existing counternarcotics 
MOUs with China, Burma, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Hungary, 
Russia and the United States. 
 
¶10. (U) Continued eradication of domestic illicit poppy 
cultivation and support of crop-substitution projects to 
eliminate it completely: 
 
-- The USG officially estimates that there are about 2,300 
hectares of opium poppy under cultivation in Vietnam. 
However, there has not been a satellite-based opium yield 
survey since 2000.  This estimate is considered high by the 
GVN, UNODC and law enforcement sources.  The Ministry of 
Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) reported that in 
the 2003 - 2004 season, local authorities found and 
eradicated 35 hectares of poppy, a reduction of 73 hectares 
or 69 percent as compared to the 2002 - 2003 crop, primarily 
in six provinces in the north and central regions, including 
Cao Bang (0.15 ha), Lao Cai (0.5 ha), Son La (25.36 ha), 
Dien Bien (5.4 ha), Yen Bai (0.45 ha) and Thanh Hoa (0.6 
ha).  No poppy was found in Nghe An, though during the last 
season authorities detected 15 hectares regrown.  SODC 
confirmed that "when we find poppy cultivation, we eradicate 
it."  Based on numerous provincial visits by Embassy 
officers, there appears to be a sincere effort to eradicate 
poppy, when found.  However, GVN officials have admitted 
that complete eradication is unrealistic, given the 
remoteness of mountainous areas in the northwest and extreme 
poverty among ethnic minority populations who still use 
opium for traditional and medicinal purposes.  Regrowth in 
remote areas, particularly in the northwest, remains a small 
but persistent problem, as does limited cannabis growth in 
areas near the Cambodian border; 
 
-- In addition to the successful Ky Son alternate 
development project in Nghe An (with significant USG 
support), the MARD has continued to support projects in 
various provinces.  The GVN, through MARD, independently 
supports crop substitution projects in other provinces, 
including Hoa Binh, Yen Bai, Ha Giang, Cao Bang and Lang 
Son.  The GVN has tasked MARD to develop a national crop 
substitution proposal to include in the GVN's 2006-2010 
Master Plan.  To avoid indirectly encouraging poppy 
cultivation through subsidies for eradication, the GVN has 
placed all crop substitution subsidies under national 
programs to alleviate poverty in poor, mountainous regions. 
 
¶11. (U) Continued focus on creating a legal framework to 
address money laundering and other forms of financial 
crimes: 
 
-- There is a growing awareness and concern among officials 
in the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) and the Ministry of 
Public Security about the issue of money laundering and 
financial crimes in general.  A year ago the prevailing view 
within the GVN was that the relatively closed financial 
system prevented money laundering.  Now the GVN recognizes 
the need for additional controls in the system to prevent 
money laundering and that steps to prevent money laundering 
in the informal inflows from abroad are also necessary. 
Various donors including the World Bank, IMF and ADB have 
been actively providing advice in this area. 
 
-- Currently no specific law in Vietnam covers money 
laundering, although it is mentioned in other laws such as 
the comprehensive counternarcotics law, the Penal Code 
Article 251 (definition) and the Law on Credit Institutions. 
However, in June 2005 the government issued a decree on 
money laundering, to take effect on August 1.  Under the 
decree, information about suspected transactions will be 
transferred to the Money Laundering Prevention Center in the 
SBV and police for investigation.  The decree also spells 
out the responsibilities of financial institutions, 
organizations and individuals in the anti-money laundering 
effort in the country.  ADB funded an expert to help Vietnam 
draft its money laundering decree. 
 
-- A handful of State owned commercial banks dominate 
Vietnam's banking sector.  While there are private banks, 
including foreign banks, their share of the market is less 
than ten percent. However, the banking system in Vietnam is 
segmented and lacks real, transparent and easily verifiable 
controls.  Although banks are under the supervision of the 
State Bank, that supervision is minimal.  Vietnam is in the 
process of implementing financial sector reform as part of a 
loan from the World Bank and other donors.  At the 
insistence of the bilateral donors, the GVN is placing 
greater emphasis on this area of reform.  Some of that 
reform is relevant to these issues (increased transparency, 
more effective regulation and overall stability of the 
banking system).  It will be critical that law enforcement 
training regarding financial crimes accompanies reform of 
the banking system. 
 
-- The DEA Hanoi Country Office has documented in recent 
years that U.S.-based ethnic Vietnamese drug traffickers 
have been laundering millions of dollars in drug proceeds 
back to Vietnam; the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and 
Australian Federal Police, among other international law 
enforcement agencies, have reported a similar trend among 
ethnic Vietnamese drug traffickers located elsewhere.  These 
drug traffickers typically employ wire transfers, 
underground bankers, real estate purchases and simple cash 
smuggling to move millions of dollars into Vietnam, and from 
Vietnam to third countries.  It has been the HCO's 
experience that, at this time, the Vietnam Ministry of 
Public Security possesses no practical ability to support 
international money laundering investigations in conjunction 
with DEA or any foreign law enforcement agency. 
 
¶12. (U) Increasing efforts to support drug awareness and 
prevention, demand reduction and treatment of drug users and 
addicts: 
 
-- The GVN views drug awareness and prevention as a 
significant objective in its fight against drugs as well as 
an integral part of its efforts to comply fully with the 
1988 UN Drug Convention.  The GVN has continued a steady 
drumbeat of anti-drug propaganda, culminating in a drug 
awareness week every June.  During the week, youth and mass 
organizations engage in various activities to spread the 
anti-drug message.  These include art contests, speeches, 
posters, slogans and meetings.  National and local 
television and radio stations have broadcast more than 1500 
counternarcotics news items.  In June 2004, Vietnam 
Television covered various programs concerning drug use 
among teenagers and the compulsory and community treatment 
model in Tuyen Quang; 
 
-- By the end of 2004, official GVN statistics reported 
170,407 registered addicts, a six percent increase against 
last year.  The UN and other agencies suspect the actual 
number is substantially higher.  During 2004, 32 out of 64 
provinces and cities throughout the country witnessed a 
total increase of 8,240 addicts.  28 other provinces had 
their numbers reduced by a total of 9,075.  1,451 addicts 
died of drugs, accounting for 0.8 percent of Vietnam's 
official addict population.  According to GVN statistics, 
3,017 government employees are addicts, including 299 
teachers.  85 percent of all officially recorded drug use is 
heroin.  According to Nguyen Vi Hung, Director of the Hanoi 
Department for Social Evils Prevention, there were 15,697 
drug users in Hanoi by December 2004.  The number of drug 
users receiving treatment in 2004 was 6,600; of that number, 
6,000 were in compulsory treatment.  80 percent of known sex 
workers used drugs and between 40 and 50 percent were 
infected with HIV.  The Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and 
Social Affairs (MOLISA) is the GVN ministry tasked with 
providing drug treatment services.  Since 2001, Emboffs have 
visited most drug treatment centers in northern Vietnam as 
well as some in the south (Ref E).  According to SODC, there 
are now more than 100 big and small centers at the 
provincial level, which have a capacity of between 100 to 
1,000 addicts each.  There are also 700 centers at lower 
levels.  Provincial authorities run most centers, but some 
are supported by mass organizations, such as the Youth 
Union.  Most drug treatment centers are basic and suffer 
from a lack of physical and material resources.  The addict 
population is a combination of those who enter voluntarily 
and others who are undergoing compulsory treatment.  Drug 
treatment, as with other public sector services in Vietnam, 
suffers from a lack of resources.  However, the GVN has 
continued efforts to expand drug treatment in 2005. 
According to SODC, as of 2005, of 170,407 addicts, 
approximately 35,795 had been assigned "compulsory" 
treatment; 
 
-- Under the new Master Plan, between now and 2010, the 
government aims to reduce the number of drug users by 
between 20 and 30 percent as compared with 2001; 70 percent 
of the communes, city wards and townships are to become both 
drug abuse and drug crime free; 90 percent of the 
workplaces, schools and armed force units will be certified 
drug free; and treatment will be provided to 80 percent of 
the entire addict population.  By the end of 2004, 5,093 out 
of 11,000 communes and wards declared themselves drug free. 
Upgrading existing treatment facilities and building new 
ones including three regional model centers in HCMC, Hanoi 
and Nghe An are also included under the plan; 
 
-- In addition to drug treatment centers, those with less 
severe addictions may be treated under a community-based 
treatment scheme (Ref F).  Despite apparently good 
intentions, it appears that implementation is rather thin 
and uneven, with "peer pressure" the main component of 
treatment following detoxification.  Community-based 
treatment nonetheless at least provides addicts with a 
supportive infrastructure (and limited vocational training) 
that would otherwise not be available; 
 
-- During its June 2003 session, the National Assembly 
approved a five-year pilot project on post-treatment 
vocational training and employment developed by the HCMC 
People's Committee.  Nguyen Minh Triet, Chairman of Ho Chi 
Minh City Party Committee and CPV Politburo member, said "I 
would bet my political career on the success of this 
program."  The one-to-three year program is compulsory for 
those judged at high risk for returning to drugs.  It is 
voluntary for others who have finished their compulsory 
treatment and judged less at risk.  According to Nguyen 
Hoang Mai of the National Assembly's Social Affairs 
Committee, the goal of the program is to try to reduce the 
relapse rate (generally estimated at about 85 percent, 
similar to western countries) by providing recovering 
addicts with skills that will enable them to assume 
"productive lives after treatment."  The pilot project is 
now underway in HCMC.  Le Thanh Hai, Chairman of the HCMC 
People's Committee, pointed out that vocational training and 
employment opportunities for addicts is among eight major 
issues to be "definitely solved" in 2004.  As a result of 
the project, 200 former drug users who have completed drug 
rehabilitation and vocational training have started work at 
a plastics production factory, which opened on April 20 in 
HCMC's Cu Chi District.  As part of the effort, more than 50 
enterprises in HCMC have invested about USD three million to 
provide vocational training and jobs to over 10,000 drug 
addicts who are now undergoing treatment at the city's 
treatment centers.  To encourage businesses to employ 
recovering addicts, Nguyen Thanh Tai, Vice Chairman of the 
HCMC People's Committee, suggested preferential policies for 
the businesses and enterprises, including incentives for 
employers who hire recovering drug addicts.  The city will 
also pay social and health insurance fees to all recovering 
drug addicts employed by State and private factories. 
Eligible enterprises will be exempt from paying land rent 
for three years and receive a 15-20 percent reduction in 
land rental if they rent land in local industrial parks in 
the city if 50 percent of their staff are either former drug 
addicts or those who are under treatment.  In March 2004, 
the Youth Brigade held a groundbreaking ceremony at Nhi Xuan 
industrial park in Hoc Mon district, HCMC.  According to the 
plan, the park will provide jobs to 10,000 workers, of whom 
between 5,000 and 6,000 are former addicts.  In early 2004, 
HCMC had a total of 2,846 registered addicts, and by the end 
of 2004, the number was down to 2,162, the city claims, as a 
result of their "three reductions" program. 
 
¶13. (U) With a narcotics agreement signed between the United 
States and Vietnam, closer counternarcotics cooperation in 
the form of training and assistance to Vietnam is expected 
to improve, especially as the two countries began 
implementation of the projects.  Cooperation in the form of 
joint development and investigation of drug cases, and in 
terms of effective sharing of information about drug 
trafficking, is currently rudimentary.  Activities of all 
foreign law enforcement officers are severely constrained. 
Improving the climate for operational law enforcement 
cooperation remains a major unmet goal in the bilateral 
relationship. 
 
MARINE