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FM AMEMBASSY PHNOM PENH
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7675
INFO RUCNASE/ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RHHMUNA/HQ USPACOM HONOLULU HI PRIORITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 PHNOM PENH 002138 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP/MLS, EAP/RSP, OES, INR, INL/AAE--CHARLES 
BOULDIN AND CHARLIE SNYDER 
BANGKOK FOR NAS--TERRY DARU, DEA-SCOTT SEELEY-HACKER, PAT 
CHAGNON, AND JOHN SWAIN, AND REO--JIM WALLER 
HANOI FOR DEA--JEFFREY WANNER AND POL--PETER ECKSTROM 
PACOM FOR JIATF-WEST--DAVID KILBOURN 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/27/2016 
TAGS: SNAR ESTH PGOV CB VN
SUBJECT: DRUG PRECURSORS AND DEFORESTATION IN CAMBODIA'S 
CARDAMOM MOUNTAINS 
 
Classified By: Poleconoff Jennifer Spande; Reason 1.4 (b) and (d) 
 
¶1.  (SBU) SUMMARY.  In addition to being home to a multitude 
of endangered and threatened flora and fauna, the Cardamom 
Mountains in southwestern Cambodia also contain aromatic 
trees being harvested and processed illegally to produce high 
quality sassafras oil, a substance used to produce 
methamphetamines as well as legal products.  Cambodia's 
leading narcotics official estimates that up to 300 tons of 
Cambodian sassafras oil are exported to Vietnam each year. 
Teams of 20-30 Vietnamese and Cambodian workers produce 
sassafras oil in several locations within the Phnom Samkos 
Wildlife Sanctuary, felling trees, polluting streams, and 
putting pressure on local wildlife.  While law enforcement 
efforts over the past year have resulted in impressive 
seizures, more needs to be done if the ecological and human 
cost of this traffic is to be contained.  END SUMMARY. 
 
From Trees to Drugs 
------------------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU) According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and 
Crime (UNODC) and the National Authority for Combating Drugs 
(NACD), sassafras oil from Cambodian mereach prov trees 
contains a very high percentage (95-99%) of safrole oil, 
which can be used in the production of MDMA (ecstasy) as well 
as in legitimate uses such as fragrances and traditional and 
western medicines.  Wood from mereach prov is traditonally 
used for decorative carvings, housing, furniture, and 
coffins.  Mereach prov is found throughout the Cardamom 
Mountains, an area which includes the western provinces of 
Pursat, Battambang, and Koh Kong.  (NOTE:  There is no 
consistent transliteration of the Khmer name of this tree, 
which we have also seen rendered as M'reah Prov, M'reah Prew, 
Marah Preu, and Meah Preah.  Mereach prov apparently refers 
to several species of aromatic trees, but the species used in 
the production of sassafras oil has been identified as 
Dysoxylum loreiri.  END NOTE.) 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Because sassafras oil is found in the roots and 
lower trunk of the mereach prov tree, harvesters cut or burn 
down the tree and then dig out the roots and stump.  The 
roots and stump are cut into chips and steamed on trays in 
large vats (approximately 5-7 meters tall and 3 meters in 
diameter).  The steam, which contains sassafras oil, travels 
via metal tubing into vats that are submerged in a local 
stream or river.  The cool temperature of the submerged vat 
leads the sassafras vapor to condense in the vat.  The 
production process takes between 9 and 15 hours to complete, 
and uses 0.7 to 2 tons of mereach prov chips to produce 20-60 
liters of sassafras oil.  Environmental NGOs and Ouk Kim San, 
the Forestry Administration official managing the Central 
Cardamoms Conservation Program, estimate that each camp can 
produce 90-150 liters of sassafras oil each day, and NACD 
Secretary General Lour Ramin estimates that Cambodia produces 
 
SIPDIS 
as much as 300 tons of sassafras oil each year. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Once harvested, sassafras oil is loaded into 
plastic jerry cans and other containers and transported by 
road, often concealed in back seats and trunks of sedans. 
Flora and Fauna International (FFI) Advisor Ben Hammond 
reported that when he first started working in the Cardamoms 
six years ago, sassafras oil was transported openly, often in 
flat bed trucks.  Now such transport is more secretive, and 
Ouk Kim San reported that smugglers are increasingly using 
new tactics, like creating a second "gas" tank in the car, to 
conceal the oil.  Because the oil is heavier than both 
gasoline and water and therefore remains submerged below 
these liquids, some smugglers mix sassafras oil with these 
substances to disguise or lessen its distinctive smell.  Lour 
Ramin believes that other smugglers make no effort to hide or 
disguise the oil, simply lying to ill-informed customs 
officials about what they are transporting. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) The price of sassafras oil jumps dramatically as it 
travels from forest to international border.  A liter of 
sassafras oil garners USD 2.50 in the Cardamom forest, USD 5 
in the provincial capital Pursat, and USD 50 at the 
Cambodian-Vietnamese border.  Environmental and law 
enforcement sources in Cambodia believe that essentially all 
of the sassafras oil produced in Cambodia is exported to 
Vietnam.  Vietnam is a leading international exporter of 
sassafras oil, and Vietnamese government officials have 
reportedly told Lour Ramin that the majority of their 
 
PHNOM PENH 00002138  002 OF 003 
 
 
sassafras oil comes from Cambodia.  Few observers had a clear 
sense of what happens to the oil once it reaches Vietnam, 
though various sources mentioned transshipment to China, 
Australia, Brazil, Europe, and the US, where it may be used 
for licit or illicit purposes, as possibilities. 
 
Mobile Teams Operate in Wildlife Sanctuary 
------------------------------------------ 
 
¶6.  (SBU) According to environmental groups, teams of roughly 
20-30 people work together to harvest and process sassafras 
oil.  These teams, which employ Cambodian laborers but are 
run by Vietnamese nationals, set up camp in one area for 
approximately 3 months before moving to a new location. 
Hammond indicated that Vietnamese national Ly Heng, owner of 
the Suon Kim Heng Company, operates the largest mereach prov 
factory and buys sassafras oil from smaller producers for 
resale in Vietnam.  Hammond believes that Suon Kim Heng was 
granted export licenses for sassafras oil several years ago, 
but that these have not been renewed and the company now 
operates illegally. 
 
¶7.  (SBU) David Bradfield, FFI Advisor, said that within the 
Cardamom Mountains, there were two principal areas of mereach 
prov production, both within Phnom Samkos Wildlife Sanctuary. 
 The first is in the northern part of Phnom Samkos, near the 
town of Anlong Reap, in the mountainous area on the 
Battambang-Pursat border (coordinates:  UTM Indian Thailand 
Zone 48, 0270100, 1372200).  Bradfield estimates that there 
are approximately 40 factories operating in the area.  The 
second location is in the southern area of Phnom Samkos near 
the Pursat-Koh Kong border (coordinates:  UTM Indian Thailand 
Zone 48, 0302300, 1332700).  At its operating peak in 2003, 
Bradfield estimates up to 23 factories operated here, though 
successful search and destroy missions have likely reduced 
the number currently operating. 
 
Deforestation in a Critical Ecosystem 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶8.  (U) Mereach prov production causes significant 
environmental degradation in Cambodia's Cardamom Mountains, 
which contain 30% of the country's forests and arguably the 
most extensive, pristine tract of rain forest in mainland 
southeast Asia.  Khmer Rouge guerrillas retreated to the 
Cardamoms after losing power in 1979, and their presence 
provided an effective deterrent to exploration and 
exploitation by other groups.  The Cardamoms are home to 
several endangered and threatened species, including the 
Asian elephant, Indochinese tiger, kouprey, pileated gibbon, 
and to a large population of Siamese crocodiles, which were 
thought to be virtually extinct in the wild. 
 
¶9.  (U) Environmental groups say they can spot mereach prov 
camps from the air due to patterns of deforestation near 
streams and rivers.  In addition to the 0.7 to 2 tons of 
roots required to feed one vat's daily production capacity, 
other trees are harvested from surrounding areas to provide 
fuel for the fire that steams the mereach prov chips.  Trees 
and plants not felled for sassafras oil production are 
affected as well.  The mereach prov trees provide the upper 
canopy for the Cardamom's unusually wet and fertile forest. 
Once those trees have been destroyed, the rest of the forest, 
including the namesake cardamom trees, cannot survive. 
Villagers report that sassafras oil leaking from vats and 
tubing kills fish in the streams and chases crocodiles from 
the area.  In addition to the environmental impact of the 
production itself, mereach prov camps often become small 
temporary villages, including wooden structures, eating 
areas, and even small karaoke bars.  Building these 
structures and harvesting food and fuelwood for meals places 
additional pressure on local trees and wildlife. 
 
¶10.  (U) Wild Aid reports finding similar camps harvesting 
yellow vine in protected portions of the Cardamom forest. 
According to the UNODC, yellow vine contains berberine, an 
isoquinoline alkaloid used as a traditional medicine in east 
and southeast Asia for the treatment of stomach ailments. 
While its chemical structure is related to that of MDMA, 
experts say it is not feasible to synthesize MDMA from the 
substance.  While it is therefore of little relevance to drug 
control authorities, yellow vine harvesting is nonetheless 
very environmentally damaging.  Like sassafras oil 
production, harvesting yellow vine leads to stream and river 
 
PHNOM PENH 00002138  003 OF 003 
 
 
contamination and deforestation. 
 
Law Enforcement, NGO Efforts to End Production 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
¶11.  (SBU) No comprehensive law addresses the production of 
sassafras oil, and even law enforcement officials remain 
uncertain about exactly what parts of the production cycle 
and export process are against the law.  The 2002 Forestry 
Law defines mereach prov as a rare species and outlaws its 
"exploitation," although the use of dead or dying mereach 
prov trees is allowed.  This law also places strict limits on 
the harvesting of non-timber forest products and by-products 
in protected areas.  The 1997 Drug Control Law outlaws the 
possession or sale of precursor chemicals, but does not 
specifically address sassafras oil, the intermediate 
substance derived from mereach prov but not yet refined into 
100% safrole oil, leading to confusion among government 
officials as to the legality of sassafras oil. 
 
¶12.  (SBU) In late 2005 Prime Minister Hun Sen ordered a 
crackdown on sassafras oil production and ordered the 
creation of an interministerial working group on precursor 
chemicals.  Lour Ramin reports that government efforts to 
stem the flow of sassafras oil have yielded 80 production 
vats and roughly 22 tons (14,000 liters) of sassafras oil 
since late 2005.  Law enforcement officials have educated 500 
day laborers about the illegality of their actions and 
arrested 26 factory owners and managers.  (NOTE:  Lour Ramin 
was uncertain of the judicial status of the 26 arrestees. 
END NOTE.)  Environmental NGOs also help curb sassafras 
production, with Wild Aid, FFI, and Conservation 
International involved in USAID-funded activities, including 
joint forest ranger stations and patrols--which include 
gendarmes, officials from the Ministries of Agriculture 
and/or Environment, and NGO staff.  Despite these apparent 
successes, the NACD Secretary General notes that an 
inadequate legal framework, ignorance among villagers and law 
enforcement officials about precursor production, and the 
high profits to be made in sassafras oil production all 
hamper law enforcement efforts. 
 
¶13.  (C) Several groups have alleged military involvement in 
mereach prov production.  According to Hammond, camp owners 
and managers routinely give gifts or small bribes to military 
stationed in the area to avoid crackdowns.  Wild Aid Director 
Suwanna Gauntlett believes that Cambodian military officers 
run the camps, due to their ability to operate in areas with 
many military checkpoints and the widespread belief that 
Cambodian military officers are involved with other types of 
illegal logging.  Ouk Kim San, the Forestry Administration 
official managing the Central Cardamoms Conservation Program, 
suspects that military officers exert at least some control 
over the camps, noting wryly that in three military-Forestry 
Administration joint operations, sassafras processing 
workshops were found and destroyed, but the camps were always 
abandoned, probably due to a tip off.  Lour Ramin admits that 
it is likely that some individual military officers are 
involved, but denies any wholesale military involvement. 
 
¶14. (SBU) COMMENT.  In a country already plagued by illegal 
logging and drug transshipment, it is no surprise that the 
country's forests are being exploited for narcotics 
production.  While laudatory, government and NGO efforts to 
battle precursor production typically yield factories and 
low-level workers, rather than ring leaders.  So far, this 
problem seems to have garnered little international law 
enforcement attention outside of the UNODC, but additional 
help will be necessary if the damages to Cambodia's 
forests--and to the health of would-be MDMA users--are to be 
limited.  END COMMENT. 
MUSSOMELI