VZCZCXRO1289
RR RUEHAST RUEHBI RUEHCI RUEHLH RUEHLN RUEHNEH RUEHPW RUEHSK RUEHVK
RUEHYG
DE RUEHDBU #1394/01 3431103
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 091103Z DEC 09
FM AMEMBASSY DUSHANBE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1013
INFO RUCNCLS/ALL SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA COLLECTIVE
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE
RUEABND/DEA HQS WASHINGTON DC
RHMFIUU/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHINGTON DC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC
RUEHDBU/AMEMBASSY DUSHANBE 2180

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 07 DUSHANBE 001394 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR INL/AAE (BUHLER), SCT, EEB 
JUSTICE FOR (DUCOT AND NEWCOMBE), AFMLS, OIA, OPDAT 
TREASURY FOR FINCEN 
DEFENSE FOR OSD/P 
DEPT OF JUSTICE FOR ICITAP 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KCRM EFIN KTFN SNAR KJUS PGOV PREL RF TI
SUBJECT: TAJIKISTAN: 2009-2010 INTERNATIONAL NARCOTICS CONTROL 
STRATEGY REPORT, PART 1 
 
REF: STATE 097228 
 
DUSHANBE 00001394  001.2 OF 007 
 
 
¶I.  Summary 
 
 
 
¶1. (U) Other than geographically limited and small-scale hashish 
cultivation, Tajikistan is not a producer of illicit narcotics. 
It is a major transit country.  Significant amounts of 
opium/heroin are trafficked north from the 1344-km Tajik-Afghan 
border along the established land-based routes and then onward 
through Central Asia to Russia.  There is some evidence of 
trafficking in Afghan opiates to and through China, but the 
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in Dushanbe 
reports that the vast bulk of Afghan opiates transiting 
Tajikistan are consumed within the Russian Federation.  The 
Tajik Drug Control Agency is operating an INL-funded Drug 
Liaison Office in Taloqan, northern Afghanistan, which has been 
instrumental in several significant drug seizures.  Internally, 
Tajikistan's law enforcement and security services coordinate 
some investigative and enforcement activities with each other, 
but the coordination is inconsistent and of undetermined 
effectiveness. 
 
 
 
¶2. (U) The Government of Tajikistan implements counternarcotics 
activities.  In the past, Tajikistan's seizures of Afghan 
opiates have exceeded all other Central Asian states combined. 
In the first nine months of 2009, Tajikistan's seizures remained 
high, compared to its Central Asian neighbors, but the amount 
decreased.  Tajik law enforcement makes arrests and seizures in 
mid- to low-level cases and Tajik cities are generally free of 
drug-related street crimes.  The Tajik enforcement authorities, 
however, apparently are unwilling to target major traffickers. 
Tajikistan is a party to the 1988 United Nations Drug Convention 
and the United Nations Convention against Corruption. 
 
 
 
II Status of the Country 
 
 
 
¶3. (U) Geography and economics make Tajikistan an attractive 
transit route for illegal narcotics.  The Pyanj River, which 
becomes the Amu Darya after joining with the Vakhsh, forms most 
of Tajikistan's 1344 km border with Afghanistan.  It is thinly 
guarded and difficult to patrol.  Traffickers can easily cross 
the border at numerous points without inspection. 
 
 
 
¶4. (U) Tajikistan's legitimate economic opportunities are 
limited.  The recent economic and financial crisis has hit 
Tajikistan hard.  Before the crisis, about one million Tajiks 
worked outside Tajikistan, many in construction in Russia. 
Since the crisis, some have returned home and are largely 
jobless.  Remittances have fallen 34 percent from 2008 levels. 
 
 
 
¶5. (U) Even in normal economic times, Tajikistan's economic 
growth possibilities are limited by aging infrastructure and 
power shortages and complicated by the fact that its major 
export routes transit neighboring Uzbekistan, an unfriendly and 
uncooperative neighbor.  The U.S.-built bridge at Nijniy Pyanj 
provides a new route for trade through Afghanistan, but the 
level of legitimate commerce so far generated does not 
contribute significantly to Tajikistan's economy. 
 
 
 
III Country Actions against Drugs. 
 
 
 
Policy Initiatives 
 
 
 
DUSHANBE 00001394  002.2 OF 007 
 
 
 
¶6. (U) The government has made significant legal reforms, but 
for the most part these reforms are not directly related to 
narcotics trafficking.  On December 3, Tajik President Emomali 
Rahmon signed into law a new Criminal Procedure Code. The new 
Criminal Procedure Code contains significant changes designed to 
improve the fairness, and effectiveness of the criminal justice 
system.  It will transfer the power of issuing arrest, search 
and wiretapping warrants from prosecutors to the judiciary.  If 
the President signs the law as expected, the Criminal Procedure 
Code will take effect April 1, 2010. 
 
 
 
¶7. (U) The first Tajik Ombudsman was appointed by President 
Rahmon in May 2009.  The Ombudsman is charged with conducting an 
independent review of claims against government officials and 
agencies.  The Ombudsman is a well regarded official who enjoys 
close contacts with the President.  His ability to address 
systemic issues has not yet been tested.  The institution will 
be comprised of political-economical, socioeconomic-cultural and 
administrative departments and will employ 17 specialists and 15 
administrative staff.   The Tajik Government provided the 
Ombudsman with a building in good condition and allocated about 
$80,000 for its 2009 operation. 
 
 
 
¶8. (U) President Rahmon established a National Legislative 
Center in March of 2009.  The goal of the Center is to eliminate 
contradictions in laws, improve the quality of new laws, and 
bring Tajik legislation into compliance with international 
treaties signed by Tajikistan.  President Rahmon appointed 
Mahmad Zabirovich Rahimov, Member of Parliament, as the Director 
of the National Legislative Center.  During the Soviet era, Mr. 
Rahimov was the Head of the Department of Commercial Law at the 
National University.  INL Dushanbe has developed a Justice 
Sector project to assist training lawyers who will work in the 
Center. 
 
 
 
Law Enforcement Efforts 
 
 
 
¶9.  (U) The data below, provided by the Tajik Drug Control 
Agency, shows the narcotics seizures by the Tajik law 
enforcement and security services during the first 9 months of 
2009 compared with the same period of 2008: 
 
 
 
Ministry of Internal Affairs: 
 
Heroin (kg)        2008:  751         2009:  402 
 
Opium (kg)         2008:  411         2009:  272 
 
Cannabis (kg)      2008:  821         2009: 1236 
 
Total MVD (kg)     2008: 1983         2009: 1910 
 
 
 
Drug Control Agency: 
 
Heroin (kg)        2008:  307         2009: 303 
 
Opium (kg)         2008:  487         2009: 143 
 
Cannabis (kg)      2008:  358         2009: 299 
 
Total DCA (kg)     2008: 1152         2009: 745 
 
 
 
Border Guards: 
 
 
DUSHANBE 00001394  003.2 OF 007 
 
 
Heroin (kg)        2008:  111         2009: 138 
 
Opium (kg)         2008:  241         2009: 207 
 
Cannabis (kg)      2008:  649         2009: 552 
 
Total BG (kg)      2008: 1001         2009: 897 
 
 
 
Committee for National Security: 
 
Heroin (kg)        2008: 200          2009:  19 
 
Opium (kg)         2008: 468          2009:  21 
 
Cannabis (kg)      2008: 121          2009: 134 
 
Total KNB (kg)     2008: 789          2009: 174 
 
 
 
Customs Service 
 
Heroin (kg)        2008: 81           2009: 100 
 
Opium (kg)         2008: 01           2009:   9 
 
Cannabis (kg)     2008: 09           2009:   4 
 
Total CS (kg)      2008: 90           2009: 113 
 
 
 
Total: 
 
Heroin (kg)        2008: 1450         2009:  962 
 
Opium (kg)         2008: 1607         2009:  652 
 
Cannabis (kg)      2008: 1958         2009: 2225 
 
Total (kg)-        2008: 5015         2009: 3839 
 
 
 
¶10. (U) In the first nine months of this year, the DCA seized 
over 744 kilos of illicit drugs.  The DCA participated in four 
joint operations with the Border Guards.  These operations were 
successful in seizing 76 kilos of illicit narcotics, to include 
eleven kilos of heroin, twelve kilos of raw opium and 53 kilos 
of cannabis. The DCA instituted 110 criminal proceedings. 
 
 
 
¶11. (U) The Border Guards are the first line of defense against 
contraband trafficking along the Tajik-Afghan border.  They 
seized 897 kilos of drugs during the first nine months of 2009, 
which is a 10.4 percent decrease over the same period of last 
year.  They destroyed over a million wild hemp plants.  In the 
first nine months of 2009, the border guards have registered 199 
illegal border crossings, have arrested 7 drug dealers which 
included leaders of large transnational drug groups.  Also, the 
border guards detained 831 persons presenting fraudulent travel 
documents, and recovered 46 firearms, including 26 submachine 
guns, 13 carbines, 1 machine-gun, and more than 1600 rounds of 
ammunition. 
 
 
 
Corruption 
 
 
 
¶12. (U) Corruption is endemic.  Salaries of civil servants, 
including law enforcement officers, are abysmally low.  Under 
these circumstances, many civil servants look to increase income 
by charging for services that should be free, or accepting or 
demanding money to overlook violations of the law.  Although 
 
DUSHANBE 00001394  004.2 OF 007 
 
 
there are institutions to investigate corruption, there are no 
measures in place to change the conditions that give rise to 
corruption. 
 
 
 
¶13. (U) Over the first nine months of 2009, the State Financial 
Control and Anti Corruption Agency has detected 677 
corruption-related crimes.  Criminal proceedings have been 
instituted against more than 122 employees of the public 
management system, law enforcement and regulatory agencies, the 
Counternarcotics Agency, the Ministry of Defense, land 
management and architecture bodies.  These officials are charged 
with bribery, abuse of office and embezzlement of state funds. 
Several of these cases have been tried and convictions obtained. 
 
 
 
¶14.  (U) The State Financial Control and Anti Corruption Agency 
conducted 892 inspections at state-run economic entities and 
other federally funded organizations.  Overall, 666 officials 
and managers have been implicated in wrongdoing, and 
disciplinary and administrative actions have been imposed upon 
them, including 28 dismissals.  Additionally, inspections of the 
activities of 69 private companies revealed tax evasion cases, 
totaling more than 11.8 million Somoni. 
 
 
 
Agreements and Treaties 
 
 
 
¶15.  (U) Tajikistan is a party to the 1988 UN Drug Convention, 
the 1961 UN Single Convention as amended by the 1972 Protocol, 
and the 1972 UN Convention on Psychotropic Substances. 
Tajikistan is also a party to the UN Convention against 
Transnational Organized Crime and its protocols against migrant 
smuggling and trafficking in persons. 
 
 
 
Cultivation/Production 
 
 
 
¶16.  (U) In a recent address to the donor community, DCA Head 
General Rustam Nazarov stated that small-scale hashish 
cultivation was taking place in the Khatlon region of 
Tajikistan.  However, this problem is insignificant when 
compared to the opiates flowing north from Afghanistan. 
 
 
 
Drug Flow/Transit 
 
 
 
¶17.  (U) The latest UNODC estimates indicate that about fifty 
tons of narcotics are smuggled into - and out of - Tajikistan 
each year.  Domestic production is small, and domestic use is 
insignificant compared to the transit volume.  Most smuggled 
narcotics continue on through Central Asia and into Russia, 
where it is consumed. 
 
 
 
¶18.  (U) The quantity of Afghan opiates crossing into 
Tajikistan, transiting through the mountainous Gorno-Badakhshan 
Autonomous Region (GBAO) and entering western China remains 
undetermined.  DCA officials in Khorogh claim that the Mobile 
Patrols in the area are deterring large scale smuggling.  Lack 
of verifiable intelligence and actual seizures in that region 
make it difficult to assess the extent of this problem.  We are 
addressing this by supporting DCA enforcement activities in this 
region (see paragraph 26). 
 
 
 
 
DUSHANBE 00001394  005.2 OF 007 
 
 
¶19.  (U) The amount of precursor chemicals used in Afghan heroin 
production coming from both western China to Afghanistan and via 
rail from the Russian Federation is unknown.  While the U.S. and 
other donors assist Tajik authorities in addressing both of 
these precursor routes, successful interdiction has been very 
minimal.  Existing trade agreements allow sealed rail containers 
to move uninspected from Russia to Afghanistan. Since there had 
been no precursor seizures it is difficult to determine the 
exact extent of the problem. The GBAO region is of particular 
concern due to minimal police presence in the region and 
deficient customs inspections at the Kulma pass.  DCA Mobile 
Interdiction Teams are not set up to inspect cargo trucks for 
mismarked/illegal cargo, particularly since narcotics sniffing 
dogs are not trained to detain precursor chemicals. Ultimately, 
Tajik customs officials are going to be the key to obtaining 
seizures of precursors. 
 
 
 
Domestic Programs/Demand Reduction 
 
 
 
¶20.  (U) The U.S. Embassy conducts drug demand reduction 
projects to complement other U.S. counternarcotics initiatives. 
The projects target high school students to promote a healthy 
and drug-free lifestyle and are popular and well received.  In 
October 2009 the U.S. Embassy International Narcotics and Law 
Enforcement Office jointly with the Bodybuilding and Fitness 
Federation of Tajikistan organized the Body Building 
Championship dedicated to drug demand reduction and promoting a 
healthy lifestyle among young people in Tajikistan. 
 
 
 
¶21.  (U) The Drug Control Agency continued to expand and develop 
initiatives to increase drug awareness, primarily among school 
children.  In June 2009 the Drug Control Agency held drug demand 
reduction events in five summer camps in the Varzob district. 
The DCA also held similar events in all regions of the country. 
 
 
 
IV. U.S. Policy Initiatives and Programs. 
 
 
 
Bilateral Cooperation 
 
 
 
¶22.  (U) On May 5, 2009, the U.S. Embassy signed the Amendment 
to the Letter of Agreement on cooperation on narcotics control 
and law enforcement issues dated January 27, 2003.  This 
amendment provides $9,426,000 in additional assistance for 
narcotics control, law enforcement, and justice sector reform. 
With this assistance, the International Narcotics and Law 
Enforcement program has provided more than $37 million in 
assistance to support Tajikistan's security, rule of law and 
counter narcotics efforts since 1992. 
 
 
 
¶23.  (U) The U.S. Embassy INL Office in Dushanbe signed a 
co-financing agreement  for $1,600,000 with the Asian 
Development Bank for the reconstruction of the Kulma and 
Kizil-Art border crossing posts.  This reconstruction will 
provide better living and working conditions to the Border 
Guards, Customs Service and other agencies working at these 
posts.  This is expected to lead to improved border control. 
This joint project funds the construction of better facilities 
than either the United States or the Bank could fund separately. 
 
 
 
¶24.  (U) The bilateral relationship in counter-narcotics and law 
enforcement is sound but the U.S. Embassy continues to press for 
more direct operational and investigative cooperation. 
Cooperation in justice sector reform is continuing and has led 
 
DUSHANBE 00001394  006.2 OF 007 
 
 
to progress in prosecutorial development and international law 
projects. 
 
 
 
¶25.  (U) The International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Office 
in the U.S. Embassy in Tajikistan is headed by a full-time 
International Narcotics and Law Enforcement officer.  She is 
assisted by a Police Advisor, a Supervisory Program Manager, a 
Rule of Law Program Manager, Program Managers for Border 
Security and Policing including Community Policing (1207), and a 
Construction Engineer.  The ICITAP Senior Law Enforcement 
Advisor departed Post in April 2009 and a new Law Enforcement 
Advisor is to arrive at Post early next year. 
 
 
 
¶26.  (U) In supporting the many programs directly implemented by 
INL, the U.S. Embassy uses the UNODC as an implementer in 
supporting the Drug Control Agency; the International 
Organization for Migration for implementation of Trafficking in 
Persons programs; the American Bar Association to implement rule 
of law programs; and local non-governmental organizations for 
implementation of justice programs.  The INL section also 
implements programs directly. 
 
 
 
¶27.  (U) The INL Office provides financial support to the Drug 
Control Agency Mobile Team in GBAO.    The INL staff will 
provide technical advice and will monitor the implementation of 
the project.  The goal of the project is to expand professional, 
technical and infrastructure capacity of the DCA to detect, 
investigate, interdict and report the illegal movement of 
narcotics, including pre-cursor chemicals, in the GBAO region of 
Tajikistan. 
 
 
 
¶28.  (U) Effective narcotics interdiction requires cross-border 
cooperation and information sharing.  Since 2007, the Drug 
Control Agency implemented an INL-funded pilot project with the 
U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to create an office 
in the Taloqan, northern Afghanistan.  The DEA Dushanbe Office 
is responsible for providing operational support in reference to 
monitoring/ supervising operational case development, and 
confidential source recruitment and management.  UNODC, our 
implementing agency, provides support to the Taloqan office for 
administrative managements like payment of salaries, building 
operating expenses, provision of equipment, vehicle expenses, 
and provision of expert training in intelligence-led policing. 
INL staff will provide technical advice and will monitor the 
implementation of the project. 
 
 
 
¶29.  (U) The U.S. Embassy's Border and Law Enforcement Working 
Group (BLEWG) coordinates all USG assistance on counternarcotics 
and border assistance.  Donor countries and organizations 
coordinate assistance through the monthly meeting of the Border 
International Group (BIG).  The U.S. is renovating the Ministry 
of Internal Affairs Academy, and an embedded U.S. advisor, a 
retired NYPD officer, provides information and assistance 
concerning curriculum development and teaching methodology. 
 
 
 
¶30.  (U) The U.S. Embassy created the biweekly Development 
Assistance Working Group (DAWG), which addresses all aspects of 
USG assistance in Tajikistan not covered by the BLEWG. As a 
major implementer of USG assistance programs INL is a member of 
the DAWG. 
 
 
 
Road Ahead 
 
 
 
 
DUSHANBE 00001394  007.2 OF 007 
 
 
¶31.  (U) The U.S. Embassy INL Office works to improve the 
justice sector to ensure individuals who commit crimes are 
prosecuted and convicted in a manner consistent with 
international human rights standards; provide access to justice 
for the poor, underserved, and disadvantaged; support the 
development and unification of the defense bar; combat extremism 
in the legal training of religious leaders; improve the criminal 
code and its implementation; combat crimes of trafficking, money 
laundering and corruption; and strive to reduce illegal drug 
demand. 
 
 
 
¶32. (U) INL closely coordinates its programs within the Embassy, 
the Government of Tajikistan, and the international community 
including the European Union, the United Nations, and the 
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.  The 
long-term elements include building and renovating border posts 
along the Afghan border; installing communications and 
counter-narcotics interdiction equipment; and improving the 
infrastructure, curricula, and methodology of the law 
enforcement training academies. 
 
 
 
¶33.  (U) Program sustainability is an overarching concern and 
consideration.  USG assistance in Tajikistan cannot be seen as 
open ended.  However, it is unlikely that the Government of 
Tajikistan will take on the costs of sustaining follow-on to INL 
programs in the near future.  Upcoming assistance projects 
proposals must be developed with this fact in mind. 
 
 
 
¶V.  Statistical Tables 
 
 
 
¶32. Drug Crop Cultivation: 
 
N/A 
 
 
 
VI. Chemical Control 
 
 
 
Precursors 
 
 
 
¶33. (U) No statistics on 2009 seizures of precursor chemicals 
were provided.  There was one seizure reported in 2008. 
 
 
 
¶34.  The point of contact for the INCSR report in the U.S. 
Embassy Dushanbe is Anne Carson, INL Officer, email: 
carsonal@state.gov  . 
 
 
 
End report. 
QUAST