VZCZCXRO9746
PP RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM RUEHNH
DE RUEHPF #1376/01 3110127
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 070127Z NOV 07
FM AMEMBASSY PHNOM PENH
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 9085
RUCNASE/ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE
RHMFIUU/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHINGTON DC
RUEABND/DEA HQS WASHINGTON DC
RHHMUNB/JIATF WEST

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 05 PHNOM PENH 001376 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR INL--JLYLE AND CBOULDIN, EAP/MLS, AND EAP/RSP 
BANGKOK FOR NAS--TDARU 
JIATF WEST FOR BKONST, DKILBOURN 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: SNAR CB
SUBJECT:  CAMBODIA INCSR REPORT PART I 
 
REF:  STATE 136782 
 
¶1.  The following is post's submission for the 2008 International 
Narcotics Control Strategy Report Part 1. 
 
¶2.  Begin text: 
 
Cambodia 
 
¶I. Summary 
 
With the recent discovery of a major methamphetamine laboratory, 
Cambodia now has a confirmed role in drug production, consumption, 
and trafficking.  In recent years, crackdowns on drug trafficking in 
Thailand and China have pushed traffickers to use other routes, 
including through Cambodia by land, river, sea, and air.  Drug use, 
particularly of amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS), cuts across 
socio-economic lines.  Effective law enforcement responses to the 
methamphetamine lab, a highly successful lab clean up effort, 
significant increases to the budget of the National Authority for 
Combating Drugs (NACD), and stiffening penalties for drug use and 
trafficking are all steps in the right direction.  However, 
continuing concerns about corruption, lack of capacity, and low 
counternarcotics funding levels--even with the new budget 
increase--hamper government efforts.  The NACD and the Anti-Drug 
Police cooperate closely with the U.S. Drug Enforcement 
Administration (DEA), regional counterparts, and the United Nations 
Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). Cambodia is a party to the 1988 
UN Drug Convention. 
 
II. Status of Country 
 
The April 2007 discovery of a major methamphetamine production lab 
in Cambodia confirmed suspicions that in recent years the country's 
narcotics problem has grown from transit and consumption to include 
production as well.   Many experts believe that additional 
clandestine labs are operating in the country.  Mobile groups 
harvest dysoxylum loureiri trees in environmentally protected areas 
in the Cardamom Mountains and extract safrole oil.  The harvest, 
sale, and export of safrole oil--which can be used as a precursor 
for ecstasy production as well as for other purposes, such as 
perfume or massage oil--is illegal in Cambodia.  In October 2007, 
Thai authorities intercepted a 50 ton shipment of safrole oil which 
had originated in Cambodia and was reportedly destined for the U.S. 
and China. 
 
ATS and heroin enter Cambodia primarily through the northern 
provinces of Stung Treng, Preah Vihear, and Ratanakiri, areas 
bordering Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam.  Small shipments of heroin 
and ATS enter and exit Cambodia overland.  Larger shipments of 
heroin, methamphetamine and marijuana are thought to exit Cambodia 
concealed in shipping containers, speedboats and ocean-going 
vessels. Drugs, including cocaine and heroin, are also smuggled on 
commercial flights concealed in small briefcases, shoes, and on/in 
the bodies of individual travelers.  Some cannabis cultivation 
continues despite a government eradication campaign. 
 
ATS is the most prevalent narcotic in Cambodia, accounting for 
nearly 80% of drug use according to the NACD.  Both ATS tablets, 
known locally as yama, and crystal methamphetamine are widely 
available.  Heroin use is a significant problem among a relatively 
small number of users, three-quarters of whom are in Phnom Penh 
according to NACD statistics.  Cocaine, ketamine, and opium are also 
available in Cambodia.  Glue sniffing is also a large problem, 
particularly among street children. 
 
III. Country Actions Against Drugs in 2007 
 
Policy Initiatives. Cambodian narcotics policy and law enforcement 
agencies suffer from limited resources, lack of training, and poor 
coordination. Under new leadership and with a 55% budget increase in 
2007, the NACD has made strides in becoming a more effective 
organization.  A UNODC project slated to run from 2008-2010 aims to 
build capacity at the NACD through structural and functional reform, 
managerial and technical capacity building, and a stronger national 
drug control network. 
 
The NACD is implementing Cambodia's first 5-year national plan on 
narcotics control (2006-2010), which focuses on demand reduction, 
supply reduction, drug law enforcement, and expansion of 
international cooperation. 
Over the past few years the Cambodian government has worked to 
strengthen previously weak legal penalties for drug-related 
offenses. A new drug law, drafted with help from the Anti-Drug 
Police and passed in 2005, provides for a maximum penalty of $25,000 
(100,000,000 riel) fine and life imprisonment for drug traffickers, 
 
PHNOM PENH 00001376  002 OF 005 
 
 
and allows proceeds from the sale of seized assets to be used 
towards law enforcement and drug awareness and prevention efforts. 
However, some observers have noted that the law is too complex for 
the relatively weak Cambodian judiciary to use effectively.  In July 
2007, the Ministry of Health issued a prakas increasing penalties 
for safrole oil production and distribution to two to five years in 
jail plus fines. 
 
Law Enforcement Efforts.  In general, drug-related arrests and 
seizures have declined in 2007, although big cases such as the April 
superlab raid and the August bust of a tabletting facility by 
military police show some credible law enforcement action. 
According to NACD reports, 229 people were arrested for various 
drug-related offenses in the first nine months of 2007, compared to 
439 in the first nine months of 2006.  Similarly, total seizures of 
methamphetamine pills declined 13% and heroin seized declined 25%. 
Coming after several years of increasing arrests and seizures, it is 
difficult to determine if lower levels in this time frame are part 
of a new trend in trafficking or law enforcement capability, or 
merely a statistical variation. 
 
On April 1, 2007, police raided a methamphetamine lab in Kampong 
Speu province, arresting 18 suspects including 14 Cambodians, three 
Chinese and one Thai national, and seizing nearly six tons of 
drug-making chemicals. Two additional Cambodian suspects were later 
arrested.  The laboratory was capable only of the first stage of 
methamphetamine manufacture, producing the intermediate product 
chloroephedrine.  This lab, the first uncovered in Cambodia, was 
among the largest discovered in Southeast Asia to date. 
 
Corruption. The Cambodian government does not, as a matter of 
government policy, encourage or facilitate illicit production or 
distribution of drugs or controlled substances, or launder proceeds 
from their transactions. Nonetheless, corruption remains pervasive 
in Cambodia, making Cambodia highly vulnerable to penetration by 
drug traffickers and foreign crime syndicates. Senior Cambodian 
government officials assert that they want to combat trafficking and 
production; however, corruption, low salaries for civil servants, 
and an acute shortage of trained personnel severely limit sustained 
advances in effective law enforcement. The judicial system is weak, 
and there have been numerous cases of defendants in important 
criminal cases having charges against them dropped after paying 
relatively small fines, circumstances which raise questions about 
corruption. 
 
In July 2006, Heng Pov, the former chief of the Anti-Drug Police, 
fled Cambodia and alleged that high-ranking government officials and 
well-connected businessmen were involved in drug trafficking but 
were not prosecuted due to government pressure.  In August 2007, Oum 
Chhay, a tycoon and political advisor who was charged with 
involvement in the Kampong Speu superlab, died in police custody. 
The police maintain that he committed suicide by jumping out a 
window.  Some observers allege that he was murdered, noting with 
suspicion that he was being supervised by three guards at the time 
of his death, died due to a fall from a first-story window, and 
landed on his back.  It is difficult to assess the credibility of 
these claims. 
 
At the Consultative Group (CG) meeting in December 2004, a group of 
donor countries jointly proposed a new benchmark for Cambodian 
government reform: forwarding an anticorruption law, which meets 
international best practices, to the National Assembly. The 
government agreed to meet this benchmark by the next CG meeting, 
which was held in March 2006. Unfortunately, the government failed 
to meet this deadline and, as of October 2007, had still not 
completed the law.  A government committee was in the process of 
reviewing possible models in Singapore and Hong Kong.  At each 
quarterly meeting of the Government-Donor Coordinating Committee, 
the international community has highlighted the government's still 
un-met commitment and outlined the international best practices to 
be included in the Cambodian draft corruption law. Cambodia signed 
the UN Convention against Corruption in September 2007 and the 
convention is pending ratification by the National Assembly. 
 
Agreements and Treaties. Cambodia is a party to the 1988 UN Drug 
Convention, the 1971 UN Convention on Psychotropic Substances, and 
the 1961 UN Single Convention. The National Assembly ratified the 
1972 UN Protocol amending the 1961 Single Convention in September 
2007 and the King signed it into law the following month.  Cambodia 
is a party to the UN Convention against Transnational Organized 
Crime and its protocols against migrant smuggling and illegal 
manufacturing and trafficking in firearms. 
 
Cultivation/Production. Cannabis-related arrests, eradication and 
seizures have declined dramatically over the past several years.  In 
2007, there was an up tick in eradication, with 1,075 square meters 
 
PHNOM PENH 00001376  003 OF 005 
 
 
of cannabis plantations destroyed in the first nine months, compared 
to 144 square meters destroyed during the full year 2006.  Four 
people were arrested for cannabis cultivation and/or trafficking 
between January and September 2007. 
 
Drug Flow/Transit. Crackdowns on drug trafficking in Thailand and 
China have pushed traffickers to use other routes, including routes 
through Cambodia.  Heroin and ATS enter Cambodia by both primary and 
secondary roads and rivers across the northern border, transit 
through Cambodia via road or river networks, and enter Thailand and 
Vietnam.  Effective law enforcement of the border region with Laos 
on the Mekong River, which is permeated with islands, is nearly 
impossible due to lack of boats and fuel among law enforcement 
forces. At the same time, recent improvement in National Road 7 and 
other roads is increasing the ease with which traffickers can use 
Cambodia's rapidly developing road network--a trend likely to 
continue as further road and bridge projects are implemented. 
Heroin, cannabis, and ATS are believed to exit Cambodia via 
locations along the Gulf--including the deep-water port of 
Sihanoukville--as well as the river port of Phnom Penh. 
 
Airports in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap suffer from lax customs and 
immigration controls.  An October 2006 circular from the Prime 
Minister called for law enforcement agencies to carry out security 
checks, including x-ray and other screening, at airports.  However, 
according to the NACD, these checks are still conducted by contract 
employees of the airport concessionaire because the government lacks 
the funding to buy the required equipment.  Some illegal narcotics 
transit these airports en route to foreign destinations. On February 
15, 2007, a Taiwanese national was arrested at Phnom Penh 
International Airport with five condoms containing 265 grams of 
heroin strapped to his lower abdomen. On October 14, 2007, another 
Taiwanese national was arrested at Phnom Penh International Airport 
with 800 grams of heroin in his pockets. 
 
Domestic Programs (Demand Reduction). With the assistance of USAID, 
UNODC, UNICEF, WHO, the Japanese International Cooperation Agency 
(JICA) and NGOs, the NACD is attempting to boost awareness about 
drug abuse among Cambodians--especially Cambodian youth--through the 
use of pamphlets, posters, and public service announcements. A UNODC 
treatment and rehabilitation project, funded by Japan, will work to 
increase the capacity of health and human services to deal 
effectively with drug treatment issues, beginning by conducting an 
in-depth baseline study of drug use in 2008. Several local NGOs, 
including Mith Samlanh and Korsang, have taken active roles in 
helping to rehabilitate drug users. 
 
The Cambodian government recently launched a major initiative to 
establish additional drug treatment facilities.  A 2006 circular 
from the Prime Minister directed each province to establish 
residential drug treatment centers.  As of October 2007, there were 
ten government-run treatment centers, with additional centers under 
construction.  A joint NACD/Ministry of Health assessment of these 
centers, conducted during January and February 2007, documented 
serious shortcomings.  The centers could not conduct proper physical 
and psychological intake assessments, lacked trained medical staff, 
did not gain consent from patients over the age of 18, and failed to 
provide follow-up services or refer patients to organizations that 
can provide those services.  While proven drug rehabilitation 
techniques include individual and group counseling, cognitive 
behavioral therapy, relapse prevention, and vocational training, the 
government facilities rely on confinement, military-style drills, 
exercise, and discipline to rehabilitate their patients.  In 
addition to the government-run centers, Mith Samlanh operates a 
small residential rehabilitation program which offers 
medically-supervised detoxification, individual and group 
counseling, and referral into Mith Samlanh's extensive network of 
vocational training and other services. 
 
During the first nine months of 2007, 727 drug users and addicts 
were admitted to the government-run centers and 89 had received such 
drug detoxification and rehabilitation services through Mith 
Samlanh.  While estimates of the number of drug users in Cambodia 
vary widely--from the official 2007 NACD figure of 5,773 to a 2004 
UNAIDS estimate of 40,000 with a 5% annual growth rate--it is clear 
that the need for drug treatment services far outstrips the 
available supply. 
 
Cambodia is also implementing harm reduction programs for the first 
time.  In 2004, the NACD granted permission to the NGO Mith Samlanh 
to begin a needle exchange program in Phnom Penh.  Korsang now also 
runs a needle exchange program as well.  NACD and the World Health 
Organization are working to develop a pilot methadone maintenance 
program, which will likely be implemented at the Khmer-Soviet 
Friendship Hospital in partnership with Korsang, starting in late 
¶2008. 
 
PHNOM PENH 00001376  004 OF 005 
 
 
 
IV. U.S. Policy Initiatives and Programs 
 
Policy Initiatives. For the first time in over three decades, there 
is relative political stability in Cambodia.  However, Cambodia is 
plagued by many of the institutional weaknesses common to the 
world's most vulnerable developing countries. The challenges for 
Cambodia include: nurturing the growth of democratic institutions 
and the protection of human rights; providing humanitarian 
assistance and promoting sound economic growth policies to alleviate 
the debilitating poverty that engenders corruption; and building 
human and institutional capacity in law enforcement sectors to 
enable the government to deal more effectively with narcotics 
traffickers. One unique challenge is the loss of many of Cambodia's 
best trained professionals in the Khmer Rouge period (1975-1979), as 
well as during the subsequent Vietnamese occupation. Performance in 
the area of law enforcement and administration of justice must be 
viewed in the context of Cambodia's profound human capacity 
limitations. Even with the active support of the international 
community, there will be continuing gaps in performance for the 
foreseeable future. 
 
Bilateral Cooperation.  The recent lifting of U.S. congressional 
restrictions on direct assistance to the Cambodian government has 
given the U.S. government increased flexibility in partnering with 
Cambodia in battling narcotics.  The Defense Department's Joint 
Interagency Task Force-West (JIATF-West) conducted two training 
missions in Cambodia in 2007 and renovated a military classroom and 
barracks in Sisophon.  In February and March, U.S. Army personnel 
led training in basic land navigation, patrolling, reconnaissance, 
and respecting human rights in the line of duty in Battambang.  In 
June 2007, U.S. Navy personnel instructed Cambodian military 
personnel in Phnom Penh in small boat maintenance. 
 
Cambodia regularly hosts visits from Bangkok-based DEA personnel, 
and Cambodian authorities cooperate actively with DEA, including in 
the areas of joint operations and operational intelligence sharing. 
 
 
In three 2-week sessions during 2007, trainers from the U.S.-based 
drug treatment organization Daytop International provided training 
in residential drug treatment techniques to government officials, 
NGO workers, monks, military and police officials.  This training, 
funded by the State Department's Bureau of International Narcotics 
and Law Enforcement (INL), was the first comprehensive training on 
residential drug treatment ever held in the country. 
 
The U.S. and Cambodia worked closely together in the aftermath of 
the discovery of the Kampong Speu methamphetamine lab. 
Bangkok-based DEA agents traveled to the site immediately after the 
discovery to assist in the investigation, and a team of DEA forensic 
chemists and precursors specialists traveled from the U.S. and other 
countries to analyze the laboratory.  Working through the UNODC, INL 
provided $140,000 for the clean up effort, the largest monetary 
contribution by any country. 
 
Drug use among populations targeted for HIV prevention is a growing 
concern as it inhibits sexual risk perception and needle sharing is 
the most efficient means of transmitting HIV.  USAID HIV/AIDS 
programs work with populations at high risk of contracting HIV, 
including sex workers and their clients, men who have sex with men, 
and drug users.  These groups are not mutually exclusive as many sex 
workers also use and inject drugs.  Prevention programs targeting 
high risk populations aim to reduce illicit drug use and risky 
sexual practices. 
 
The Road Ahead. Cambodia is making progress toward more effective 
law enforcement against narcotics trafficking; however, its capacity 
to implement a satisfactory, systematic approach to counternarcotics 
operations remains low. Instruction for mid-level Cambodian law 
enforcement officers at the International Law Enforcement Academy in 
Bangkok (ILEA) and for military, police, and immigration officers by 
JIATF-West has partially addressed Cambodia's dire training needs. 
However, after training, these officers return to an environment of 
scarce resources and pervasive corruption. 
 
Now that congressional restrictions on direct assistance to the 
Cambodian government have been lifted, the U.S. and Cambodia are 
working together to transfer some excess soldier and unit equipment 
from the U.S. (such as uniforms, boots, first aid pouches, 
compasses, cots, and tents) for use by Cambodian Army border 
battalions.  Such equipment will help increase the Cambodian 
military's ability to conduct patrols along the borders. The 
JIATF-West training events in FY08 will consist of one event at the 
newly renovated Sisophon site and another event in Preah Vihear. 
JIATF-West will continue their training infrastructure renovation 
 
PHNOM PENH 00001376  005 OF 005 
 
 
project, which will both facilitate future JIATF-West training and 
also build the capacity of Cambodian law enforcement and military 
authorities.  INL funding for FY08 will be used to support and 
strengthen Cambodia's narcotics interdiction capabilities.  The U.S. 
is encouraged that Cambodia has recently signed the UN Convention 
against Corruption and will continue to press the government to 
adopt anti-corruption legislation.