VZCZCXRO2490
PP RUEHPA
DE RUEHAB #1265/01 3651633
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 311633Z DEC 07
FM AMEMBASSY ABIDJAN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 3859
INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUEABND/DEA WASHDC

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ABIDJAN 001265 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR AF/W AND INL/AAE 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/31/2017 
TAGS: EAID KCRM PREL SOCI SNAR IV
SUBJECT: EFFORTS TO COMBAT WEST AFRICAN DRUG TRAFFICKING 
 
REF: STATE 166219 
 
Classified By: Political/Economic Section Chief Silvia Eiriz for reason 
s 1.4 (b/d). 
 
¶1. (SBU) The Government of Cote d'Ivoire has the will to 
combat drug trafficking, but lacks the capacity.  Also, as it 
concentrates on steering the country out of its five-year 
political crisis, its attention is focused on other 
priorities.  The Inter-ministerial Committee to Combat Drug 
Trafficking (Comite Interministeriel de Lutte Anti-Drogue - 
CILAD), established in 1994, coordinates the government's 
efforts.  CILAD is under the Ministry of Interior and does 
not have its own budget. 
 
¶2. (U) Cote d'Ivoire adopted a national plan on combating 
drug trafficking in 1999.  CILAD Secretary General Gnoleba 
Lucien Solou told PolCouns December 20 that the plan will be 
revised and updated in 2008 to include an HIV/AIDS component. 
 A domestic law, adopted in July 1998, prohibits the use and 
trafficking of illegal drugs and a law on money laundering, 
enacted in December 2005, allows for seizures of property 
obtained with the proceeds of drug trafficking.  CILAD works 
with the Ministry of Education to carry out prevention 
programs in primary and secondary schools.  The police, 
gendarmes, and customs all have units dedicated to fighting 
drug trafficking. The Regional Center for Training on 
Combating Drug Trafficking (Centre Regional de Formation de 
la Lutte Contre la Drogue) was established in 1994 in the 
city of Bassam with funding from the French government. 
Although no training of foreigners has occurred during the 
last 5 years due to Cote d'Ivoire's political crisis, the 
Center is used to conduct training courses for Ivorians. 
 
¶3. (U) A failed coup d'etat in 2002 divided the country in 
two and representatives of government institutions have only 
recently begun to return to the north of the country, which 
is still largely under the control of the New Forces (Forces 
Nouvelles- FN).  The government says it is therefore unable 
to assess the drug trafficking situation in the northern part 
of the country. 
 
¶4. (SBU) The government has had some successes in the fight 
against drug trafficking. Both CILAD Secretary General Solou 
and the Director of Interpol's Regional Office in Abidjan, 
Felix Bamoun, told PolCouns that Ivorian law enforcement has 
destroyed drug sales sites ("fumoirs") in Abidjan.  French 
Embassy Security Attache Colonel Jean Michel Broutin also 
praised the operation to PolCouns, but noted that it only 
targeted 19 sites, while he estimates there are approximately 
100 in the city.  In 2007, the police seized 1,458 kilograms 
of cannabis, 23 kilograms of heroin, 9 kilos of cocaine, and 
33,411 illegal pharmaceutical tablets and the gendarmes 
arrested 151 persons for drug trafficking. 
 
¶5. (C) French Security Attache Broutin told PolCouns December 
28 that in late August/early September 2007, a fishing vessel 
suspected of carrying drugs was spotted in the Atlantic 
through the Maritime Analysis and Operation Center (MAOC), an 
inter-governmental working group comprised of 7 EU member 
states. The ship was tracked by the South Africans and 
intercepted at the port of Abidjan.  According to Broutin, 
the vessel was in an extremely dilapidated state, but had on 
board a state of the art communications system.  Its crew was 
composed of persons from a variety of countries.  Broutin 
suggested bringing 2 experts from France to assist Ivorian 
authorities. The Government of Cote d'Ivoire initially agreed 
but 3 days later rejected the offer, citing judicial issues. 
Ivorian authorities allowed the ship to depart the port of 
Abidjan. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Law enforcement is handicapped by a lack of funding 
and equipment.  CILAD Secretary General Solou told PolCouns 
that there is only one scanner at the Abidjan airport and it 
cannot detect drugs.  He said drug searches at the airport 
are based on observation of suspicious activity or tips. 
Solou told PolCouns that CILAD tried to establish a 
drug-sniffing canine unit, but was unable to secure the 
necessary funding.  French Security Attache Broutin told 
PolCouns that Ivorian law enforcement has 5 dogs (3 at the 
port and 2 with the gendarmes) and that the French Embassy 
will provide assistance in 2008 to try to set up 5 anti-drug 
canine teams.  According to CILAD SecGen  Solou, the police 
have a very small lab that can conduct the most basic tests 
to identify drugs. French Security Attache Broutin told 
Poloff that Ivorian law enforcement has sufficient manpower, 
but lacks equipment and operational coordination. 
 
 
ABIDJAN 00001265  002 OF 002 
 
 
¶7. (SBU) The Government of Cote d'Ivoire seems to receive 
bilateral assistance in the fight against drug trafficking 
only from the French. Colonel Broutin told Poloff that the 
French government provides technical advice on a sporadic 
basis.  He said that in 2008 the French Embassy plans to 
bring 2 French experts to Cote d'Ivoire to conduct a 2-week 
drug awareness course and will provide pedagogical equipment 
to the Regional Training Center in Bassam.  CILAD Secretary 
General Solou told Poloff there has been no assistance from 
the UN since 2002.  The Missions of the EU, Germany, Canada, 
and Japan all told Poloffs that they do not provide bilateral 
assistance to the Government of Cote d'Ivoire to combat drug 
trafficking. 
 
 
NESBITT