VZCZCXRO6935
RR RUEHBW RUEHIK RUEHPOD RUEHYG
DE RUEHNT #0485/01 1151225
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 241225Z APR 08
FM AMEMBASSY TASHKENT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9557
INFO RUEHZG/NATO EU COLLECTIVE
RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA 2774
RUEHAH/AMEMBASSY ASHGABAT 3923
RUEHTA/AMEMBASSY ASTANA 0136
RUEHKB/AMEMBASSY BAKU 0535
RUEHEK/AMEMBASSY BISHKEK 4538
RUEHLM/AMEMBASSY COLOMBO 0405
RUEHKA/AMEMBASSY DHAKA 0360
RUEHDBU/AMEMBASSY DUSHANBE 0416
RUEHIL/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD 4132
RUEHBUL/AMEMBASSY KABUL 2406
RUEHKT/AMEMBASSY KATHMANDU 0444
RUEHMO/AMEMBASSY MOSCOW 7392
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 1077
RUEHUM/AMEMBASSY ULAANBAATAR 0103
RUEABNE/DEA HQS WASHDC
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 1137
RUEHVEN/USMISSION USOSCE 2454
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHINGTON DC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 TASHKENT 000485 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR INL ANDREW BUHLER AND NORIS BALABANIAN 
ANKARA FOR DEA MARK DESTITO 
ASTANA FOR NAS ANTHONY BEAVER 
ASHGABAT FOR KRISTINE MARSH 
DUSHANBE FOR NAS SCOTT WALDO AND DEA PAUL HACKETT 
BISHKEK FOR SLEA ROBERT DEL CORE 
ISLAMABAD FOR DEA MIKE MARSAC 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV KCRM ASEC PREL UZ
SUBJECT: CARICC READY TO MOVE FORWARD AS PILOT PHASE NEARS 
COMPLETION 
 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary:  On April 23 the United Nations Office on 
Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Regional Office for Central Asia 
hosted a briefing by Barsultan Sarsekov, Director of the 
Central Asian Regional Information Coordination Center for 
Combating Ilicit Trafficking of Narcotic Drugs, Psychotropic 
Substances and their Precursors (CARICC) to discuss the 
results of the six-month pilot phase.  Sarsekov noted that 
CARICC has already facilitated some major seizures and it 
intends to intensify full-scale operations.  Turkmenistan 
became the first country to ratify the CARICC agreement, and 
the Uzbek Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) informed Sarsekov 
that Uzbekistan has begun the process.  Azerbaijan, 
Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan have also reportedly initiated 
ratification procedures, and Sarsekov is optimistic Russia 
will complete the ratification process before President Putin 
steps down.  Sarsekov also noted that CARICC "is ready to 
cooperate with Western countries" as well as Afghanistan, and 
suggested the CARICC mandate should be broadened to encompass 
all transnational crime rather than just counter-narcotics. 
The apparent success of CARICC's pilot phase is a good sign, 
especially since the Central Asian countries have not worked 
well historically on collaborative multinational platforms. 
End summary. 
 
Pilot Phase Successful 
---------------------- 
 
¶2. (U) UNODC invited the diplomatic corps to its Central Asia 
headquarters in Tashkent on April 23 for a briefing by the 
visiting CARICC Director Sarsekov.  The briefing was attended 
by two officials from the Shanghai Cooperation Organization 
(SCO), including the Deputy Director, as well as diplomats 
representing Russia, Turkey, Germany, Italy, and the United 
Kingdom.  All five former Soviet Central Asia republics are 
CARICC members, along with Russia and Azerbaijan.  The 
UNODC-funded CARICC pilot phase began on November 1, 2007 and 
will end on April 30.  Sarsekov summarized that "the decision 
to establish CARICC was absolutely correct," and he said it 
has already contributed to greater unification of all law 
enforcement agencies in the region in addressing the 
narcotics threat.  He added that CARICC's mandate should be 
broadened to encompass all transnational crime rather than 
just narcotics issues.  (Comment:  While Sarsekov did not 
discuss bumps in the road during his briefing, his remarks 
suggested the differences in law enforcement structures, 
responsibilities, and personnel ranks between member 
countries at first posed some challenges in establishing 
effective information-sharing links.  End comment.) 
 
"We're Not Just Sitting Around Doing Nothing" 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
¶3. (U) Sarsekov noted that CARICC has already facilitated 
some major drug seizures and it intends to intensify 
full-scale operations.  He cited recent information exchanges 
between CARICC liaison officers which led to the seizure of 
50 kilos of heroin in Tajikistan as an example of successful 
collaboration.  CARICC also contributed to the seizure of 
precursor materials in Kyrgyzstan, according to Sarsekov. 
 
TASHKENT 00000485  002 OF 003 
 
 
"We're not just sitting around doing nothing in Almaty," 
Sarsekov said, noting that CARICC is a unique institution 
that brings disparate law enforcement agencies and approaches 
together.  CARICC also conducted some trainings, and 
additional sessions on controlled deliveries will help 
increase its operational effectiveness.  The permanent staff 
will increase from six to 22 when full-scale operations 
begin, and Sarsekov stressed that this will help CARICC 
intensify its operations.  There is competitive selection of 
staff, who undergo rigorous screening and regular polygraph 
tests.  UNODC Regional Representative James Callahan added 
that UNODC funding via donor countries will also allow for an 
increase from one to two liaison officers from each member 
country to ensure that two distinct law enforcement agencies 
are represented. 
 
Ratification is Highest Priority 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶4. (U) Sarsekov described the importance of the ratification 
process in allowing full-scale operations to proceed.  The 
CARICC agreement will enter into force when the fourth 
country ratifies the agreement and submits its documents. 
Turkmenistan became the first country to ratify the 
agreement, and Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan have all 
initiated the process.  During his visit to Tashkent, 
Sarsekov is meeting with Government of Uzbekistan officials 
from the National Security Service (NSS), Ministry of 
Internal Affairs (MVD), and Customs Committee, and the MFA 
already informed him that Uzbekistan has now begun the 
ratification process.  CARICC officials see Russia's 
ratification as pivotal, and Sarsekov expressed optimism 
that, per earlier promises, Russia will ratify the agreement 
before President Putin steps down. 
 
Coordination with Afghanistan 
----------------------------- 
 
¶5. (U) Tofik Murshudlu, UNODC's Tashkent-based project 
manager, noted that CARICC is interested in forging stronger 
links with Afghanistan since it is central to any 
counter-narcotics effort.  He said that the Afghan Embassy in 
Astana has already begun to coordinate with CARICC in Almaty, 
and he added that it was likely that Afghanistan would be 
invited to join CARICC as an observer.  Sarsekov added that, 
as a result of CARICC-initiated coordination, senior Tajik 
law enforcement officials have proposed making a visit to 
Kabul to build contacts among counterparts in Afghanistan. 
 
Ready to Cooperate with the West 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶6. (U) Sarsekov also announced that "CARICC is ready to 
cooperate with Western countries" to strengthen its 
activities against counter-narcotics in the region. 
Murshudlu added that CARICC is open to working with any 
country or organization with any competence or stake in the 
fight against narcotics trafficking in the region.  CARICC 
has already built productive relationships with Europol and 
 
TASHKENT 00000485  003 OF 003 
 
 
Interpol, and the latter has already provided access to 
several databases via its I24/7 secure channel.  Interpol 
also plans to send 4-5 liaison officers to CARICC in Almaty 
once it is up and running in earnest, which will further 
enhance cooperation.  Murshudlu added that CARICC will visit 
Europol next month to learn about best practices "so it does 
not have to reinvent the wheel."  Sarsekov also mentioned 
active cooperation with the SCO and Moscow-based Commonwealth 
of Independent States (CIS) offices. 
 
Comment: 
-------- 
 
¶7. (SBU) It has historically been difficult to get the 
Central Asian countries to work cooperatively with each 
other, so the six-month CARICC pilot phase appears to have 
succeeded in getting the members acclimated to the idea of 
liaising with their neighbors on counter-narcotics. 
Uzbekistan in particular has been wary of participating in 
multilateral platforms, especially ones headquartered 
elsewhere, so news that the Uzbeks have begun the 
ratification process is a good sign.  It remains to be seen 
how extensive the level of cooperation and exchange of 
sensitive information will actually be, but the CARICC 
members have some intersecting interests with each other and 
with Western countries on counter-narcotics.  The pilot phase 
suggests CARICC has some promise for many stakeholders. 
 
NORLAND