VZCZCXRO9945
RR RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHLN
RUEHLZ RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHBW #0462/01 1301618
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 091618Z MAY 08
FM AMEMBASSY BELGRADE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0272
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUFOADA/JAC MOLESWORTH RAF MOLESWORTH UK
RHEHAAA/NSC WASHINGTON DC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC
RUEPGDA/USEUCOM JIC VAIHINGEN GE
RUEHBW/AMEMBASSY BELGRADE 0383

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BELGRADE 000462 
 
SIPDIS 
 
INL FOR J LYLE 
AMEMBASSY BRUSSELS FOR DEA 
AMEMBASSY ROME FOR DEA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SNAR PREL PGOV PINR XG SR
SUBJECT: SERBIA STREAMLINES ANTI-DRUG EFFORTS BUT GAPS REMAIN 
 
REF: 07 STATE 1647 
 
BELGRADE 00000462  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
SUMMARY 
 
------- 
 
 
 
¶1.  (U) Serbian law enforcement officials reported that Serbia 
remains a major transit country for drugs between Asia and 
Europe and that key government offices appear to be making 
serious efforts to combat the problem.  Police and anti-drug 
representatives expressed thanks for the "high-quality" USG 
training and equipment assistance and welcomed additional 
cooperation.  End Summary. 
 
 
 
MORE CHALLENGES, MORE SUCCESSES 
 
------------------------------- 
 
 
 
¶2.  (U) Representatives of the Serbian police and Interior 
Ministry briefed foreign diplomats on Serbia's counter-narcotics 
efforts and other drug-related issues.  The May 7 meeting was 
co-hosted by the Austrian and German Embassies as part of their 
co-presidency of the Dublin Group.  (The Dublin Group is an 
informal collaborative body which focuses on drug production, 
trafficking and abuse.  It consists of the European Commission, 
EU member states, the United States, Canada, Australia, Japan 
and Norway.)  OSCE and UNODC representatives also attended. 
Serbian Interior Ivan Brandic, head of the anti-smuggling unit 
at the Interior Ministry, told diplomats that Serbia remained a 
key transit country for major drugs -- particularly heroin -- 
from Afghanistan and Turkey.  Brandic said that Serbia's main 
challenge was cutting the flow of drugs, which largely were 
destined for sale in Western Europe rather than for domestic 
consumption.  Cocaine, precursor, and synthetic drug trade was 
on the rise, Brandic said.  In line with trends reported in the 
2007 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report (INSCR) 
Part I (reftel), Brandic said Serbian officials were seizing 
more heroin and other drugs than in previous years, especially 
in Novi Pazar (Sandzak) and at border crossings.  Brandic said 
that major drug busts in 2007 (reported reftel) led to record 
seizures and interdictions.  The heroin seized by Serbian law 
enforcement was of "very high quality." 
 
 
 
METH LABS BUSTED 
 
---------------- 
 
 
 
¶3.  (U) Serbian law enforcement is seeing results of cooperation 
and training.  Brandic was particularly proud of an April 2008 
raid on a large amphetamine lab in Vinca, following a similar 
bust in Belgrade last year.  Brandic said that the raid was 
planned over three months in cooperation with Slovenian and 
Bosnian authorities as the criminal organization consisted of 
nationals from all three countries.  Brandic said the labs had 
enough capacity and technology "to supply all of Western 
Europe."  Brandic said the success was attributable to training 
his officers had received on surveillance/investigation and 
close collaboration with neighboring and EU state counterparts. 
(Notably, many Dublin Group embassies sent police attaches to 
the May 7 meeting, showcasing this cooperation firsthand.) 
 
 
 
PROBLEM AREAS 
 
------------- 
 
 
 
¶4.  (U) Brandic said the main problem areas for Serbia's drug 
trafficking efforts were Novi Pazar and Kosovo (via UNMIK). 
Novi Pazar was a "major crossroads and storage area" for heroin 
and other drugs, and Brandic's office had found UNMIK 
"unresponsive" regarding requests for information sharing or 
joint planning for cross-border initiatives. 
 
 
BELGRADE 00000462  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
 
 
ASSISTANCE WELCOME 
 
------------------ 
 
 
 
¶5.  (U) Brandic welcomed additional training and technical 
assistance.  Brandic and Belgrade Police official Dragan Rakic 
said their units would benefit from "any training and assistance 
from anywhere."  Rakic participated in a Southeast European 
Co-operative Initiative (SECI) program which had a component in 
New Mexico, and praised the program as "high quality" training. 
Brandic said that neither his ministry nor the police had enough 
surveillance equipment to conduct multiple investigations at 
once.  Some key laws needed to be passed or amended to improve 
counter-narcotics efforts.  Brandic said his ministry was 
waiting for "amendments to narcotics laws" which would assist 
with surveillance and undercover operations. 
 
 
 
ADDICTION PREVENTION EFFORTS STILL WEAK 
 
--------------------------------------- 
 
 
 
¶6.  (U) Serbia still does not have a comprehensive demand 
reduction policy.  Rakic said the Belgrade police drug unit was 
ill-equipped to help with addiction, recovery, or detoxification 
and usually had to refer victims to social welfare offices.  He 
said there were no statistics available on the number of addicts 
or drug users in Serbia.  Brandic and Rakic said that the Health 
Ministry has responsibility for developing a comprehensive 
national drug strategy by January 2009 that would include 
consultations with the Interior Ministry, police, customs, 
Justice Ministry (due to drug use in prison), Organization for 
Security Cooperation in Europe, and European Union (specifically 
the European Monitoring Center for Drugs and Drug Addiction). 
 
 
 
UNODC HOPES TO BE ACTIVE 
 
------------------------ 
 
 
 
¶7.  (U) Aleksandar Stajic from the Belgrade UN Office on Drugs 
and Crime (UNODC) briefed the diplomats on a major regional 
anti-smuggling project.  A total of 18 beneficiary countries, 
including the Balkans, Turkey, and Mediterranean and northern 
African countries, would have the chance to send customs and law 
enforcement officials to EU member states for training with 
counterparts.  UNODC offices in Belgrade and Cairo would oversee 
the project, which was still looking for EU members to offer 
training venues and exchanges. 
 
 
 
COMMENT 
 
------- 
 
 
 
¶8.  (U) Serbia still has a great deal of work ahead to improve 
its anti-drug trafficking capacity, but efforts from officials 
like Brandic and Rakic mean they are still making progress.  It 
is also welcome that such law enforcement offices remain eager 
to cooperate with the USG and other Western countries, 
especially on an issue of such regional, mutual importance.  For 
now, training and assistance projects related to combating drug 
trafficking are welcome.  Brandic and Rakic did not address how 
they intended to further work with officials in Kosovo, 
following Kosovo's declaration of independence.  Though 
cooperation with UNMIK had been weak, if Serbia continues not to 
recognize the EU-supplied rule of law EULEX contingent, 
cooperation on the administrative line with Kosovo will be even 
more problematic or non-existent.  End Comment. 
MUNTER