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PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHAK #1926/01 3111607
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 061607Z NOV 08
FM AMEMBASSY ANKARA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7908
INFO RUEHIT/AMCONSUL ISTANBUL 4954

UNCLAS ANKARA 001926 
 
SIPDIS 
 
INL FOR JOHN LYLE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SNAR
SUBJECT: TURKEY: 2009 INTERNATIONAL NARCOTICS CONTROL 
STRATEGY REPORT PART ONE 
 
REF: STATE 100992 
 
¶1.  Following is Mission Turkey's submission of the Drugs and 
Chemical Control Section for the 2009 International Narcotics 
Control Strategy Report: 
 
Turkey 
 
¶I. Summary 
 
Turkey continues to be a major transit route for Southwest 
Asian opiates moving to Europe, and serves as a staging area 
for major narcotics traffickers and brokers.  Turkish law 
enforcement organizations focus their efforts on stemming the 
traffic of drugs and intercepting precursor chemicals.  The 
Department of Anti-Smuggling and Organized Crime of the 
Turkish National Police (TNP), Jandarma, and Coast Guard are 
all part of the Ministry of Interior and have significant 
anti-narcotics responsibilities.  The TNP has responsibility 
for law enforcement in Turkey,s cities and towns.  The 
Jandarma, a paramilitary police organization, is responsible 
for all law enforcement in rural areas.  TNP-developed 
intelligence frequently leads to rural areas where the 
Jandarma has jurisdiction and, in these cases, the two 
agencies work together to conduct investigations and effect 
seizures.  The Undersecretariat of Customs falls under the 
authority of a State Minister.  DEA's counterpart within 
Customs is the Directorate General of Customs Guards.  There 
are eighteen regional directorates and 136 subunits.  The 
Ministry of Health is the competent authority for issues 
relating to importation of chemicals for legitimate use.  The 
Ministry of Finance oversees the financial intelligence unit, 
known as MASAK, which has responsibility for investigation of 
potential money laundering schemes. 
 
Turkish law enforcement cooperates closely with European and 
U.S. agencies.  While most of the heroin trafficked via 
Turkey is marketed in Western Europe, some heroin and opium 
is also smuggled from Turkey to the U.S., but not in 
quantities sufficient to have a significant impact on the 
U.S.  There is no appreciable cultivation of illicit 
narcotics in Turkey other than cannabis grown primarily for 
domestic consumption.  There is no known diversion from 
Turkey,s licit opium poppy cultivation and pharmaceutical 
morphine production program, which has been a success since 
its inception.  Turkey is a party to the 1988 UN Drug 
Convention.  Although Turkey is a major donor to the UNODC, 
it is still eligible for bilateral assistance and assistance 
for projects that are regional in nature and the UN funds a 
variety of projects in Turkey each year.  UNODC continues to 
sponsor training sessions at the Turkish International 
Academy against Drugs and Organized Crime (TADOC) in Ankara. 
 
II. Status of Country 
 
Turkey is a transshipment point for Afghan opiates moving 
towards Europe and Russia.  Information from investigations 
indicates that while heroin is being produced in Afghanistan 
at record levels, some processing of opium and morphine base 
from Afghanistan is occurring near the Turkish/Iranian 
border.  Many major traffickers based in Turkey are ethnic 
Kurds or Iranians, and many of the same individuals and 
families have been involved in smuggling contraband for 
years.  Ethnic Kurds generally control the areas where 
opiates enter Turkey from the east.  As many Turkish Kurds no 
longer live in the traditional ethnic Kurdish region of 
Turkey but have moved to larger cities in Turkey and even to 
other countries in Europe, some have continued drug smuggling 
in their new locations.  Large drug trafficking organizations 
and major traffickers based in Turkey are frequently involved 
in both heroin manufacture and transport, and several have 
also been involved in the production and/or smuggling of 
synthetic drugs. 
 
Drug proceeds are often moved to and through Turkey via the 
informal sector, despite the fact that alternative remittance 
systems are illegal in Turkey and only banks and authorized 
money transfer companies are officially allowed to move 
money.  In general, investigations of money exchange bureaus, 
jewelry stores, and other businesses in Turkey believed to be 
part of the underground banking system (hawala) are initiated 
only if the business is directly tied to an existing drug or 
other criminal investigation. 
 
A small amount of opium and heroin is trafficked to the U.S. 
via Turkey.  Turkish law enforcement agencies are strongly 
committed to disrupting narcotics trafficking.  The Turkish 
National Police (TNP) remains Turkey,s most proactive 
counternarcotics force, with the Jandarma and Customs 
continuing to play a significant role.  Turkish authorities 
 
continue to seize large amounts of heroin and precursor 
chemicals.  Given the scale of these seizures, it is likely 
that multi-ton amounts of heroin are smuggled through Turkey 
each year. 
 
Turkey and India are the only two traditional licit 
opium-growing countries recognized by the USG and the 
International Narcotics Control Board (INCB). Opium for 
pharmaceuticals is cultivated and refined in Turkey under 
strict domestic controls and in accordance with international 
treaty obligations.  Under the current method of production 
the poppy is not incised; instead, the plant is allowed to 
mature and the opium flow is then collected.  There is no 
appreciable illicit drug cultivation in Turkey other than 
cannabis grown primarily for domestic consumption.  Turkish 
law enforcement authorities continue to seize synthetic drugs 
that have been manufactured in Northern and Eastern European 
countries.  The majority of the synthetic drug seizures have 
occurred as the drugs were being shipped through Turkey to 
countries in the Middle East. 
 
III. Country Actions Against Drugs In 2007 
 
Policy Initiatives.  The Government of Turkey (GOT) devotes 
significant financial and human resources to counternarcotics 
activities.  Turkey continues to play a key role in Operation 
Containment (a DEA regional program to reduce the flow of 
Afghan heroin to Western Europe), as well as in other 
regional efforts.  The Turkish National Police use their 
International Academy against Drugs and Organized Crime 
(TADOC) to train officers on interdiction and investigation 
techniques to fight drug trafficking in and through Turkey. 
Border control initiatives and upgrades are expected to be 
completed in 2008, which will provide for increased 
inspection of vehicles transiting Turkish borders. 
 
Accomplishments.   TADOC organized 64 training programs for 
2,597 local and regional law enforcement officers in 2008.  A 
total of 22 programs for 446 foreign officers were held at 
TADOC in 2007, including officers from the countries of 
Azerbaijan, Guinea Bissau, Iran, Kazakhstan, and Pakistan. 
These training programs focused on drug law enforcement, 
intelligence analysis, illegal immigration and human 
smuggling, interview techniques, surveillance techniques, and 
antiterrorism training for judges and prosecutors. 
Furthermore in 2008, TADOC conducted training in several 
foreign countries.  TADOC also trained a total of 2,396 
Turkish officers in computer-based training centers 
throughout Turkey in 2008. 
 
Law Enforcement Efforts.  Turkey continues to serve as a 
transit point for large amounts of heroin being smuggled to 
Western Europe.  The chart below summarizes the seizures made 
in Turkey in the January-June 2008 period. 
 
Heroin                        7,425 kg 
Hashish                       15,410 kg 
Opium    303 kg 
Cocaine                       54 kg 
Amphetamine (Captagon)        2,376,736 dosage units 
Ecstasy                       401,021 dosage units 
 
Corruption.  As a matter of government policy, Turkey does 
not encourage or facilitate illicit production or 
distribution of narcotic or psychotropic drugs or other 
controlled substances, or the laundering of proceeds from 
illegal drug transactions.  Similarly, no senior level 
government official is alleged to have participated in such 
activities.  As in most countries, it is likely that some 
corruption is present among enforcement personnel. 
 
Agreements and Treaties.  Turkey is a party to the 1988 UN 
Drug Convention, the 1971 UN Convention on Psychotropic 
Substances, and the 1961 UN Single Convention, as amended by 
the 1972 Protocol.  Turkey is also a party to the UN 
Convention against Corruption and the UN Convention against 
Transnational Organized Crime and its protocols on migrant 
smuggling, trafficking in persons, and illegal manufacturing 
and trafficking in firearms.  The U.S. and Turkey cooperate 
in law enforcement matters under a 1981 treaty on extradition 
and mutual assistance in legal matters. 
 
Cultivation/Production.  Illicit drug cultivation, primarily 
cannabis, is primarily for domestic consumption and has no 
impact on the United States.  The Turkish Grain Board 
strictly and successfully controls licit opium poppy 
cultivation, with no apparent diversion into the illicit 
market. 
 
Drug Flow/Transit.  Turkey remains a major route and staging 
 
area for the flow of heroin to Europe. Turkish-based 
traffickers and brokers operate in conjunction with narcotics 
smugglers, laboratory operators, and money launderers in and 
outside Turkey, who finance and control the smuggling of 
opiates to and from Turkey.  Afghanistan is the source of all 
of the opiates reaching Turkey.  Morphine base and heroin are 
smuggled over land from Afghanistan, sometimes through 
Pakistan, to Iran and then to Turkey.  While the Balkan Route 
remains heavily used, intelligence and investigations suggest 
that traffickers also use a more northerly route through 
Georgia, Russia, and Ukraine.  In addition to use of the 
northern route, traffickers are using vehicle ferries to move 
TIR (long-haul, customs-sealed) trucks from Turkey to Italy. 
From Italy, the TIRs are driven to other countries in Europe 
where the heroin, smuggled in either hidden compartments or 
within legitimate cargo, is delivered.  Opiates and hashish 
are also smuggled to Turkey overland from Afghanistan via 
Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, and Georgia.  Turkish authorities 
report an increase in the amount of opium seized in Turkey 
but destined for Europe.  It is not unusual to seize small 
amounts of opium in conjunction with heroin shipments, 
particulary when Iranians are involved in heroin smuggling. 
The total amount of opium seized in Turkey remains relatively 
small when compared to heroin seizures.  Some criminal 
elements in Turkey reportedly have interests in heroin 
laboratories operating in Iran near the Iranian-Turkish 
border in ethnic Kurdish areas.  In recent years, there 
appears to be more heroin arriving in Turkey as a finished 
product from Afghanistan, and to a much lesser extent from 
labs on both sides of the Turkish border with Iran. 
Turkish-based traffickers, some of whom are ethnic Kurds, 
control much of the heroin marketed to Western Europe. 
Turkish authorities reported an increase in synthetic drug 
seizures throughout Turkey beginning in 2005.  Most of the 
amphetamine type stimulants (ATS) seized in Turkey are 
produced in Eastern Europe.  Turkish law enforcement reports 
some synthetic drug production, primarily amphetamines such 
as Captagon (the brand name for fenethylline).  Amphetamine 
production is a relatively new phenomenon in Turkey. 
 
Demand Reduction.  While drug abuse remains modest in scale 
in Turkey compared to other countries, the number of addicts 
using treatment clinics is increasing.  Although the Turkish 
Government is increasingly aware of the need to combat drug 
abuse, the agencies responsible for drug awareness and 
treatment remain under-funded.  Eight Alcohol and Substance 
Abuse Treatment and Education Clinics (AMATEM), have been 
established, which serve as regional and drug treatment 
 
centers.  Due to a lack of funds, only a couple of the 
centers focus on drug prevention as well as treatment.  The 
most recent clinic was opened in Izmir in 2006, at a research 
hospital.  The clinic opened in Ankara in 2004 serves as the 
countrywide coordinating center for drug and alcohol 
treatment and education.  The Health Ministry does not 
conduct regular, periodic drug abuse surveys.  The Ministry 
of Health was planning to conduct the European School Survey 
Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs (ESPAD) in 2007; however, 
objections from the Ministry of Education with regard to some 
survey questions postponed this survey to 2008.  Turkey 
became a full member of the European Monitoring Center for 
Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) after the European 
Parliament ratified Turkey's participation in October 2006, 
following a successful EU twinning project.  Turkey,s 
national focal point for this effort is the Turkish 
Monitoring Center for Drugs and Drug Addiction, known as 
TUBIM.  TUBIM is charged with collecting data on drug use and 
addiction in Turkey, reporting on new drugs found in Turkey, 
and for conducting demand reduction activities. 
 
IV. U.S. Policy Initiatives and Programs 
 
Policy Initiatives.  We want to capitalize on Turkey,s work 
as a regional leader in counternarcotics training and 
education.  We plan to offer regional training opportunities 
at the TADOC center to provide additional investigative and 
prosecutorial tools to Turkish officials and their 
international counterparts.  One example of such training was 
done in February 2007, when the U.S. Government brought DEA 
trainers to Turkey to conduct a course for counternarcotics 
commanders, with 5 Turkish and 15 Afghan law enforcement 
officers.  The goal of this project was to enhance the 
investigative abilities of both Turkish and Afghan 
investigators, to increase their willingness to cooperate 
internationally on joint cases, and to build relationships 
between the two countries' law enforcement agencies. 
 
Bilateral Cooperation.  DEA reports excellent cooperation 
with Turkish officials.  Turkish counternarcotics forces are 
both professional and technically sophisticated. 
 
The Road Ahead.  U.S. will continue to try to strengthen 
Turkey,s ability to combat narcotics trafficking, 
money-laundering and financial crimes. 
 
Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at 
http://www.intelink.sgov.gov/wiki/Portal:Turk ey 
 
WILSON