VZCZCXYZ0003
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHI #1618/01 3081529
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 031529Z NOV 08
FM AMEMBASSY VIENNA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 1271
RUEAWJA/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC
RUEABND/DEA HQS WASHINGTON DC
RHEHOND/DIRONDCP WASHDC

UNCLAS VIENNA 001618 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR INL AND EUR/AGS 
STATE PLEASE PASS TO JOHN LYLE/INL AAE 
JUSTICE FOR OAI, AFMLS, AND NDDS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PTER SNAR AU
SUBJECT: AUSTRIA: 2008 INTERNATIONAL NARCOTICS CONTROL STRATEGY 
REPORT (INCSR) 
 
REF:  STATE 100992 
 
RESPONSES BELOW ARE KEYED TO REFTEL INSTRUCTIONS: 
 
NOTE: THE INCSR'S MONEY LAUNDERING SECTION WILL BE SENT 
SEPTEL. 
 
¶I. Summary 
---------- 
¶1. (U) Austria is primarily a transit country for illicit drugs; it 
is not a drug producing country. Experts see no change in the usual 
strategies of illegal trade of narcotic substances in 2008, except 
for precursor substances, where since 2007 Austria has begun to 
serve as a depot country for interim storage. Foreign criminal 
groups from former Soviet-bloc countries, Turkey, West Africa, and 
Central and South America, dominate the organized drug trafficking 
scene in the country. Austria's geographic location along major 
trans-European drug routes allows criminal groups to bring drugs 
into the country. Production, cultivation, and trafficking by 
Austrian nationals remain insignificant.  Drug consumption in 
Austria is well below average west European levels and authorities 
do not consider it to be a severe problem.  However, there is a 
trend toward more high-risk drugs. The number of drug users is 
currently estimated at around 35,000.  The number of drug-related 
deaths has gone down recently (2007). Cooperation with U.S. 
authorities continued to be excellent during 2008.  International 
cooperation led to significant seizures, frequently involving 
multiple countries. 
 
¶2. (U) In 2008, Austria continued its efforts to intensify regional 
police cooperation, particularly with regard to the Balkans. 
Austria also continued its year-long focus on providing policing 
know-how to countries in Central Asia.  Austria is the seat of the 
United Nations Office for Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and has been a 
major donor for several years.  Austria has been a party to the 1971 
and 1988 UN drug conventions since 1997. End Summary. 
 
II. Status of Country 
--------------------- 
¶3. (u) There was no significant increase in the number of drug users 
in Austria during the period  January-October 2008.  Austria's 
National Drug Coordinator estimates the number of total drug abusers 
at around 35,000.  The number of users of MDMA (Ecstasy) remained 
largely stable in 2008.  Austria counted 175 drug-related deaths in 
2007 and expects a similar, low figure for 2008 - a downward trend 
compared to the previous three years.  However, the number of deaths 
from mixed intoxication continues to rise as drug users consume more 
high-risk substances.  According to police records, total violations 
of the Austrian Narcotics Act increased marginally in 2007 and 2008. 
 The latest prosecution statistics (for 2007) show 24,166 charges, a 
rise of 1.05 percent from the previous year's total.  Of these 
charges 1,236 involved psychotropic substances and 22,929 involved 
narcotic drugs. One offense involved precursors.  Ninety percent of 
the charges were misdemeanors.  Amphetamines and derivatives 
("Ecstasy" pills) are predominantly smuggled in from the Netherlands 
via Germany, whereby Austria increasingly serves also as a transit 
country for onward smuggling to Slovenia and Bosnia-Herzegovina. 
Usage of amphetamines rose 114 percent from 2007 to 2008, tracking 
a Europe-wide trend as these substances are increasingly available 
outside of urban areas. 
 
¶4. (u) According to a 2005 survey commissioned by the Health 
Ministry, approximately one-fifth of respondents admitted to 
consumption of an illegal substance at some time during their lives. 
 Most respondents cited cannabis, with "Ecstasy" and amphetamines in 
second and third place respectively.  Among young adults (ages 
19-29), about 30 percent admitted "some experience" with cannabis at 
least once in their lifetime.  According to the study, 2-4 percent 
of this age group had already used cocaine, amphetamines, and 
"Ecstasy," while 3 percent had experience with biogenetic drugs. 
 
III. Country Action Against Drugs in 2008 
----------------------------------------- 
¶5. (u) Policy Initiatives: Throughout 2008, the Austrian government 
retained its no tolerance policy regarding drug traffickers and its 
traditional "therapy before punishment" policy for non-dealing 
offenders. The government introduced legislation in 2007 for better 
data quality of drug users. According to critics, this would 
restrict prescriptions and infringe on patient privacy rights 
through increased surveillance of medical narcotics users. 
Legislation is expected to be passed by the end of 2008. Certain 
types of surveillance of illegal drug behavior are already possible 
under a 2005 amendment allowing the set up of cameras in high-crime 
public areas. Critics argue that this only moves the drug scene to 
other areas. The 2005 law also provided for the establishment of a 
 
"protection zone" around schools and retirement centers from which 
police may an suspected drug dealers for up to thirty days.Austrian authorities continue to demand stricter rgulations on an 
EU-wide scale regarding internet trade of illgal substances. At the 
end of 2008, rug experts were debating a possible ban of the 
fashion drug" commonly called "Spice." 
 
¶6. (u) Dring its latest EU presidency (January-July 2006),Austria 
initiated the EU's "Partnership for Security," with over fifty 
countries and organizations, including the U.S. and Russia, as 
participants. It reflects Austria's strong, year-long focus on the 
Balkans. One element of this strategy is the "Police Cooperation 
Convention for Southeastern Europe," which Austria co-signed.  In 
2007, Austria headed a follow-up conference entitled "Drug Policing 
Balkans," during which high-level officials, including Embassy 
Vienna's DEA representative, discussed operational aspects with 
respect to drug smuggling along the Balkans route. Austria also 
participated in a pertinent follow-up meeting in Zadar in 2008. 
 
¶7. (u) At the EU level, the GOA continues to push for a European 
Narcotics Institute (European Drug Academy) styled along the lines 
of the U.S. NIDA.  Austria remains critical of the EU Drug Action 
Plan however, saying it contains no evaluation of harm reduction 
measures.  Throughout 2008, Austria maintained its lead role within 
the Central Asian Border Security Initiative (CABSI) and the Vienna 
Initiative on Central Asia (VICA), and participated in conferences 
in Astana and Dushanbe.  Vienna is the seat of the UN's drug 
assistance agency, the United Nations Office for Drugs and Crime 
(UNODC).  Austria contributed EUR 550,000 ($709,000) to this 
organization in 2008.  In past years, Austria has been working with 
the UNODC, the EU, and Iran to establish border control checkpoints 
along the Afghan-Iranian border in order to prevent drug 
trafficking, particularly in opiates. Within the UNODC, Austria also 
participates in crop monitoring and alternative development plans in 
Peru, Bolivia, Columbia, and Honduras.  At an ECOWAS anti-drug 
trafficking conference in Cape Verde in October, Austria pledged 
300,000 Euros for drug control for the ECOWAS region. Austria values 
the "vital role" played by foreign liaison officers accredited in 
Austria, as well as by the network of Austrian liaison personnel 
stationed in critical countries abroad. 
 
8.(u) Law Enforcement Efforts: Comprehensive seizure statistics for 
2007 (the latest available figures) show a strong increase in 
seizures of heroin (up 240 percent), "Ecstasy" (up 114 percent), and 
Cocaine (up 26 percent), and a decrease in seizures  for various 
types of cannabis, LSD, and other amphetamines.  Experts stress that 
the degree of purity and concentration of "Ecstasy," speed, and 
other illegal substances has become increasingly volatile, 
representing a growing risk factor.  This is due, in large part, to 
the advanced technology used in drug laboratories.  The labs use 
precursors, such as acetic anhydride and potassium permanganate, to 
produce illicit drugs.  The 2007 drug report from the Interior 
Ministry states that Austria's Precursor Monitoring Unit dealt with 
206 cases in relation to precursors and clandestine drug 
laboratories-representing a noticeable increase of 31 
percent-compared to 157 cases in 2006.  In 2007, one illegal drug 
laboratory was raided in Austria, producing an insignificant number 
of synthetic methamphetamines.  The total street value of illicit 
drugs was higher in 2007 than during the previous years.  One gram 
of cannabis sold for EUR 10.00 ($14); one gram of heroin for EUR 
85.00 ($120); and one gram of cocaine for EUR 80.00 ($112). 
Amphetamines sold for EUR 25.00 ($35) per gram and one LSD trip for 
EUR 35.00 ($49). 
 
¶9. (u) Corruption: Austria has been a party to the OECD anti-bribery 
convention since 1999 and to the UN Corruption Convention since 
January 2006.  The GOA's public corruption laws recognize and punish 
the abuse of power by a public official.  An amendment which went 
into effect January 1, 2008 substantially increased penalties for 
bribery and abuse of office offenses.  As of fall 2008, there were 
no corruption cases pending involving bribery of foreign public 
officials.  In September 2008, a Vienna appellate court upheld a 
guilty verdict from 2007 involving a senior Vienna police official 
for minor bribery charges, which were not drug related.  As a matter 
of government policy, the GOA 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.  Austria ranks among the 12 least corrupt 
countries worldwide, according to the 2008 "Corruption Perception 
Index" compiled by the watch-dog NGO Transparency International. 
 
¶10. (u) Agreements and Treaties: Austria is a party to the 1988 UN 
Drug Convention, the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs and 
its 1972 Protocol, and the 1971 UN Convention on Psychotropic 
Substances.  Austria is a party to the UN Convention Against 
 
Transnational Organized Crime and its Protocol against Trafficking 
in Persons.  An extradition treaty and mutual legal assistance 
treaty are in force between the U.S. and Austria. 
 
¶11. (u) Cultivation: Production of illicit drugs in Austria 
continued to be marginal in 2008.  The Interior Ministry's annual 
report on drug-related crime noted a rise in private, indoor-grown, 
high-quality cannabis.  Austria recorded no domestic cultivation of 
coca or opium in 2008. 
 
¶12. (u) Drug Flow/Transit: The Interior Ministry's drug report 
stresses that Austria is not a source country for illicit drugs, but 
remains a transit country.  According to the DEA's quarterly 
trafficking report (note: DEA will no longer provide Quarterly 
reports, only an annual Foreign Situation Report. end note), illicit 
drug trade by Austrian nationals is negligible. Foreign criminal 
groups (e.g. Turks, Serbs, Bosnians, Russians, Albanians, 
Bulgarians) carry out organized drug trafficking in Austria.  The 
Balkan route into the country is a particularly difficult one to 
control. In addition to opiates, 90 percent of cocaine enters 
Austria by the Balkan Route.  The illicit trade increasingly relies 
on Central and East European airports, including Vienna's Schwechat 
International Airport.  A continuing trend in Austria is West 
African narcotics smugglers using Caucasian women from former 
Soviet-bloc countries to smuggle drugs into Austria. The GOA reports 
a noticeable increase in Austria's growing role as a transit country 
for "Ecstasy" coming from the Netherlands to the Balkans. 
 
¶13. (u) Domestic Programs/Demand Reduction: Austrian authorities and 
the public generally view drug addiction as a disease rather than a 
crime.  This is reflected in relatively liberal drug legislation and 
in court decisions.  The government remains committed to measures to 
prevent the social marginalization of drug addicts.  Federal 
guidelines ensure minimum quality standards for drug treatment 
facilities.  The GOA's demand reduction program emphasizes primary 
prevention, drug treatment, counseling, and harm reduction measures, 
such as needle exchange programs. Ongoing challenges in demand 
reduction are the need for psychological care for drug victims and 
greater attention to older victims and immigrants. 
Primary intervention starts at the pre-school level and continues 
through secondary school, apprenticeship institutions, and 
out-of-school youth programs.  The government and local authorities 
routinely sponsor educational campaigns both within and outside of 
the classroom.  Overall, youths in danger of addiction are primary 
targets of new treatment and care policies.  Austria has syringe 
exchange programs in place for HIV and hepatitis prevention. 
Hepatitis B and C is commonplace among intravenous drug users at 59 
percent.  Policies toward greater diversification in substitution 
treatment (methadone, prolonged-action morphine, and buprenorphine) 
continued in 2008.  Austria currently has approximately 10,000 
people in rehabilitation programs.  The government remains skeptical 
regarding heroin substitution programs however, arguing that there 
are better solutions. 
 
IV. U.S. Policy Initiatives and Programs 
---------------------------------------- 
¶14. (u) Bilateral Cooperation: Cooperation between Austrian and U.S. 
authorities continued to be excellent in 2008.  Several bilateral 
efforts exemplified this cooperation, including DEA support of 
Austria's Drug Policing Balkans initiative.  Austrian Interior 
Ministry officials continued to consult the FBI, DEA, and DHS on how 
to update criminal investigation structures. 
The U.S. worked with Austria's Federal Crime Office (BKA)  and its 
regional chapters on a multilateral investigation involving a 
Colombian violator in Vienna linked to a Colombian trafficking 
organization, who was trafficking cocaine loads from South America 
into Europe.  Similarly, Airport Police at Austria's Schwechat 
airport worked jointly with DEA Vienna on the arrests of two 
couriers from New York charged with importing approximately 5 
kilograms of cocaine into Austria.  The cooperative investigation 
led to the identification of the responsible organization.  Also, 
leads passed from the Bangkok DEA office to Airport Police at 
Schwechat airport proved valuable with respect to drug seizures, 
arrests and intelligence sharing between agencies.  Austrian 
national and regional crime fighting agencies facilitated interviews 
by U.S. prosecutors and DEA agents of defendants incarcerated in 
Austria on a huge cocaine importation case from 2005.  The 
interviews were important for the larger, overall prosecution of the 
main, global criminal organization.   DEA continued to work together 
with the BKA in support of important annual BKA/Croatia Balkan Drug 
Conference in Zadar, Croatia, which was held in September 2008. 
Furthermore, the U.S. Embassy regularly sponsors speaking tours for 
U.S. counternarcotics experts in Austria. 
 
¶15. (u) The Road Ahead. The U.S. will continue to support Austrian 
 
efforts to create more effective tools for law enforcement.  As in 
past years, the U.S. will work closely with Austria within the 
framework of U.S.-EU initiatives, the UN, and the OSCE. The U.S. 
priority will remain the promotion of a better understanding of U.S. 
drug policy among Austrian officials. 
 
Girard-DiCarlo