VZCZCXYZ0001
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHDR #0869/01 3661119
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 311119Z DEC 08
FM AMEMBASSY DAR ES SALAAM
TO SECSTATE WASHDC 8140

UNCLAS DAR ES SALAAM 000869 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR AF/E JLIDDLE 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: SNAR PGOV PHUM TZ
 
SUBJECT: Tanzania 2008-2009 INTERNATIONAL NARCOTICS CONTROL 
STRATEGY REPORT (INCSR) 
 
¶I. Summary 
---------- 
 
Tanzania is located along drug trafficking routes linking Latin 
America, the Middle East, Asia, Africa, Europe and, to a lesser 
extent, the United States.  Drugs like hashish, cocaine, heroin, 
mandrax, and opium pass through Tanzania's porous borders.  In 
addition, the domestic production of cannabis is a significant 
problem, with active cultivation in many regions.  Drug abuse, 
particularly involving cannabis and, to a lesser extent, cocaine and 
heroin, is gradually increasing, especially among younger people and 
in tourist areas.  Tanzanian institutions have minimal capacity to 
combat drug trafficking, and corruption reduces that capacity still 
further. Tanzania is a party to the 1988 UN Drug Convention. 
 
II. Status of Country 
--------------------- 
 
Sustained economic growth and increasing affluence, especially in 
urban areas, have helped drive a demand for narcotics.  Domestic 
production of cannabis is expanding and improving in quality. 
Cannabis grown in the Arusha region reportedly sells at a premium 
price in Kenya.  In October, police reported the seizure of over 200 
kilograms of marijuana thought to be from Tanzania at a port in 
Comoros.  During the year, Tanzanians were arrested for drug 
trafficking elsewhere in East Africa as well as in India and 
Mauritius. 
 
Domestic use of narcotics appears to be on the rise.  Because 
cocaine and heroin are not as affordable as cannabis or khat, they 
are used in smaller quantities and primarily within affluent urban 
areas.  The growth of the tourism industry, particularly on Zanzibar 
and near Arusha, has also increased demand for narcotics. 
Tanzania's location, along trafficking routes with numerous possible 
points of entry through its eight land borders and 600 kilometer 
coastline, provides the opportunity for relatively easy drug 
trafficking. 
 
Drugs are believed to enter Tanzania by air, sea, roads and rail. 
Major points of entry include airports in Dar es Salaam, Zanzibar 
and Kilimanjaro, seaports at Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar, and smaller 
ports like Tanga, Mtwara and Bagamoyo.  Anecdotal evidence suggests 
that improved port surveillance has driven many traffickers out of 
the major points of entry to minor sea ports and unofficial land 
entry points.  Traffickers reportedly conduct a significant amount 
of narcotics smuggling off-shore via dhows, small boats that avoid 
ports. 
 
III. Country Actions Against Drugs in 2008 
------------------------------------------ 
 
Policy Initiatives:  According to the Deputy Minister for Trade, 
Industry and Marketing, Hezekiah Chibulunje, the government saw an 
upward trend in the trade of counterfeit goods in 2008.  This new 
trend was thought to be a reaction by small-scale drug dealers, 
those hardest hit by antinarcotics efforts, to diversify from 
narcotics, as well as a means for large-scale traffickers to launder 
their money. 
 
Efforts to amend the Anti-Drugs Control Commission Act of 1995, 
designed to strengthen the Drug Control Commission (DCC) and 
increase the penalty for drug trafficking, failed in 2007 With the 
failure of the 2005 amendments, the semi-autonomous archipelago of 
Zanzibar has indicated that it will proceed independent of the 
mainland with its own anti-narcotics legislation. 
 
Accomplishments:  In 2008 Tanzania's judiciary convicted 467 
individuals for narcotic offenses involving "hard drugs" like 
cocaine and heroin, and 6033 individuals on minor offenses involving 
drugs like cannabis.  It was reported by the police that 
approximately 200 metric tons of cannabis and two metric tons of 
khat, locally known as mirungi, were seized during the year. 
 
Law Enforcement Efforts:  Tanzania has three counter-narcotics 
police teams, located in Dar es Salaam, Zanzibar, and Moshi.  Law 
enforcement efforts are increasingly successful at arresting small 
scale smugglers; however, law enforcement has been less successful 
at apprehending "kingpins" of narcotics activities.  Newspaper 
articles and editorials have criticized the government for not 
investing more in manpower and training of drug control officials. 
 
Senior Tanzanian counter-narcotics officials acknowledge that their 
officers need additional training.  However, they are limited by a 
lack of resources and staff.  Antinarcotics units lack such basic 
resources as modern patrol boats to monitor the harbor and must rely 
on modified traditional wooden dhows to interdict smugglers at sea. 
Tanzanian officers and police staff are not able to effectively 
implement profiling techniques to seize large amounts of narcotics. 
Narcotics interdiction seizures generally result from tip-offs from 
informants.  Moreover, low salaries for law enforcement personnel 
 
encourage corrupt behavior. 
 
Formal cooperation between counter-narcotics police in Kenya, 
Uganda, Rwanda and Tanzania is well established, with bi-annual 
meetings to discuss regional narcotics issues. This cooperation has 
resulted in significant increases in effectiveness in each nation's 
narcotics control efforts.  Tanzania also cooperates formally with 
countries from the Southern African Development Community, including 
Zambia and South Africa.  In 2008, the United Kingdom provided 
counter-narcotics training to Tanzanian officers from immigration, 
customs and police divisions.  Other officers attended various 
international training events held in Malawi, Botswana and 
Johannesburg. 
 
Corruption:  Neither the government nor senior officials encourage 
or facilitate the production or distribution of illicit drugs; 
however, corruption continued to be a serious concern in the 
Tanzanian Police Force. It is widely believed that corrupt police 
officials at ports facilitate the transshipment of narcotics through 
Tanzania. There is no specific provision of the anticorruption laws 
regarding narcotics related cases.  In June 2006, two police 
officers were arrested following the disappearance of approximately 
80 kg of cocaine and heroin from police custody.  During the year, 
the courts began hearing the case, but there was still no ruling by 
the end of 2008. 
 
Many believe that corruption in the courts often leads to case 
dismissals or light sentencing of convicted narcotics offenders. 
Some prosecutors have complained that many arrested suspects plead 
"not guilty" until the magistrate hearing the case can be bribed. 
Once confident of the magistrate's complicity, the suspects change 
their plea to guilty, thereby forgoing a lengthy trial process, and 
the magistrate issues a judgment of only a minor fine. 
 
Agreements and Treaties:  Tanzania is a party to the 1988 UN Drug 
Convention.  The 1931 U.S.-U.K. Extradition Treaty is applicable to 
Tanzania. 
 
Cultivation and Production:  Traditional cultivation of cannabis 
takes place in remote parts of the country, mainly for domestic use. 
 It is estimated that an acre of land can produce up to $1000 worth 
of cannabis crop as opposed to $100 worth of maize.  The Ministry of 
Public Safety and Security identified the following eight regions as 
the primary production areas for cannabis: Iringa, Tabora, 
Shinyanga, Mara, Arusha, Mwanza, Mbeya and Tanga.  However, for 
2008, Morogoro topped the list for farmland where cannibis plants 
were destroyed, with a reported 600 acres.  No figures on total 
production exist, but during the year, police and government 
officials reported that production continued and had spread to 
different regions in response to eradication efforts and special 
police operations against drug traffickers in Iringa, Mbeya and 
Ruvuma regions.  Given the availability of raw materials and the 
simplicity of the process, it is likely that most hashish is 
produced domestically; however, other illegal drugs in Tanzania are 
probably produced elsewhere. 
 
Drug Flow/Transit:  Due to its location and porous borders, seaports 
and airports, Tanzania has become a significant transit country for 
narcotics moving in sub-Saharan Africa.  Traffickers from landlocked 
countries of Southern Africa, including Zambia and Malawi, use 
Tanzania for transit.  Control at the ports, especially on Zanzibar, 
is difficult.  Traffickers using sophisticated methods of forging 
documents and concealment face poor controls and untrained and 
corrupt officials.  According to the Anti-Narcotics Unit, heroin 
entering Tanzania from Iran and Pakistan is being smuggled to the 
U.S., China and Australia in small quantities by traffickers from 
Nigeria, Tanzania (with a significant number of traffickers from 
Zanzibar) and other countries in East Africa. Cocaine enters 
Tanzania from Brazil, Colombia, Peru, Venezuela, and Curacao in 
transit to South Africa, Europe, Australia and North America. 
Cannabis Resin, a drug that is not known to be consumed 
domestically, enters Tanzania mainly by sea from Pakistan and 
Afghanistan.  It is often concealed with local goods such as tea and 
coffee and smuggled to Europe, North America and the Seychelles. 
The port of Dar es Salaam is also a major point of entry for mandrax 
from India, Nepal and Kenya headed toward South Africa.  Tanzanians 
continue to be recruited for trafficking. 
 
In November, the Commissioner of the Drugs Control Commission said 
that number of suspects arrested for involvement in drug trafficking 
increased, while the overall volume of trafficked narcotics 
decreased.  He attributed this to a new strategy by drug lords to 
spread the risk by increasing the number of traffickers but giving 
each of them smaller amounts of drugs. 
 
In April, a Tanzanian national was arrested in the Maldives after 
arriving from India for possession of large quantities of narcotics. 
 In June, while traveling to the Olympic Games, Tanzanian boxers and 
their coach were arrested in Mauritius for trafficking of narcotics 
worth 120 million shillings, (approximately USD 100,000).  The 
 
president of the Boxing Federation of Tanzania was later arrested 
and charged with arranging the deal. 
 
Domestic Programs/Demand Reduction:    Police have been actively 
involved in community education programs to educate the public about 
the dangers of narcotics.  In 2008, the Drugs Control Commission 
(DCC) worked together with the police to use the media to spread 
anti-narcotic messages. Police and DCC officials participated in 
state sponsored trade fairs and youth-centered events to create 
greater awareness about drug trafficking.  The DCC attributed the 
increase in narcotics-related arrests to working more closely with 
local communities to identify and stop drug dealers and users.  The 
DCC, under the Prime Minister's Office, also managed a small demand 
reduction program, which included training courses for nurses, 
counselors, and teachers in urban centers across the country. 
Limited government resources existed for specialized care for drug 
addiction and rehabilitation.  Any required in-patient care was 
typically provided by psychiatric hospitals. 
 
IV. U.S. Policy Initiatives and Programs 
---------------------------------------- 
 
Bilateral Cooperation:  U.S. policy initiatives and programs for 
addressing narcotics problems in Tanzania are focused on training 
workshops and seminars for law enforcement officials.  State 
Department law enforcement assistance included funding the 
establishment of a forensics lab and training in its use. The United 
State Government is funding the Personal Identification Secure 
Comparison and Evaluation System (PISCES) to improve interdiction 
capabilities at major border crossings.  The program is primarily 
designed to target terrorist activities, but also is effective 
against narcotics and other smuggling activities as well. 
 
The Road Ahead:  U.S.-Tanzanian cooperation is expected to continue, 
with a focus on improving Tanzania's capacity to enforce its 
counter-narcotics laws. 
 
GREEN