VZCZCXRO1078
PP RUEHSK
DE RUEHSK #0262/01 3541728
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P R 191728Z DEC 08
FM AMEMBASSY MINSK
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0028
INFO RUEHSK/AMEMBASSY MINSK 0029

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 05 MINSK 000262 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR INL, EUR/UMB 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SNAR PGOV KJUS BO
SUBJECT: BELARUS: 2008-2009 INTERNATIONAL NARCOTICS CONTROL STRATEGY 
REPORT (INCSR) PART ONE 
 
REF: STATE 100992 
 
¶1.  The following is the submission by Embassy Minsk for Part 
One of the 2008-2009 INCSR.  Please note that post is operating 
under extreme conditions with only five American staff.  Please 
direct any questions about this report to EUR/UMB. 
 
¶2.  Summary: Belarus remains a transit route for traffic in 
illicit drugs and drug precursors, and reports of drug use and 
drug-related crime in Belarus increased in 2008, although there 
is no evidence of large-scale drug production in the country. 
While some externally funded initiatives such as BUMAD have been 
discontinued, Belarus continues to work within the CSTO 
framework to address trafficking within and from those 
countries, both in policy and law enforcement areas. 
 
¶3.  A December 2007 law strengthened Belarusian laws against 
drug production and distribution, and in 2008 a National Action 
Plan was formulated to coordinate government and NGO antidrug 
efforts.  In addition, legal steps have been taken to facilitate 
UN technical assistance programs.  Some significant drug 
seizures were made this year, but the quantities involved may 
only hint at the reality, and law enforcement suffers from a 
lack of coordination as well as funding and equipment 
shortfalls. 
 
¶4.  The estimated number of drug users in Belarus remains 
unchanged from last year, although the number of registered 
addicts increased.  Some non-governmental organizations 
concerned with narcotics treatment and mitigation which were 
denied registration in previous years have been permitted to 
resume operation; in short, availability and quality of services 
have improved somewhat but a great deal of work remains. 
 
¶5.  Status of Country: Because of its geographical location and 
good transportation infrastructure, Belarus is very attractive 
as a transit route for drug traffic.  Belarus' customs union 
with Russia and the resultant lack of border controls between 
those two countries make drug transit easier.  The problem may 
be exacerbated if members of the Eurasian Economic Community 
(Belarus, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan Republic and 
Tajikistan) create a customs union by 2010, as proposed. 
 
¶6.  There is no evidence of large-scale drug production in, or 
export from Belarus, although synthetic and plant-based 
narcotics production seem to be growing.  Indications are that 
although plant narcotics dominate the illicit drug market 
(approximately 80-85% plant-based to 15-20% synthetic) the ratio 
appears to be shifting toward synthetic drugs (e.g. methadone.) 
 
¶7.  Although law enforcement officials of neighboring countries 
maintain that Belarus is a source of precursor chemicals, senior 
officials of Belarus' Interior Ministry flatly deny this. 
Whatever drug production and cultivation may exist in Belarus, 
they are not the most pressing problem.  Drug abuse prevention, 
treatment, and transit issues must be addressed first, if the 
country is to reach full compliance with the 1988 UN Drug 
Convention. 
 
¶8.  Country Actions Against Drugs in 2008: Belarus Policy 
Initiatives.  At the meeting of the Political Group of the 
UNODC-led partnership Paris Pact Initiative in December 2007, 
Belarus proposed that measures be taken to bar shipments of drug 
precursors to Afghanistan from anywhere in the world unless 
approved by the government of Afghanistan.  Details of this 
mechanism, and prospects for implementation, are unknown. 
 
¶9.  In January 2008 Belarus' Interior Minister Vladimir Naumov 
and UNODC officials signed a Memorandum of Understanding on drug 
trafficking control and crime prevention.  In July 2008, 
unspecified Interior Ministry officials participated in the OSCE 
conference on international cooperation in fighting illegal drug 
and precursor trafficking.  At this conference, Belarus 
supported Russia's initiative to strengthen antinarcotics and 
financial security belts around Afghanistan via the orchestrated 
efforts of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO). 
 
¶10.  In 2008, the Interior Ministry and other governmental 
agencies jointly drafted a National Action Plan to counteract 
drug abuse and illicit drug trafficking and related crimes in 
Belarus.  From 2009 through 2013, this Plan will consolidate the 
counter-drug efforts of all government agencies and NGOs under 
Interior Ministry coordination.  Drug trafficking is routinely 
addressed at the regular meetings of the Security Council's 
Interagency Committee on crime, corruption and drugs. 
 
¶11.  In December 2007 the Belarusian President signed a bill 
which listed "particularly dangerous narcotics and psychotropic 
substances" and toughened criminal liability for distribution of 
these substances in public recreation areas, educational 
facilities and penal facilities.  This same law instituted 
criminal liability for the planting and cultivation of narcotic 
 
MINSK 00000262  002 OF 005 
 
 
plants for purposes either of sale or production of drugs and 
psychotropic substances, as well as the illicit trafficking in 
precursors (not listed), regardless of production or intent to 
produce drugs or psychotropic substances.  Also in December 
2007, Belarus Trade Ministry issued a resolution to prohibit the 
retail trade in poppy seeds at grocery markets, and the Council 
of Ministers signed a resolution to prohibit mailings of 
anonymous packages to prisons and other correctional facilities. 
 
¶12.  Joint Policy Initiatives: Belarus actively participates in 
developing CSTO anti-narcotics policies.  At a regular meeting 
of CSTO member states in March 2008 Belarus suggested drafting a 
Single List of narcotics, psychotropic substances and 
precursors, to avoid claims and criminal charges for illegal 
delivery, transit or possession of substances which would be 
legal in other member states. 
 
¶13.  Belarus has cooperated closely with the joint UNDP-European 
Union program BUMAD (Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova Anti-Drug 
Program), which was directed at bringing those countries' drug 
policies in line with European standards and reducing 
trafficking of drugs into the European Union.  This program has 
supported development of prevention and monitoring systems, 
improved the legal framework, and provided training and 
equipment.  According to Belarus' Interior Ministry and local 
UNDP officials, BUMAD will cease operation in April 2009. 
 
¶14.  The BOMBEL Program, an EC and UNDP joint project designed 
to raise Belarusian border management to EU standards, ended in 
December 2007.  No 2008 projects were funded. 
 
¶15.  A related although separate program, BOMBEL-3, began 
implementation in 2008.  BOMBEL-3 is administered by the 
European Commission representative office in Ukraine, and is to 
fund the installation of a fiber-optic communication network 
among all border checkpoints in Belarus.  Note that the 
Russia-Belarus border has no checkpoints and will not be 
included in this network. 
 
¶16.  Although sources indicate that some OSCE and UN suggestions 
were implemented through BOMBEL and/or BUMAD, concrete 
information on which remain outstanding, which were implemented, 
and their level of success is unavailable.  Authorities still 
lack sufficient funding and training, and need to improve 
treatment, rehabilitation and information collection practices. 
 
¶17.  Law Enforcement Efforts: Reliable statistics are hard to 
come by, but print and on-line media reports reflect more 
instances of local drug use and drug-related crimes in 2008 than 
in 2007.  Belarusian law enforcement authorities attribute this 
increase to improved detection, and state that the crime rate is 
no higher than a year ago.  Print and electronic media in 
Belarus routinely issue anti-drug trafficking materials, 
including commercials, articles, coverage of news conferences, 
and press releases. 
 
¶18.  Police discovered a methamphetamine lab in Grodno in May 
2008, and a pseudo-ephedrine lab in Minsk in that October. 
Later in October, in a separate Minsk operation, police seized 
113 kg of pseudo-ephedrine- the largest confiscation of a 
psychotropic substance in the history of the country.  Between 
January 1 and November 1, authorities seized approximately 126.5 
kg of psychotropic substances and 574 kg of other drugs.  Drugs 
seized (in kg) are as follows: 
 
Poppy Straw (410.4); 
Marijuana (136.2); 
Raw Opium (0.561); 
Heroin (0.387); 
Amphetamine (2.8); 
Methamphetamine (3.6); 
Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) (1.98) 
Acetylated Opium (2.9); 
Hashish (18.7); 
Cocaine (0.26); 
Extraction opium (19.5) 
Methadone (2). 
Morphine (0.12) 
Pseudoephedrine (113) 
 
¶19.  In the first six months of 2008, 1,183 people were 
convicted for drug related crimes in Belarus.  During the same 
period police accounted for 2,413 illegal plantations, which 
included the destruction of 52 tons of poppy from a total 
planting area which exceeded 266 square kilometers. 
 
¶20.  According to official statistics, 3,449 drug-related crimes 
were recorded in the first ten months of 2008.  These comprised: 
narcotics thefts - 35, instances of illicit trafficking - 3,307, 
cultivation of narcotic plants - 13, drug pushing - 24, and the 
organizing of drug dens - 70. 
 
MINSK 00000262  003 OF 005 
 
 
 
¶21.  In September and November 2008, more than 2,170 officers of 
Belarus' Interior Ministry, Customs Committee, KGB and Border 
Guard Committee actively participated in CANAL-2008, a CSTO 
operation aimed at prevention and interdiction of illicit drug 
deliveries from Afghanistan to and through CSTO countries. 
During this operation, 214 drug-related crimes were recorded, 
criminal charges were brought against 185 persons, and 145 
kilograms of narcotics were seized. 
 
¶22.  In a report presented in September 2006 (the most recent 
available) the State Border Troops' Committee conceded that 
official seizure figures do not reflect the reality of the 
problem.  Government officials privately admit that enforcement 
efforts suffer from inadequate communication and coordination, 
as well as from inter-agency rivalries. 
 
¶23.  Belarus' law enforcement agencies have permanent working 
contacts on drug trafficking issues with their counterparts in 
neighboring countries. 
 
¶24.  Corruption: As a matter of government policy, Belarus 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.  No senior officials of the government are known 
to engage in, encourage, or facilitate the illicit production or 
distribution of such drugs, or the laundering of proceeds from 
illegal drug transactions. 
 
¶25.  In July 2006, President Lukashenko signed an anticorruption 
law to comply with the Council of Europe's 1999 Criminal Law 
Convention on Corruption, which Belarus ratified in 2004. 
Belarus also ratified the Council of Europe's 1999 Civil Law 
Convention on Corruption in December 2005, but to date no 
corresponding amendments to the Belarusian civil code have been 
made. 
 
¶26.  A few high-level personnel within the Interior Ministry and 
General Prosecutor's Office were arrested and charged for 
corruption in 2008, but none of the charges were drug-related. 
The perception that corruption remains a serious problem among 
border and customs officials and makes interdiction of narcotics 
difficult was supported by Lukashenka's March 2008 remark that 
corruption is "a cancerous tumor" in the State Customs 
Committee. 
 
¶27.  Agreements and Treaties: Belarus is a party to the 
following UN conventions:  The 1961 UN Single Convention as 
amended by the 1972 Protocol, the 1971 UN Convention on 
Psychotropic Substances, the 1988 UN Drug Convention, the UN 
Convention against Corruption, and the UN Convention against 
Transnational Organized Crime and its protocols against migrant 
smuggling, trafficking in persons and manufacturing and 
trafficking in illegal firearms. 
 
¶28.  Belarus is also a member of the Collective Security Treaty 
Organization (CSTO) with Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, 
Tajikistan and Russia and conducts joint counter-narcotics 
operations with those countries.  Before the end of 2008, Russia 
and Belarus plan to complete a unified list of list of 
narcotics, psychotropic substances and their precursors subject 
to state control, in order to avoid criminal liability in one 
country for drugs which are legal in the other. 
 
¶29.  In November 2008, Lukashenka signed two edicts to 
facilitate cooperation with the European Commission.  The first 
of these approved signing of an agreement-in-principle with the 
European Commission that would allow further development of EU 
technical assistance programs in energy, customs infrastructure, 
illegal migration, international crime, environment and other 
areas.  The second edict amends the Belarus national law to 
ensure that the European Commission representative office enjoys 
diplomatic status under the Vienna Convention. 
 
¶30.  Cultivation/Production: There is no confirmed widespread 
illicit drug cultivation or production in Belarus, in part 
because conviction for growing narcotic plants for sale can 
result in prison sentences of as long as 15 years.  Belarus has 
recently criminalized the cultivation of plants for the purpose 
of producing drugs, as well as for illegal trade in precursors, 
regardless of intent to produce drugs. 
 
¶31.  Nevertheless, some cultivation and production exists. 
Precursor chemicals continue to be imported in volumes, but the 
current legal structure makes it difficult to prevent their 
distribution.  In 2007, 1,990 entities have licenses for 
manufacturing and storage of precursors and 15,000 employees 
have access to the substances.  There is no indication that 
these numbers have changed.   Reported increases in demand for 
poppy-seed, and subsequent tenfold increase in price, prompted a 
 
MINSK 00000262  004 OF 005 
 
 
December 2007 ban on retail sale of poppy at grocery markets. 
 
¶32.  Drug Flow/Transit: According to the Ministry of Internal 
Affairs and KGB press releases, heroin enters and transits 
Belarus from Afghanistan via Central Asia and Russia.  Poppy 
straw, opium, and marijuana enter through Ukraine; ecstasy, 
amphetamines, hashish and marijuana come from Poland and 
Lithuania; cocaine comes from Latin America and (unspecified) 
precursors from Russia.  Heroin and methadone from Russia 
transit Belarus en route to Lithuania and other European 
countries. East-bound Dutch marijuana, hashish and cocaine 
transit Belarus and Lithuania as well. 
 
¶33.  Press reports continue to indicate that the control 
infrastructure along the border with Ukraine is particularly 
weak; no further information is available on alleged State 
Border Control Committee plans to tighten it. 
 
¶34.  In accordance with their bilateral customs union agreement, 
Belarusian border guards are not deployed on the border with 
Russia, which is policed by Russian forces.   Apparently, 
customs officers currently inspect only five percent of all 
inbound freight, and border guards often lack the training and 
equipment to conduct effective searches.  The BOMBEL and BUMAD 
programs helped Belarus to address these problems, but much work 
remains to be done. 
 
¶35.  Demand Reduction: Belarusian authorities have begun to 
recognize the growing domestic demand problem, particularly 
among young people.  Ministry of Health chief addiction officer 
Vladimir Maksimchuk announced that the number of registered drug 
users in the country has increased threefold since 1995, to 
6,907 (as of May 1, 2008), but acknowledged that the actual 
number of users was much higher.  Maksimchuk's 2007 estimate of 
60,000 remained unchanged for 2008, and was corroborated by 
personnel at the Ministry of Internal Affairs.  In 2007 the 
youngest registered addict was 16 years old; in 2008 children as 
young as ten years of age made the list.  The largest number of 
drug users are between 20 and 30 years old, and prevention 
programs in schools remain under-funded.  News reports indicate 
that the ratio of consumers of oral (vs. injected) drugs is 
growing due to the relative ease of concealment of oral drug use. 
 
¶36.  The government generally treats drug addicts in psychiatric 
hospitals or at outpatient narcotics clinics (of which there are 
21 in Belarus), either as a result of court remand or 
self-enrollment, or in prisons.  On the whole, treatment 
emphasizes detoxification over stabilization and rehabilitation. 
 As of June 2008, the Ministries of Health and Interior 
announced that they were reviewing the possibility of mandatory 
treatment in lieu of criminal liability for first-time users, 
unless guilty of a serious crime. To date no decision has been 
made. 
 
¶37.  The methadone substitution clinic opened by the Ministry of 
Health in Gomel in September 2007 was the first and is still the 
only such clinic in operation.  A second clinic in Minsk was 
planned, but so far has not been built or even funded.  The 
Gomel clinic reportedly served 7 people in 2007, and planned to 
expand to 15 this year; however, no legislation calling for the 
expansion of this or any other rehabilitation programs has been 
passed. 
 
¶38.  There are at least twelve small-scale NGO-run 
rehabilitation centers in various areas of Belarus. According to 
a UNDP official and a representative of a Belarus-based NGO, in 
contrast to previous years, in 2008 the government of Belarus 
did not withdraw registration of any NGOs providing assistance 
to victims of drug abuse. 
 
¶39.  On the whole, availability and quality of services have 
improved somewhat, but they remain available only to registered 
drug addicts.  Since drug use remains highly stigmatized in 
Belarusian society, and because the official drug addict 
registry is readily available to Belarusian law enforcement and 
other government agencies, drug addicts often avoid seeking 
treatment, fearing adverse consequences at work, school, and in 
society if their addiction becomes known. 
 
¶40.  U.S. Policy Initiatives and Programs: Bilateral 
Cooperation.  The USG has not provided counter-narcotics 
assistance to the GOB since February 1997.  Although some 
working-level assistance and contacts have existed in the area 
of law enforcement, these ceased in early 2008, when the GOB 
forced a drawdown of the official American presence in Belarus 
from 35 to 5 persons and began denying visit visas to law 
enforcement personnel.  The 2005 imposition of restrictions of 
technical assistance and taxation of humanitarian aid by the 
Government of Belarus pose other hurdles to assistance. 
Although we hope for improvement in the bilateral relationship, 
present conditions do not favor cooperation. 
 
MINSK 00000262  005 OF 005 
 
 
 
¶41.  The Road Ahead.  The USG will continue to encourage 
Belarusian authorities to enforce their counter-narcotics laws, 
render working-level assistance when appropriate, and monitor 
the progress of existing assistance programs. 
MOORE