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P 101659Z NOV 09
FM AMEMBASSY BRUSSELS
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RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 9673
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEABND/DEA HQS WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 05 BRUSSELS 001514 
 
SIPDIS 
 
INL/AAE FOR JLYLE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SNAR PGOV PREL KSEP BE
SUBJECT: BELGIUM: 2009-2010 INTERNATIONAL NARCOTICS CONTROL 
STRATEGY REPORT (INCSR) - VOLUME 1 
 
REF: STATE:97230 
 
BRUSSELS 00001514  001.2 OF 005 
 
 
¶I.  Summary 
 
¶1.  With a major world port at Antwerp, an airport with 
connections 
throughout Africa, and its proximity to major consumers in the 
United Kingdom (U.K.) and The Netherlands, Belgium has ecome 
a 
crucial transit point for a varietyof illegal drugs, 
especially 
cocaine and heroin.  Belgium is not a major market for illicit 
drugs, nor is it a major producer of illicit drugs or chemical 
precursors used for the production of illicit drugs.  Methods 
of 
shipment vary, but most drugs seized have been found in cargo 
freight, or taken from couriers using air transportation. 
 
¶2.  Belgian authorities take a proactive approach in 
interdicting drug 
shipments and cooperate with the U.S. and other foreign 
countries to 
help uncover distribution rings.  However, fighting the drug 
trafficking problem in Belgium can be difficult due to the 
large 
ethnic population centers, language, and cultural differences 
and 
the cross-border nature of the trafficking trend.  Belgium is 
a 
party to the 1988 United Nations (U.N.) Drug Convention, and 
is part 
of the Dublin Group of countries concerned with combating 
narcotics 
trafficking. 
 
II. Status of Country 
 
¶3.  Belgium remains a key transit point for illicit drugs 
bound for The 
Netherlands, the U.K. and other points in Western Europe. 
 
¶4.  The majority of large cocaine shipments are bound for The 
Netherlands, where Colombian groups continue to dominate drug 
trafficking. Significant seizures continue to be made, mainly 
in 
airfreight en route from South and Central America or West 
Africa. 
In 2008, a total of 3,852 kilograms of cocaine were 
interdicted.  To 
October 2009, 2,766.7 kilograms of cocaine were confiscated 
by the 
Belgian Federal Police (BFP). 
 
¶5.  Turkish groups, predominately from the Kurdish region of 
Turkey, 
control most of the heroin trafficked in Belgium.  This 
heroin is 
principally shipped through Belgium and The Netherlands to 
the U.K. 
Authorities find it difficult to penetrate Turkish trafficking 
groups responsible for heroin shipping and trafficking 
because of 
the language barrier and Turkish criminal groups' reluctance 
to work 
with non-Turkish ethnicities.  Belgium consumes an estimated 
4 tons 
of heroin per year, which is mostly accounted for by drug 
tourism 
from neighboring countries.  Belgian authorities seized a 
total of 
63 kilograms of heroin during 2008.  Between January and 
October 
2009, this heroin seizure amount rose to 198.9 kilograms. 
 
¶6.  Hashish and cannabis remain the most widely distributed 
and used 
illicit drugs in Belgium.  Although the bulk of the cannabis 
consumed in Belgium is produced in Morocco, domestic 
cultivation 
continues to be encountered.  Belgian authorities seized 4,891 
kilograms of marijuana and 1,529 kilograms of hashish during 
¶2008. 
Between January and October 2009, marijuana seizures totaled 
378.38 
kilograms and hashish seizures totaled 11,563 kilograms. 
 
¶7.  Belgium produces small amounts of Amphetamine Type 
 
BRUSSELS 00001514  002.2 OF 005 
 
 
Stimulants (ATS) 
and ecstasy.  Seizures of ATS and ecstasy have dropped 
compared to 
previous years.  During 2007, Belgian authorities seized 483.1 
kilograms of amphetamine and 541,245 ecstasy tablets.  These 
seizure 
numbers fell in 2008, with 411 kilograms of amphetamine and 
162,821 
ecstasy tablets seized.  Between January and October 2009, 
Belgian 
authorities have seized 34.24 kilograms of amphetamine and 
29,331 
ecstasy tablets. 
 
¶8.  Belgium has a substantial pharmaceutical production 
sector.  The 
country manufactures methamphetamine precursors to a very 
limited 
extent, but it is not a final destination for international 
shipments of these precursors.  The ephedrine market is mainly 
controlled by Mexicans who purchase both legal (i.e., cold 
medicine 
and dietary supplements) and illegal ephedrine, and ship it to 
Mexico, where it is used to produce methamphetamine for 
distribution 
in the U.S.  Since ephedrine is strictly regulated in the 
U.S., 
Belgium and other Western European countries have seen an 
increase 
in transshipments of ephedrine and other methamphetamine 
precursors. 
 The Belgian authorities reported the seizure of 13,400,000 
ephedrine pills in 2 incidents during 2008.  No figures for 
2009 are 
available.  The shipments seized in 2008 were reportedly 
destined 
for Mexico.  In instances where precursor diversion for 
methamphetamine manufacturing purposes was suspected, Belgian 
authorities have cooperated by executing international 
controlled 
deliveries (ICD) to the destinations, or by seizing the 
shipments 
when the ICD is not possible. 
 
¶9.  In the past, Israeli groups controlled most of the 
MDMA/ecstasy 
(3,4-methylenedioxy-methamphetamine) production and shipping 
to the 
U.S., but these organized crime groups have been disrupted by 
enforcement measures and their influence has diminished. 
 
¶10.  During 2008, Belgian authorities also encountered and 
seized 23 
liters of GHB, 5,119 kilograms of khat, 55 kilograms of 
phenacetine, 
0.6 kilograms of opium, and 10,240 pills of benzodiazepine. 
In 2009 
upto October, the BFP seized 88.1 liters of GHB, 758.9 
kilograms of 
khat, 55 kilograms of phenacetine, 4.5 kilograms of opium, 
and 6,180 
pills of benzodiazepine. 
 
III. Country Actions Against Drugs in 2009 
 
¶11.  Policy Initiatives.  Belgium is a major backer for COSPOL 
(Comprehensive Operational Strategic Planning for the 
Police), which 
is a new methodology for multinational police cooperation. 
This 
program was created for the Police Chiefs Task Force 
functioning 
under direction of the European Union.  At a recent COSPOL 
meeting, 
Belgian and other EU police officials discussed plans to share 
information in order to create a database of places 
indicating where 
illicit lab equipment and drug producing chemicals are 
shipped and 
manufactured.  The database also includes information on the 
trade 
in drug related chemicals and laboratory materials. 
 
¶12.  Belgium also participates in "Drugwatch", a non-profit 
information 
network and advocacy organization that provides policymakers, 
media 
 
BRUSSELS 00001514  003.2 OF 005 
 
 
and the public with current narcotics information.  In 
cooperation 
with "Drugwatch", Belgium is participating in a program 
focused on 
monitoring the internet to identify narcotic sale and 
production in 
Belgium. 
 
¶13.  The Federal Prosecutor's Office, established in 2002, 
works to 
centralize and facilitate mutual legal assistance requests on 
drug 
trafficking investigations and prosecutions. 
 
¶14.  Law Enforcement Efforts.  Belgian law enforcement 
authorities 
actively investigate individuals and organizations involved in 
illegal narcotics trafficking.  In keeping with Belgium's drug 
control strategy, efforts are focused on combating synthetic 
drugs, 
heroin and cocaine, and more recently, cannabis.  Belgian 
authorities continue to cooperate closely and effectively 
with DEA 
officials stationed in Brussels.  At Brussels' Zaventem 
International Airport, non-uniformed police search for drug 
couriers 
and continue to be proficient.  Authorities utilize canine and 
aerial apprehension strategies on both the local and federal 
levels 
to help fight illicit drug production and shipment in 
Belgium.  The 
Canine Support Service (DSCH) has trained dog teams to search 
for 
drugs.  Dog teams are used mostly in airports and train 
stations, 
while the Aerial Support Service (DSAS) has made a concerted 
effort 
to increase the number of hours it spends in the sky in an 
attempt 
to detect drug laboratories across the nation.  Belgium 
participates 
in a recent initiative to set up a database for European 
airports. 
The database is used to transfer narcotic related information 
to 
airports throughout Europe in order to increase cooperation 
among 
police forces and governments. 
 
¶15.  Corruption.  Legal measures exist to combat and punish 
corruption. 
No serious cases of corruption related to drugs have been 
uncovered 
in Belgium thus far in 2009.   Money laundering has been 
illegal in 
Belgium since 1993, and the country's Financial Intelligence 
Unit 
(FIU) (CTIF-CFI) is continually active in efforts to 
investigate 
money laundering.  No senior official of the Belgian 
government is 
known to have engaged in, encouraged or facilitated the 
illicit 
production or distribution of drugs and illegal substances, 
or the 
laundering of proceeds from illegal drug transactions thus 
far in 
¶2009. 
 
¶16.  Agreements and Treaties.  Belgium is party to the 1988 
U.N. Drug 
Convention, the 1961 U.N. Single Convention as amended by the 
1972 
Protocol, and the 1971 U.N. Convention on Psychotropic 
Substances. 
Belgium also is a party to the U.N. Convention against 
Corruption, 
the U.N. Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and 
its 
protocols against migrant smuggling, trafficking in persons, 
and 
illegal manufacturing and trafficking of firearms.  The U.S. 
and 
Belgium have an extradition treaty and a Mutual Legal 
Assistance 
treaty (MLAT).  Belgium ratified the new U.S./E.U. MLAT and 
Extradition Agreements in 2009.  Under a bilateral agreement 
 
BRUSSELS 00001514  004.2 OF 005 
 
 
with 
the U.S., as part of the U.S. Container Security Initiative 
(CSI), 
U.S. Customs officials are stationed at the Port of Antwerp 
to serve 
as observers and advisors to Belgian Customs inspectors on 
U.S.-bound sea freight shipments.  Belgium also has an MOU 
with the 
USG to carry U.S. Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachments 
(LEDET) on 
Belgian Navy vessels in the Caribbean Sea. 
 
¶17.  Cultivation/Production.  Belgium's role as a transit 
point for major 
drug shipments, particularly heroin and cocaine, is more 
significant 
than its own production of illegal drugs.  However, 
cultivation of 
cannabis increasingly involves elaborate, large-scale indoor 
operations in Belgium, particularly near The Netherlands, and 
increasingly in other regions.  Dutch traffickers are 
frequently 
connected to these production operations. Belgian authorities 
seized 
113,513 marijuana plants during 2008.  Initial statistics for 
this 
year show that 422 cannabis plantations have been dismantled 
between 
January and October 2009 in Belgium.  The dismantled 
plantations had 
a total capacity of 178,055 plants. 
 
¶18.  Dutch traffickers are involved in Belgium's production of 
Amphetamine-Type Stimulants (ATS).  As Dutch law enforcement 
pressures mount on producers of ecstasy and other ATS in The 
Netherlands, some Dutch producers either look to Belgian 
producers 
to meet their supply needs, or to establish their own 
facilities in 
Belgium.  During 2008, Belgian authorities discovered 6 
synthetic 
drug laboratories: 4 amphetamine labs, 1 GHB lab, and 1 
ecstasy lab. 
 Between January and October 2009, Belgian authorities seized 
2 
synthetic drug laboratories, both described as "kitchen labs" 
and 
have also seized 4 synthetic drug waste dumpsites. 
 
¶19.  Drug Flow/Transit.  Belgium is an important transit 
point for 
illegal drug trafficking in Europe.  It has been estimated 
that 
about 25 percent of drugs from South America moving through 
Europe 
eventually transit Belgium, especially cocaine.  These drugs 
are 
ultimately shipped to the U.K., The Netherlands, and other 
points in 
Western Europe. Antwerp's port continues to be one of the 
preferred 
transit points for cocaine imported to Europe.  The flow of 
cocaine 
to Belgium is mainly controlled by Colombian organizations 
with 
representative residing in Africa and in the local region. 
Some 
Antwerp port employees have been documented as being involved 
in the 
receipt and off-loading of cocaine upon arrival at the port. 
Zaventem National Airport has become a major point of entry 
for 
couriers, who hide drugs in their baggage or on their persons. 
Most of the cocaine originates in South America and transits 
through 
either West Africa or other countries in South America; 
however, 
between January and October 2009, cocaine couriers reportedly 
departed from Central and South America more often than from 
West 
Africa.  The other active cocaine trafficking groups in 
Belgium are 
Surinamese, Chilean, Ecuadorian, and Israeli. 
 
¶20.  The Port of Antwerp is also an important transit point 
for cannabis 
and hashish.  The Netherlands continues to supply both 
 
BRUSSELS 00001514  005.2 OF 005 
 
 
marijuana and 
hashish to Belgian traffickers.  Belgium remains a transit 
country 
for heroin destined for the British market.  Seizures over 
the past 
five years and intelligence indicate that Belgium continues 
to be a 
secondary distribution and packaging center for heroin coming 
along 
the Balkan Route.  Turkish groups dominate the trafficking of 
heroin 
in Belgium.  The Belgian Federal Police have identified 
commercial 
(TIR) trucks from Turkey as the single largest transportation 
mechanism for westbound heroin entering Belgium. 
 
¶21.  Domestic Programs.  Belgium has an active drug education 
program 
administered by the regional governments (Flanders, Wallonia, 
and 
Brussels), which targets the country's youth.  These programs 
include education campaigns, drug hotlines, HIV and hepatitis 
prevention programs, detoxification programs, and a pilot 
program 
for "drug-free" prison sections.  Belgium continues to direct 
its 
programs at individuals who influence young people versus 
young 
people themselves.  In general, Belgian society views 
teachers, 
coaches, clergy, and other adults as better suited to deliver 
the 
counter-narcotics message to the target audience because they 
already are known and respected by young people. 
 
IV. U.S.  Policy Initiatives and Programs 
 
¶22.  Bilateral Cooperation.  The U.S. and Belgium regularly 
share 
drug-related information.  Counter narcotics officials in the 
BFP, 
Federal Prosecutor's Office, and Ministry of Justice are fully 
engaged with their U.S. counterparts.  The U.S. continues to 
coordinate with Belgian authorities to identify and 
investigate both 
suppliers and shippers of precursor chemicals. The U.S. 
trained and 
certified several Belgian Federal Officers in clandestine 
laboratory 
search and seizure methods. 
 
¶23.  The Road Ahead.  Belgium has always been open to 
international 
support to combat illicit drug trafficking and production. 
The U.S. 
looks forward to continued cooperation and support from 
Belgium in 
combating drug-related crime. 
 
GUTMAN 
.