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RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 3703

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 KATHMANDU 000991 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR INL AND SCA/INSB 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV SNAR NP
SUBJECT: NEPAL: DRAFT 2010 INTERNATIONAL NARCOTICS CONTROL 
STRATEGY REPORT (INCSR) PART I - NARCOTICS 
 
REF: STATE 97228 
 
¶1.  Summary:  Although Nepal is neither a significant 
producer of nor a major transit route for narcotic drugs, 
some hashish, heroin and domestically produced cannabis and 
opium are trafficked to and through Nepal every year. 
Nepal's Narcotics Drug Control Law Enforcement Unit (NDCLEU) 
reports that more Nepalese citizens are investing in, and 
taking a larger role in running, trafficking operations. 
Customs and border controls remain weak, but international 
cooperation has resulted in increased narcotics-related 
indictments in Nepal and abroad.  Nepalese officials claim 
law enforcement efforts have improved in 2009 over previous 
years, but limited resources hinder the development of a 
robust counternarcotics program.  Narcotics-related 
legislation has been pending for several years.  Nepal is a 
party to the 1988 UN Drug Convention. 
 
Status of Country 
----------------- 
¶2.  Police confirm the production of cannabis is on the rise 
in the southern areas of Nepal, most destined for the Indian 
market.  Abuse of locally grown and wild cannabis and locally 
produced hashish, which are marketed in freelance operations, 
remains widespread.  Heroin from Southwest and Southeast Asia 
is smuggled into Nepal across the porous border with India 
and through Kathmandu's international airport.  Legal, 
medicinal drugs continue to be abused.  Nepal is not a 
producer of chemical precursors but serves as a transit route 
for precursor traffic between India and China. 
 
¶3.  Monitoring and interdiction efforts have improved since 
the official end in 2006 of the Maoist insurgency, which had 
obstructed rule-of-law and counternarcotic efforts in many 
parts of the country.  The Nepalese government has committed 
to enhance overall law enforcement; however, the government 
has given little attention to narcotics-specific initiatives. 
 
Country Actions against Drugs in 2009 
------------------------------------- 
¶4.  Policy initiatives:  Nepal's basic drug law is the 
Narcotic Drugs Control Act, 2033 (1976).  Under the law, the 
cultivation, production, preparation, manufacture, export, 
import, purchase, possession, sale, and consumption of most 
commonly abused drugs are illegal.  The Narcotics Control 
Act, amended last in 1993, conforms in part to the 1961 UN 
Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs and its 1972 Protocol by 
addressing narcotics production, manufacture, sales, import, 
and export.  The government plans to amend the Act to 
incorporate provisions for psychotropic substances, demand 
reduction, treatment and rehabilitation. 
 
¶5.  In 2006, the Home Ministry updated its Narcotics Control 
National Policy.  Noting the growing incidence of HIV 
infection among narcotics-using sex workers, abuse of 
narcotics and psychotropic medicines among youth, and illicit 
trafficking by organized crime groups, the revised policy 
attempts to address these concerns in a more "transparent and 
enforceable" manner.  It consists of five strategies to 
control drug production, abuse and trafficking: (1) supply 
control, (2) demand reduction (treatment and rehabilitation 
and drug abuse prevention), (3) risk reduction, (4) research 
and development, and (5) collaboration and resource 
mobilization. 
 
¶6.  To ensure institutional support, the 2006 policy called 
for the creation of a Narcotics Control Bureau in the 
Ministry of Home Affairs that would include the NDCLEU and a 
special Nepal Police Task Force trained in counternarcotics. 
As of November 2009, the government has not decided when or 
how to implement this Bureau.  In addition, the National 
Policy restructured a high-level Narcotics Control National 
Guidance and Coordination Committee, chaired by the Home 
Minister, and a Narcotics Control Executive Committee, 
chaired by the Home Secretary.  These entities in theory 
oversee all narcotics control programs, law enforcement 
activities, and legal reforms but appear to be more 
 
KATHMANDU 00000991  002 OF 004 
 
 
provisional than progressive. 
 
¶7.  Nepal enacted legislation on asset seizures in January 
2008 and continues to implement a National Drug Abuse Control 
Plan (NDACP), but other proposed efforts still await 
legislative approval.  Legislative action on mutual legal 
assistance and witness protection, developed as part of the 
NDACP, has stalled for yet another year.  The government has 
not submitted scheduled amendments to its Customs Act to 
control precursor chemicals.  All are pending review by the 
Ministry of Law and Justice.  Legislation on criminal 
conspiracy has not yet been drafted.  Police report the 
government plans to launch an unspecified program to improve 
narcotics control, but continued lack of resources and 
funding would render it ineffective.  Narcotics officials 
claim Nepal's current political instability is not the 
primary hindrance to policy objectives; general lack of 
political will is. 
 
¶8.  In response to reports from the NDCLEU of increased 
trafficking and criminal behavior among tourists, the 
government has restricted the travel of several countries' 
national to Nepal.  Citizens of Nigeria, Swaziland, Ghana, 
Zimbabwe, Iraq, Afghanistan, and residents of the Palestinian 
territories are unable to obtain visas on arrival.  The Home 
Ministry and the NDCLEU reported that Nigerians in particular 
have traveled on false passports to Nepal, via South Africa 
and India, to widen their organized crime network. 
 
¶9.  Law Enforcement Efforts:  Limited human resources and 
inadequate technological equipment constrain the 
effectiveness of the NDCLEU's intelligence and law 
enforcement operations.  The NDCLEU and Nepal's customs and 
immigration services are improving coordination and 
cooperation.  Narcotics officials admit the destruction of 
areas of illicit drugs cultivation is not as effective as it 
could be; statistical data indicate a sizeable drop in area 
destroyed over each year in 2009, 2008 and 2007.  As of 
October 2009, 62 hectares of cannabis cultivation were 
destroyed, compared to 105 hectares in 2008, 211 hectares in 
2007, and 328 hectares in 2006.  In contrast, the area of 
opium destruction has increased.  The NDCLEU reports that as 
of October 2009, 35 hectares of opium were destroyed, 
compared to 21 hectares in 2008.  Data were unavailable for 
2007; in 2006, 0.5 hectare (19 plants) of opium was destroyed. 
 
¶10.  As of September 2009, police exceeded the number of 
arrests and drug seizures they made in all of 2008.  From 
January - September 2009, police arrested 675 individuals 
(626 Nepalese citizens and 49 foreigners) on the basis of 
drug trafficking charges.  Most of the individuals who were 
non-Nepalese were Indian nationals; the remainders were from 
Pakistan, Poland, Nigeria, Tanzania, Mozambique and Iran.  No 
American citizens were arrested in Nepal for drug trafficking 
in 2009.  In all of 2008, police arrested 634 individuals 
(562 Nepalese citizens and 72 foreigners).  Local police made 
approximately 86 percent of the arrests in 2009, while the 
NDCLEU accounted for the remaining 14 percent.  In the same 
time period, the NDCLEU and local units reportedly seized 
almost 16,000 kg of cannabis, a noticeable increase over the 
9,613 kg seized in 2008 and twice the amount (8,093 kg) 
seized in 2007.  The NDCLEU reports conflicting data for 
heroin seizures, between 14 kg and 28.8 kg for January - 
September 2009.  Most of the seizures were of "brown sugar" 
-- low quality heroin smuggled from India.  Police made 
relatively few seizures of more expensive white heroin from 
Afghanistan although noted an increase in 2009 in white 
heroin transiting Nepal to foreign markets.  Most seizures of 
heroin and hashish occurred along the Nepal-India border, 
within Kathmandu, or at Kathmandu's Tribhuvan International 
Airport (TIA) as passengers departed Nepal.  The NDCLEU 
reported the seizure of 255 kg of opium through September 
2009, more than twice the 105 kg documented in 2008.  There 
were no opium seizures in 2007. 
 
¶11.  Corruption:  Nepal has no laws specifically targeting 
narcotics-related corruption by government officials, 
 
KATHMANDU 00000991  003 OF 004 
 
 
although provisions in both the Narcotics Control Drug Act of 
1976 and Nepal's anticorruption legislation can be employed 
to prosecute any narcotics-related corruption.  As a matter 
of government policy, Nepal neither encourages nor 
facilitates illicit production of narcotics, psychotropic 
drugs, or other controlled substances, nor the laundering of 
proceeds from illegal drug transactions. 
 
¶12.  Agreements and Treaties:  Nepal is party to the 1988 UN 
Drug Convention, the 1961 UN Single Convention, as amended by 
the 1972 Protocol, and the 1971 UN Convention on Psychotropic 
Substances.  Nepal has signed, but has not yet ratified, the 
UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and the 
UN Convention against Corruption.  Nepal does not have an 
extradition or mutual legal assistance treaties with the 
United States. 
 
¶13.  Cultivation/Production:  Nepalese drug enforcement 
officials noted an increase in cannabis and illicit opium 
production in 2009 attributable to the failure of other crops 
because of poor weather and environmental conditions. 
Cannabis is an indigenous plant in Nepal, and cultivation of 
certain selected varieties is rising, particularly in the 
lowland region of the Terai.  Small-scale cultivation of 
opium poppy that exists in Nepal is difficult to detect 
because it is intercropped among licit crops.  All heroin 
seized in Nepal originated elsewhere.  Nepal does not produce 
precursor chemicals.  Importers of dual-use precursor 
chemicals must obtain a license and submit bimonthly reports 
on usage to the Home Ministry. 
 
¶14.  According to the Home Ministry, there have been no 
seizures of precursor chemicals in the past decade.  There 
have been no reports on the illicit use of licensed, 
imported, dual-use precursor chemicals.  Nepal is used as a 
transit route to move precursor chemicals between India and 
China.  After the ratification of the SAARC Convention on 
Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances, which holds 
countries liable for policing precursor chemicals, the Home 
Ministry asserted control over precursor chemicals.  The 
NDCLEU worked with the Home Ministry to develop a voluntary 
code of conduct for importers, cargo shippers, couriers, 
manufacturers, and the pharmaceutical industry.  Official 
implementation of the code is pending as of November 2009. 
Additionally, a proposed amendment to the Narcotics Drugs 
Control Act regarding the control and regulation of precursor 
chemicals remains under review. 
 
¶15.  Drug Flow/Transit:  According to the NDCLEU, evidence 
from narcotics seizures suggests that narcotics transit Nepal 
from India, Pakistan and Afghanistan to other countries in 
the region and to China, Iran, Europe, the United States and 
Canada.  In 2008, police for the first time seized 50 kg of 
phenobarbitone in transit to Pakistan and 800 grams of 
methamphetamine in transit to Iran.  Media reports have 
claimed that most narcotics are bound for India, and law 
enforcement sources indicated that most seizures do occur at 
the India-Nepal border.  Narcotics officials claim law 
enforcement efforts are improving.  Nevertheless, customs and 
border controls are weak along Nepal's land borders with 
India and China, with the Indian border essentially open. 
Security measures to interdict narcotics and contraband at 
TIA and at Nepal's regional airports with direct flights to 
India are also inadequate.  The Nepalese government, along 
with other governments, is working to increase the level of 
security at the international airport.  The NDCLEU has noted 
an increase in arrests of Nepalese couriers in other 
countries in recent years as an indication that Nepalis were 
becoming more involved in the drug trade both as couriers and 
as traffickers.  This also suggests that Nepal may be 
increasingly used as a transit point for destinations in 
South and East Asia, as well as in Europe.  The NDCLEU has 
also identified the United States as a final destination for 
some drugs transiting Nepal, typically routed through 
Thailand, China and Indonesia. 
 
¶16.  Domestic Programs/Demand Reduction:  The Nepalese 
 
KATHMANDU 00000991  004 OF 004 
 
 
government continues to implement its national drug demand 
reduction strategy with assistance from the United States, 
UNODC, donor agencies, and NGOs.  Budgetary constraints and 
limited political interest have limited significant progress 
beyond donor and NGO-funded education and awareness programs. 
 The NDCLEU in 2009 conducted three training programs for 
field-level officers from a number of GON law enforcement 
agencies and ministries.  The NDCLEU also began awareness 
sessions for postal and courier services. 
 
U.S. Policy Initiatives and Programs 
------------------------------------ 
¶17.  Policy Initiatives:  U.S. policy is to strengthen 
Nepal's law enforcement capacity to combat narcotics 
trafficking and related crimes, to maintain positive 
bilateral cooperation, and to encourage Nepal to enact and 
implement appropriate laws and regulations to meet all 
objectives of the 1988 UN Drug Convention. 
 
¶18.  Bilateral Cooperation:  Funding cuts for U.S. law 
enforcement assistance programs in Nepal have reduced 
technical support and training for police in narcotics 
control and related programs.  Nonetheless, the United States 
is committed to working with Nepalese government agencies to 
provide expertise and training in law enforcement.  Nepal 
exchanges drug trafficking information with regional 
neighbors and occasionally with destination countries in 
Europe in connection with international narcotics 
investigations and proceedings. 
 
¶19.  The Road Ahead:  The United States will continue 
information exchanges, training, and enforcement cooperation. 
 The United States will provide support to various parts of 
the legal establishment to combat corruption and improve rule 
of law, as well as support improvements in the Nepalese 
border and customs services.  The United States also will 
encourage the Nepalese government to enact stalled drug 
legislation. 
MOON