VZCZCXRO5370
RR RUEHIK
DE RUEHSF #0683/01 3361553
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 021553Z DEC 09
FM AMEMBASSY SOFIA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 6510
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 SOFIA 000683 
 
DEPT FOR INL JLYLE 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV SNAR BU
SUBJECT: BULGARIA: 2009-2010 INCSR, PART I 
 
REFS: SECSTATE 97728 
 
SOFIA 00000683  001.2 OF 003 
 
 
¶1.  Per reftel instructions, Post submits the following text for the 
2009-2010 INCSR, Part 1. 
 
BEGIN TEXT 
 
Bulgaria 
 
¶I. Summary 
 
Bulgaria is a transit country for heroin and cocaine, as well as a 
producer of illicit narcotics.  Astride Balkan transit routes, 
Bulgaria is vulnerable to illegal flows of drugs, people, 
contraband, and money.  Heroin distributed in Europe moves through 
Bulgaria from Southwest Asia and via the Northern Balkan route, 
while chemicals used for making heroin move through Bulgaria to 
Turkey and the Middle East.  Marijuana and cocaine are also 
transported through Bulgaria.  The Bulgarian government is very 
cooperative, working with many U.S. agencies, especially DEA, and 
has reached out to neighboring states to cooperate in interdicting 
the illegal flow of drugs and persons.  Despite formidable 
challenges, including an overly formulistic legal system and 
longstanding problems with corruption, the newly elected Bulgarian 
government has shown a strong commitment to reforming its law 
enforcement agencies and judiciary.  At the end of the year, the 
government pushed legislation to improve its ability to investigate, 
prosecute, and adjudicate illicit narcotics trafficking cases and 
other serious crimes.  Parliament is also reviewing legislation to 
close legal loopholes used by organized crime and drug kingpins to 
avoid sentencing.  End Summary 
 
II. Status of the Country 
 
Bulgaria continues to be primarily a drug transit country for heroin 
and cocaine.  Cannabis was the most used drug in Bulgaria followed 
by synthetics.  Heroin use remained constant during the year with 
experts estimating the number of heroin users to be 20,000 to 30,000 
in 2009.  Consumption of cocaine, primarily consumed by the wealthy, 
continued to increase.  Despite success in reducing locally produced 
synthetic drugs, according to NGOs and international observers, 
Bulgaria continues to be a source of some synthetic drug production, 
including amphetamines, which are produced for the domestic market 
and exported to Turkey.  The new government, elected in July, 
stepped up efforts to combat organized crime and drug trafficking. 
Upon taking office of the agency widely believed to be one of the 
most corrupt Bulgarian institutions, the new customs chief 
implemented reforms, including firing 104 unqualified or corrupt 
employees.  From July to October, customs seized 860 kilos of drugs 
compared to 169 kilos seized from January to June, a 408 percent 
increase.  In October, the new government created anticorruption and 
organized crime joint taskforces to target high level organized 
crime members, including known drug traffickers.  Despite progress 
in reforming law enforcement agencies and proposal of new 
legislation, a lack of financing, inadequate equipment, lingering 
corruption, and excessively formalistic judicial procedures continue 
to be challenges in counternarcotics efforts.  The new government 
has proposed amendments to the criminal procedure code to streamline 
evidence collection, expedite the judicial process, and close legal 
loopholes. 
 
III. Country Actions Against Drugs 
 
Policy Initiatives.  The Bulgarian government adopted a new 
five-year National Strategy for Drug Control (2009 - 2013) in May. 
Proposed changes to the criminal procedure code being debated in 
parliament would streamline evidence collection, expedite the 
judicial process, and close legal loopholes that organized crime 
figures and known drug traffickers use to avoid sentencing.  The new 
government is also pushing through legislation to strengthen its 
asset forfeiture laws, which would prevent drug kingpins from 
transferring assets to family members or associates. 
 
Law Enforcement Efforts.  The Customs Agency under the Ministry of 
Finance and the Ministry of Interior (MOI), along with several 
specialized police services under the MOI, including the Border 
Police and the Directorate for Combating Organized and Serious 
Crime, are engaged in counternarcotics efforts.  In November, the 
parliament passed a high-profile bill to reform the State Agency for 
National Security (DANS), clarifying its law enforcement role in 
relation to the Ministry of Interior.  The bill removed organized 
crime, drugs, dual use goods, and transborder crime from the 
agency's jurisdiction, and prohibited DANS from conducting 
controlled delivery and undercover operations.  The bill was widely 
viewed as a step in the right direction by local observers and 
Bulgarian law enforcement, as it clarified the role and 
responsibility of relevant agencies. 
 
Law enforcement bodies generally maintained drug seizures, despite a 
noticeable decrease in the first half of the year.  From January to 
 
SOFIA 00000683  002.2 OF 003 
 
 
November 2009, police seized 166 kg of heroin, 0.4 kg of cocaine, 
255 kg of amphetamines, 543 tablets of psychotropic substances, 8 kg 
of marijuana, and 9,301 kg of cannabis.  From January to November, 
the Customs Agency seized 719 kg of heroin, 234 kg of cocaine, 23 kg 
of ecstasy, 5 kg of marijuana, 44 kg of hashish and 588 tablets of 
psychotropic substances.  Bulgarian authorities shared information 
and developed joint operations with international law enforcement 
agencies.  Police and prosecutors also worked with foreign 
counterparts to obtain evidence on the use of offshore corporations 
and bank accounts by Bulgarian money launderers to hide drug 
proceeds.  Bulgaria's Commission for asset forfeiture (an 
independent agency) filed charges under Bulgarian law against a U.S. 
cocaine trafficker convicted in federal court in Miami, using that 
U.S. conviction to proceed against his properties in Bulgaria.  From 
January to June there were 1453 investigations, 1042 prosecutions 
and 872 convictions for drug crimes. 
 
Corruption remains a serious problem in law enforcement and the 
judiciary.  Despite some reforms, the judiciary as a whole (which 
includes prosecutors and judges) consistently receives poor scores 
in the area of public confidence in opinion polls.  As a matter of 
government policy, Bulgaria 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.  There is also no evidence that senior 
Bulgarian officials engage in these activities. 
 
Agreements and Treaties.  Bulgaria is a party to the 1988 UN Drug 
Convention, the 1961 Single Convention as amended by its 1972 
Protocol, the 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances and the 
1990 Council of Europe Convention on Laundering, Search, Seizure and 
Confiscation of Proceeds from Crime.  Bulgaria is a party to the UN 
Convention against Corruption and the UN Convention against 
Transnational Organized Crime and its three Protocols.  A new 
U.S.-Bulgarian Extradition Treaty entered into force in 2009, which 
for the first time allowed for the extradition of Bulgarian 
nationals on drug trafficking charges. 
 
Cultivation and Production.  The only illicit drug crop known to be 
cultivated in Bulgaria is cannabis, primarily for domestic 
consumption.  The full extent of this illicit drug cultivation is 
not precisely known, but is a major source of supplementary income 
for retirees in some areas in the southwestern part of the country. 
Experts ascribe cultivation of cannabis to the ready availability of 
uncultivated land and Bulgaria's amenable climate, particularly 
along the Greek border.  Cannabis is not trafficked significantly 
beyond Bulgaria's own borders.  Recent evidence suggests that there 
has been a decrease in the indigenous manufacture of synthetic 
stimulant products after some illegal laboratories relocated to 
Eastern Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, and Armenia in order to be closer to 
consumers and to reduce risks associated with border crossings. 
According to the MOI, amphetamine derivates are not produced in 
Bulgaria.  Local production of amphetamines, mainly for the local 
market, usually takes place in small laboratories with limited 
capacity.  From January to November the police closed five such 
facilities. 
 
Drug Flow/Transit.  Synthetic drugs, heroin, and cocaine are the 
main drugs transported through Bulgaria.  Heroin from the Golden 
Crescent in Southwest Asia has traditionally been trafficked to 
Western Europe on the Balkan route from Turkey.  The trend of heroin 
traffic moving by the more circuitous routes through the Caucasus 
and Russia to the north and through the Mediterranean to the south 
is strengthening.  Other trafficking routes crossing Bulgaria pass 
through Serbia, Montenegro, Kosovo and Macedonia.  In addition to 
heroin and synthetic drugs, smaller amounts of marijuana and cocaine 
also transit through Bulgaria.  Sporadic cocaine shipments from 
South America are transported via boat to the Black Sea and Greece, 
then on to Western Europe.  Precursor chemicals for the production 
of heroin pass from the Western Balkans through Bulgaria to Turkey 
and on to Afghanistan.  Synthetic drugs produced in Bulgaria are 
also trafficked through Turkey to markets in Southwest Asia. 
Principal methods of transport for heroin and synthetics include 
buses, vans, TIR trucks, and cars, with smaller amounts sent by air. 
 Cocaine is primarily trafficked into Bulgaria by air in small 
quantities, and by motor vehicles and maritime vessels in larger 
quantities. 
 
Domestic Programs/Demand Reduction.  The Bulgarian government 
includes methadone maintenance as a heroin treatment option in the 
national healthcare system.  Nationwide there are 30 outpatient 
units offering drug substitution programs with the capacity to treat 
5,560 patients and 15 inpatient clinics with the capacity to treat 
approximately 2,000 drug addicts and alcoholics.  None of these 
facilities has a separate unit for juvenile patients.  In addition, 
there are seven social rehabilitation programs, two of which are 
long-term community based programs.  The Bulgarian National Center 
for Addictions (NCA), co-funded by the EU Monitoring Center for Drug 
Addictions, conducts prevention campaigns. There are 26 regional 
councils on narcotics implementing national drug prevention policy 
 
SOFIA 00000683  003.2 OF 003 
 
 
at the local level and 22 information centers.  The information 
centers, financially supported by the municipalities, have been 
consistently under-funded which adversely effects staff retention. 
According to press reports, more than 30 percent of high school 
students reported having tried marijuana, and five percent report 
having used amphetamines at least once.  According to the National 
Focal Center for Drugs and Addictions, Bulgaria now has more than 
20,000 - 30,000 heroin addicts of which just 4,000 - 5,000 undergo 
treatment each year.  Officials estimate that there are between 
40,000 to 45,000 drug addicts total.  In 2008, the National 
Statistical Institute reported 74 drug-related deaths, compared to 
52 in 2007. 
 
U.S. Policy Initiatives and Programs 
 
Bilateral Cooperation.  DEA operations for Bulgaria are managed from 
the U.S. Consulate General in Istanbul.  DEA's current emphasis in 
Bulgaria is on conducting and coordinating joint international 
investigations with MOI counterparts and providing DEA technical and 
legal expertise and assistance.  DEA also strives to arrange for 
counter-narcotics training for Bulgarian law enforcement personnel. 
A joint operation between DEA and local police resulted in closing a 
laboratory for synthetic drugs production near Sofia and seizing 150 
kg of amphetamine tablets and 2.5 kg of amphetamine substances.  A 
DOJ resident legal advisor, funded by State Department INL 
assistance, works with the Bulgarian government on law enforcement 
issues, including trafficking in drugs and persons, intellectual 
property, cyber-crime, and other issues.  A DOJ prosecutor advises 
the Bulgarian government on organized crime cases.  Although final 
approval has still not come from Washington, DEA has plans to create 
a full-time presence in Bulgaria, a move strongly supported by the 
mission. 
 
The Road Ahead.  The new Bulgarian government has demonstrated 
initial political will to combat major organized crime rings and has 
begun prosecuting numerous cases of high-level corruption.  The U.S. 
government will continue to actively support Bulgaria's efforts to 
strengthen its asset forfeiture, money laundering, and 
anti-corruption laws.  Increased international assistance and 
engagement on law enforcement and judicial reform would boost 
Bulgaria's internal capacity and bolster new reforms.  A permanent 
DEA office in Bulgaria would greatly enhance cooperation and further 
strengthen efforts to dismantle major drug trafficking networks. 
 
END TEXT 
 
¶2.  POC for this report is Political Officer Joshua Temblador, 
tembladorj@state.gov.