BURMA COUNTERNARCOTICS PROGRAM: RESULTS, RESULTS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 RANGOON 001415 SIPDIS STATE FOR EAP/BCLTV AND INL/AAE TREASURY FOR OASIA DEA FOR OF, OFF USCINCPAC FOR FPA JUSTICE FOR MARY LEE WARREN E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/03/2012 TAGS: SNAR KCRM BM SUBJECT: BURMA COUNTERNARCOTICS PROGRAM: RESULTS, RESULTS AND MORE RESULTS REF: A. (A) STATE 157297 ¶B. (B) RANGOON 1355 ¶C. (C) STATE 196745 ¶D. (D) RANGOON 1351 ¶E. (E) STATE 204763 ¶F. (F) STATE 215837 Classified By: COM Carmen Martinez. Reason: 1.5 (d). ¶1. (U) Summary: The GOB has provided a response to our request for additional information on Burma's performance in regard to the criteria set by the U.S. government for certification of its counternarcotics efforts in 2002. Included in the package are: -- statistics on all seizures of narcotic drugs and precursor chemicals in 2001 and 2002; -- a status report on all cases prosecuted under Burma's counternarcotics laws in 2001 and 2002; -- GPS coordinates for all Burmese eradication programs in 2001 and 2002; -- GPS coordinates and case details on all heroin refineries destroyed in 2001 and 2002; -- A listing of all major seizures of narcotics and precursor chemicals in 2001 and 2002 with names, dates, and map references; -- Details on the repeated on-site visits made by U.S. and UNDCP representatives to opium producing regions in Burma in connection with the annual opium surveys done by both the United States and UNDCP; and -- Details on the seizure and destruction of opium poppy seeds in 2001 and 2002. ¶2. (U) The entire package testifies to a strong effort that was also documented in our first report (ref B) on Burma's counternarcotics efforts. Burma has reduced opium production to less than one-quarter of its level in 1996; it has cooperated effectively with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the Australian Federal Police; it has established productive cooperative arrangements with China, Thailand, and other regional states; it has participated effectively in multilateral arrangements organized by UNDCP to curb trafficking in the region; it has enacted powerful new money laundering legislation under which the first prosecutions are already being prepared; and, working in particular with China, it has curbed the activities of drug gangs operating in cease-fire areas governed by the United Wa State Army, the Kokang Chinese, and others. Even the reported decline in seizures of precursor chemicals and methamphetamine tablets in 2002 is probably testimony to the impact of Chinese/Burmese pressure on drug producing gangs that are either being forced out of Burma or shut down altogether. Provided public order holds together here, we also believe Burma could be one of the world's few outright success stories in regards to narcotics control over the next half decade. End Summary. ¶3. (U) We have faxed copies of the GOB's latest report to INL/AAE Director Bill Bach and EAP/BCLTV Desk Officer Josh Glazeroff. INL/AAE Southeast Asia desk officer John Underriner also carried a copy of these materials back to Washington. The following is the essence of the report: ¶4. (U) Objective 1 - Drug Traffickers The GOB has brought more than 4,000 separate cases against narcotics traffickers over the past two years; 2,592 of these cases were prosecuted in 2001; 1,475 during the first seven months of 2002. Of all these cases, 172 were dismissed for lack of sufficient evidence and 259 defendants were acquitted. The remainder (a total of 3,853 over the full nineteen months) were convicted. Six were given the death penalty; 137 were given "unlimited" sentences; 10 were given life sentences; 1,927 were given sentences in excess of 10 years, and the remainder were given sentences of less than 10 years. ¶5. (U) Objective 2 - Eradication, narcotics seizures, and the destruction of meth labs and heroin refineries. Eradication: The GOB eradicated more than 50,000 acres of opium poppy over the past two crop years. Of this, 26,113 acres were destroyed during the 2000/01 crop year; 25,862 hectares during 2001/02. It has also provided GPS coordinates for verification purposes for 44 sites where major eradication efforts took place in 2000/01 and/or 2001/02. In addition, the GOB burned 164,000 kilos of poppy seeds capable of seeding more than 40,000 hectares during the six month period between April and October 2002. According to Brigadier General Kyaw Thein, the head of MI's counternarcotics division, the destruction of those seeds, together with continued pressure on the Kokang Chinese and other cease-fire groups, should reduce the acreage under opium cultivation by about half in 2003. Monitoring and Verification Visits: USG and/or UNDCP personnel visited every major poppy growing district in Burma, including every township in Wa controlled areas, as part of our opium survey programs in 2002. Details on the complete coverage afforded by the two surveys are available in UNDCP's Report on its 2002 Opium Survey and the USG's report on Joint US/Burma Opium Yield Survey. The complete coverage of the UNDCP survey, in particular, accounts for the virtually complete agreement between the two surveys on the current extent of opium cultivation and its steep decline over the past five years. Similar programs are planned for ¶2003. Seizures: Through October 2002, the GOB has seized 1,631 kilos of opium, 285 kilos of heroin, 8,832,000 methamphetamine tablets, and 226 kilos of cannabis. For all of 2001, the numbers were 1,629 kilos of opium, 97 kilos of heroin, 32,439,000 methamphetamine tablets, and 284 kilos of cannabis. Refineries: The GOB destroyed fourteen heroin labs in 2001 and 7 thus far in 2002. For verification purposes, it has provided GPS coordinates on all of these sites. It has also provided details on 6 meth labs that were destroyed during the first nine months of 2002. Precursor Chemicals: In 2002, the Ministry of Health issued notification No. 1/2002 identifying 25 substances as precursor chemicals and prohibiting their import, sale, or use in Burma. Seizures of precursor chemicals during the first nine months of 2002 included 1,220 kilos of ephedrine, 2,908 kilos of acetic anhydride, and 21,552 kilos of other chemicals. In 2001, the totals were 3,922 kilos of ephedrine, 12,318 liters of acetic anhydride, and 174,191 liters of other chemicals. ¶6. (U) Objective 3 - International Cooperation Bilateral Cooperation: Burma's counternarcotics cooperation with China has expanded dramatically in 2002. Details are in ref B. In the latest development, on October 15, Burma arrested and turned over Li Kyin Kam to Chinese police authorities. Li Kyin Kam was reportedly a major trafficker and fugitive from Chinese justice. Burma has also resumed its cooperation with Thailand, which has continued its planning for a $400,000 alternative development program opposite the Thai border in the vicinity of Tachileik. Details of Burmese/Thai law enforcement cooperation will be worked out at the upcoming HONLEA meeting in Bangkok. Mekong Survey: Planning for the survey has resumed following a resolution of the border tensions between Thailand and Burma. Burma has designated a group of 3 officials from the Central Committee for Drug Abuse Control to coordinate with Chinese, Thai, and Lao officials on the survey. Ministerial Level Meeting: Ministerial level drug control meetings between Thailand, Laos, and Burma have been held every two years since 1992. Burma will host the next. Cease-fire Group Liaison Offices: All liaison offices for "national races," including all the liaison offices of the United Wa State Army and other cease-fire groups, in Tachileik, Myawaddy, and Kawthoung have been closed. ¶7. (U) Objective 4 - Money Laundering The new money laundering law was passed in June; a Central Control Board chaired by the Home Minister was established in July; training for financial investigators was conducted Rangoon and Mandalay in August and September; the initial investigations were begun in October; and the first cases are expected to be submitted to the court under the new law before the end of the year. Burma was left on the Financial Action Task Force's list of non-complying countries in June pending implementation of the new law. Burma will be eligible for removal in June 2003. ¶8. (U) Objective 5 - Bribery and Corruption Action has been taken against 12 police officers involved in five cases of narcotics-related bribery and corruption in ¶2002. Four were given prison terms; one was discharged; four were demoted; and three were given official warnings. ¶9. (U) Objective 6 - Demand Reduction The Burmese government opened an additional 18 major drug treatment centers and 22 drug treatment clinics throughout Burma in 2002. Final Note ¶10. (C) In a meeting November 1, we passed on to General Kyaw Thein the additional information requests (ref F) that had emerged from the October 29th meeting in Washington and assured him again, as INL Assistant Secretary Rand Beers had assured him in Washington, that "other political issues" would not play a role in the U.S. government's decision on certification of Burma's counternarcotics efforts. Kyaw Thein pointed out that several of the new requests; e.g., regarding implementation of Burma's money laundering law, had been answered by this latest package of materials, but nevertheless promised to reply promptly with whatever additional information was available on Burma's efforts in ¶2002. Martinez