NEW DUTCH MEASURES AGAINST COCAINE TRAFFICKING AT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 THE HAGUE 003199

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E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: SNAR KCRM PREL NL
SUBJECT: NEW DUTCH MEASURES AGAINST COCAINE TRAFFICKING AT
SCHIPHOL AIRPORT GO INTO EFFECT

REF: (A) STATE 298019; (B) THE HAGUE 2527


1. (U) SUMMARY: Following mid-December approval by the Dutch
Parliament, Justice Minister Donner instituted a crackdown
on drug trafficking through Schiphol airport from the
Netherlands Antilles and Aruba. Initial results (120
arrests/400+ passengers turned away or failed to show up)
indicate more the scope of the problem than signs of
successful interdiction. There is considerable skepticism,
including our own, whether the measures will solve the
problem. The Minister's efforts are complicated by recent
allegations by an Aruban drug dealer that members of Dutch
Customs and ground personnel at Schiphol Airport are
involved in the drug trade. END SUMMARY.


2. (U) On December 10, the Dutch Parliament approved Justice
Minister Donner's plan to "close down" Amsterdam's Schiphol
airport to cocaine smuggling from the Caribbean. An
estimated 20,000-40,000 kilos of cocaine, destined primarily
for the European market, are smuggled annually through
Schiphol. Donner hopes to achieve 100% interdiction of the
drugs coming into Schiphol on targeted "high-risk" flights
from the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba. The new measures
(reftel B) subject all passengers on such flights to
lengthy, time consuming and intrusive procedures. Smugglers
carrying a "small amount" of drugs will not be prosecuted,
but will be returned to their place of origin. (Press
speculation suggests the "small amount" is three kilos, but
the Justice Ministry refuses to confirm this for reasons of
"investigation and prosecution.") Airlines have agreed to
ban those caught in possession of drugs from returning to
the Netherlands on future flights from the Netherlands
Antilles and Aruba.


3. (U) The plan went into effect on December 11 and the
Justice Ministry (MOJ) has released the results for the
first five days. 120 drug couriers were arrested.
Following the seizure of drugs, 31 smugglers were released
without a summons and returned. The remaining 89 cases are
being investigated or prosecuted. In addition, 104
potential passengers were turned away by the airlines and
375 passengers did not show up for their flights.


4. (U) Minister Donner told the Second Chamber during its
consideration of his plan that Customs and military police
(Royal Marechaussee) at Schiphol would be expanded by 260
persons for an indefinite period of time. The government
also plans to expand the Schiphol CargoHarc Intervention
team and to monitor information from the Disclosure Office
on Unusual Transactions (MOT) for money transfers between
the Netherlands and countries where drugs are produced or
trafficked.


5. (SBU) MOJ officials confirmed to Global/Narcotics
Coordinator there was no time limit for these "experimental"
steps. They will continue until the goal of stopping drug
smuggling from the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba is
achieved - or "until the problem becomes more manageable."
They will also be applied continuously instead of
sporadically as initially planned.


6. (SBU) These officials also acknowledged that if the
measures are successful, drug traffickers will likely search
for other routes to get the cocaine into their Amsterdam
distribution systems (using Schiphol flights originating
from airports in other Caribbean or South American
countries) or will bypass the Netherlands entirely -
creating a problem for the Netherlands' European neighbors.
They shared with post a draft letter Minister Donner is
preparing to send to his EU colleagues, which states "the
tightened-up policy in the Netherlands may have relocation
effects and lead to the use of different routes." In a year
end/farewell interview (he is retiring),Royal Marechaussee
commander-in-chief Major General Neisingh defended Donner's
efforts even as he admitted drug traffickers will divert
their deliveries to other European airports if Donner's
efforts are successful. He said a Europe-wide approach to
the problem is needed.


7. (U) Although Parliament approved the plan (with the
support of the main opposition PdvA),many politicians
remain opposed. The LPF and VVD parties believe Donner's
plan is not strict enough because it will let certain drug
couriers go free. The press is also voicing criticism. The
Algemeen Dagblad argued that "the Cabinet is facing what
seems to be an unsolvable problem. By imprisoning the
traffickers you do not hurt the criminals whom the
traffickers work for. While it makes sense to thoroughly
check every passenger and seize the drugs they carry, it
does not make sense that traffickers at Schiphol are not
prosecuted while those in other parts of the country are."
De Telegraaf claimed the new policy will lead to drug
smugglers switching to flights from South America since
these will not be subject to such scrutiny. Donner,
however, claims that checks can be transferred to other
routes on short notice.


8. (SBU) The Justice Ministry recognizes that simply
attacking the courier problem at Schiphol is not sufficient
by itself. Arie Ijzerman, MOJ Deputy Director General for
International Criminal Affairs and Drugs Policy, told DEA,
State and DoJ officials in Washington during a late November
2003 visit the Dutch government was considering efforts at
stopping drugs at the source - in Colombia and in the
Caribbean. According to the Ministry's "Fifth Progress
Report on Drug Trafficking through Schiphol," which provided
background in support of Donner's new measures, the Dutch
government plans to raise investments in expanding the law
enforcement capacity in the Antilles and to intensify
cooperation with local authorities there. The Dutch plan to
commit additional funds to improve Coast Guard operations
there. Minister Donner will be in the Antilles the first
week of January to discuss these measures. He said he wants
to start similar consultations with the Surinamese
government as well.


9. (SBU) COMMENT: The Dutch developed the Schiphol Action
Plan at the beginning of 2002 in response to heavy criticism
of a previous Justice Minister's decision to let drug
couriers caught with small amounts of drugs in Schiphol go
free. The Dutch government poured 90 million Euros annually
into the Plan which increased the number of customs and
military police personnel at Schiphol, set up a special
court at the airport, expanded judicial staffing to handle
the increased work load and increased prison capacity to
deal with drug couriers. This led to increased drug
seizures and prosecutions. These new steps by Minister
Donner indicate the government recognizes that even the
considerable previous efforts have not been adequate to stop
the flow of cocaine through Schiphol.


10. (SBU) COMMENT CONT'D: As the Ambassador indicated to
Minister Donner (reftel B),post has concerns about the long-
term viability of Donner's new steps. They require
significant manpower resources and are expensive. Failing
to prosecute drug couriers sends the wrong message and
avoids the problem; it does not solve it. In addition, the
Dutch continue to refuse to revise their prohibition on the
use of informants in drug investigations. They also use
asset forfeiture rules only sparingly, limiting their
ability to harm the drug trade. While we wish the Dutch
success, we are skeptical the new plan will achieve its goal
of 100% interdiction. The plan, however, is now
operational. We will monitor its effectiveness, paying
particular attention (1) how the remaining 89 cases from the
first 5 days are investigated and prosecuted; (2) the
success of Donner's efforts to take the fight to the
Caribbean; and (3) whether drug smugglers start switching to
using less-scrutinized South American routes.


11. (U) COMMENT CONT'D: Donner's efforts to stop drugs going
through Schiphol are now complicated by recent assertions by
an Aruban drug dealer claiming certain Dutch Customs, Royal
Marechaussee and ground crew personnel at Schiphol are
involved in the drug trade. General Neisingh said he would
investigate the allegations concerning the military police
and the Royal Marechaussee acknowledged to the media on
December 29 that an internal investigation into operations
at Schiphol had already been underway for several months.
MOJ contacts refused to comment and said the official
responsible for the matter was away for the holidays. Post
will continue to follow this matter and report on
developments. END COMMENT.

Russel