2004-2005 INTERNATIONAL NARCOTICS CONTROL STRATEGY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 05 VILNIUS 001578

SIPDIS

STATE FOR INL, EUR/NB, AND EUR/SCE
JUSTICE FOR OIA, AFMLS AND NDDS
TREASURY FOR FINCEN
DEA FOR OILS AND OFFICE OF DIVERSION CONTROL
MILAN FOR DEA

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: SNAR EFIN KSEP LH
SUBJECT: 2004-2005 INTERNATIONAL NARCOTICS CONTROL STRATEGY
REPORT (INCSR) FOR LITHUANIA, PART I

REF: SECSTATE 249035

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I. Summary
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1. In 2004, Lithuania strengthened its counter-narcotics
efforts, rolling out a National Drug Addiction Prevention
and Drug Control Strategy for 2004-2008. The use and
sale of narcotics, however, continues to increase in
Lithuania. Lithuania remains a transit route for heroin
from Asia to Western Europe and produces synthetic
narcotics for both domestic use and export. Law
enforcement authorities estimate that the domestic drug
trade is 500 million Litas (USD 200 million) per annum
and growing. The most popular drugs include synthetic
narcotics, poppy straw extract, heroin, and cannabis.
Industrially produced psychotropic drugs are also
popular. Though public awareness campaigns have grown,
the number of registered drug addicts and drug-related
crimes increased in 2004. USG and GOL law enforcement
cooperation is very good. End Summary.

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II. Status of Country
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2. Synthetic narcotics, poppy straw extract, heroin, and
cannabis are the most popular drugs in Lithuania. Poppy
straw and cannabis are popular because they are
inexpensive, while synthetic narcotics are most popular
on the black market. The price of a dose of heroin, 20
Litas (USD 5.7),remained unchanged from 2003. Heroin is
smuggled into Lithuania from Central Asia and the
Balkans. Cocaine imports from South America travel
through Western Europe into Lithuania. Poppy straw is
especially popular in the countryside, and is smuggled to
the Kaliningrad district of Russia. Industrially
produced psychotropic drugs (e.g., GHB),liquid heroin,
and new psychotropic substances are increasingly popular.
Hashish is not popular. Law enforcement authorities
estimate that the domestic drug trade is 500 million
Litas (USD 200 million) per annum and growing.
Lithuanian organized crime groups have begun to penetrate
the German narcotics market.


3. There were 4,689 registered drug addicts in January
2004, an increase of 284 individuals from 2002. In 2003,
356 persons approached health care institutions for the
first time (653 in 2001). Nearly 75 percent of all drug
addicts are younger than 35 years old, while more than 90
percent live in cities, and one-fifth are women. Over 90
percent of drug dependency cases are intravenous drug
users. Lithuania had 943 registered cases of HIV in
October 2004, an increase from 735 cases at the beginning
of 2002. 80 percent of those registered with HIV
contracted the disease through intravenous drug use. In
2003, rates of Hepatitis B and C infection among
intravenous drug users decreased by 26 percent and 35
percent, respectively.


4. The number of 15-16 year-old students who have tried
drugs at least once remained stable at approximately 15
percent (15.6 percent in 2003, 15 percent in 2002).
Health education programs have been integrated into
school curricula, resulting in an increased awareness
about the dangers of drug use. Lithuania is a member of
the international European School Survey Project on
Alcohol and Other Drugs (ESPAD 95, ESPAD 99, ESPAD 03)
and monitors the fluctuations of data on substance abuse
among children aged 15-16. A 2003 survey showed that the
consumption of cannabis, hashish, amphetamines, alcohol
and tobacco is increasing, while the consumption of
heroin and ecstasy is decreasing among Lithuania's
student population. According to an international survey
published in 2004, 81 percent of children in foster care
abuse alcohol, drugs, or glue.

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III. Country actions against drugs in 2004
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5. Policy Initiatives. In order to improve preventive
measures, combat addiction, and bring Lithuanian law in
line with the European Union's 1999 anti-drug strategy,
the Government of Lithuania (GOL) enacted the National
Drug Addiction Prevention and Drug Control Strategy for
2004-2008. The Strategy, initiated in April 2004,
increases cooperation between national authorities and
drug control organizations, promotes local government
initiatives to prevent and control drug use, and
increases the role of society in dealing with drug
problems. In 2004, the GOL provided 10.2 million Litas
(USD 4.08 million) to the Strategy. In 2004, more
resources were allocated for initiatives that focused on
prevention and rehabilitation than were allocated for
fighting the trafficking and sale of narcotics. EU
structural funds, however, augmented GOL expenditures in
support of strengthened national borders.


6. The GOL's Narcotics Control Department, which
implements the Strategy and coordinates the efforts of
the national and local governments, began operation in
January 2004. In December 2004, parliament created a
Drug Addiction Prevention Commission. The GOL continued
to implement its National HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control
Program for 2003-2008. The program seeks to prevent the
transmission of HIV/AIDS within high-risk groups
(intravenous users, prostitutes, sailors, long-distance
drivers, and prisoners). In the summer of 2004, the
Parliament annulled a provision in the Criminal Code that
established alternative punishments (15 to 90 days of
incarceration) for those convicted of drug distribution.
Those convicted now face prison terms of between five to
eight years.


7. Accomplishments. Experts note that public awareness
concerning the hazards of drug use is rapidly increasing.
In 2004, the GOL allocated approximately 4 million Litas
(USD 1.6 millions) for public awareness programs,
primarily conducted by the Ministry of Education and
Science and NGOs. Police conducted separate awareness
programs.


8. Lithuania joined the European Monitoring Center for
Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) in May 2004. Police
continued to participate in a joint counter-narcotics
operation with Sweden and Poland ("Trap") and in a
multilateral operation "542" (against Rohypnol
producers). Under the PHARE "Synthetic Drugs and
Precursors Project," police continued to receive training
on how to strengthen controls over legally produced
precursors and synthetic drugs and how to prevent the
introduction of these substances into the illegal market.
Another PHARE project helped the Customs Department to
complete a technical assessment of equipment needed to
better detect drugs moving across Lithuania's borders.
All PHARE projects ended in 2004. In May 2004,
Lithuanian Customs joined Europol's "Case" expert group
and began exchanging information on synthetic narcotics.


9. Law Enforcement Efforts. The number of drug-related
crimes increased in 2004. By December 2004, Lithuanian
law enforcement authorities registered 1,121 crimes (up
from 886 in 2003). In 2004, the police shut down a
laboratory producing high-quality amphetamines. The
Customs Criminal Service initiated six narcotics related
criminal cases in 2004 (13 in 2003, 14 in 2002, 8 in
2001, 0 in 2000). In December 2004, a Kaunas court
sentenced three Lithuanian citizens to 10.5 years, 8
years, and 2 years of imprisonment, respectively, for
producing amphetamines. In the largest seizure of 2004,
police seized 18,000 doses of LSD, 71,000 ecstasy
tablets, 3 kilograms of marijuana, and 2 liters of
precursors in November from a 19-year-old student who
police believed to be a member of an organized
trafficking group. On December 31, 2003, in the largest
seizure of the year, Customs officials confiscated
300,000 Rohypnol pills (26 kilograms) at a Latvian border
checkpoint.


10. Corruption. In December 2004, a parliamentary
ombudsman, Kestutis Virbickas, resigned following
findings that he had illegally intervened on behalf of a
Lithuanian national standing trial for drug trafficking
in Norway.


11. Cultivation/Production. An intravenous opium extract
produced from locally grown poppies and the drug
"Ephedrone," made from medications containing ephedrine,
remain popular in Lithuania. Police, in cooperation with
Customs agents, destroyed 52,141 square meters of poppy
plots (up from 31,426 in 2003 and 22,676 in 2002) and 196
square meters of cannabis plots between June and
September 2004 (down from 687 in 2003 and 1,884 in 2002).
Underground laboratories produce amphetamines for local
use and export.


12. Drug Flow/Transit. Drug transit channels remain
unchanged.


13. Each year, more Lithuanian citizens become involved
in the international narcotics business. 53 Lithuanian
citizens (down from 118 in 2003) were detained in 2004
for trafficking amphetamines, heroin, cocaine, marijuana,
Flunitrazepam (Rohypnol) and other pills, mostly in
Norway (14),Germany (11),and Sweden (11). There were
no reports of Lithuanians being detained in Latin America
(3 were detained in 2003 and 15 in 2002). In a joint
operation in May 2004, the Police Drug Control Office,
Lithuanian Customs Criminal Service, and authorities in
Sweden cracked an international drug distribution
network. Three Swedish citizens and eight Lithuanians
were arrested and police seized 20 kilograms of
amphetamines produced in Lithuania. In the spring of
2004, Lithuanian, Swedish, and Norwegian cooperation
stopped a drug smuggling and production ring that
included five Lithuanians, two Belarusians, and two
Norwegians. Approximately ten kilograms of amphetamines,
six liters of liquid amphetamines, and several forged
passports were seized.


14. Domestic Programs (Demand Reduction). Lithuania
operates five national dependence disorder centers. Ten
regional Public Health Centers with local outlets work to
prevent the use of drugs, especially in schools. In
2004, 20 rehabilitation centers (which together can
service around 200 people annually) and 17 addict
rehabilitation communities operated in Lithuania.
Methadone treatment programs have operated in major
cities since 1995, with 315 people receiving treatment in
2003 (133 in 2002).


15. According to the Ministry of Justice's Prisons
Department, in January 2004, 1,148 persons, or 14.4
percent of all prisoners, are registered drug users. In
September 2004, 219 inmates were infected with HIV.
After the HIV outbreak in the Alytus prison in 2002, the
GOL allocated 2 million Litas (USD 800,000) for equipment
and activities designed to prevent the trafficking of
drugs, train officials, and educate inmates at the Alytus
facility. In May 2003, a reconstructed building capable
of housing 300 HIV-infected prisoners opened in Alytus.
In November 2003, a prevention and rehabilitation center
for drug addicts and HIV-infected prisoners opened at the
Pravieniskes correctional center.


16. In 2002, cases of drug use were discovered among
military conscripts. 433 conscripts were tested for drug
use; 2.3 percent tested positive. The most popular
substances among conscripts are heroin and synthetic
drugs.


17. Treaties and Agreements. In October 2003, the GOL
signed cooperative law enforcement agreements with
Europol and the Belgium Royal Government.

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IV. U.S. Policy Initiatives and Programs
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18. Bilateral Cooperation. USG and GOL law enforcement
cooperation is very good. In 2004, the U.S. continued to
support GOL efforts to strengthen its law enforcement
bodies and improve border security. To strengthen
regional cooperation in the fight against HIV/AIDS in the
Baltic States and Russia, the U.S. funded "The Network of
Excellence" project. In June 2004, a U.S. court in
Florida acquitted 11 Lithuanian sailors apprehended in
June 2003 of drug trafficking charges following the
seizure of 3.5 tons of cocaine aboard the merchant vessel
Yalta. In December 2003, Lithuania extradited an
American citizen wanted for narcotics trafficking. In
2003, the Lithuanian State Security Department discovered
a package suspected of containing counterfeit U.S.
currency that was being sent to Minneapolis, Minnesota.
The package also contained 100 tablets of Ecstasy. A
joint investigation by the State Security Department and
U.S. Secret Service resulted in arrests in both
countries, including that of a major organized crime
figure in the city of Kaunas. His trial is ongoing.


19. The Road Ahead. The USG looks forward to continuing
its close cooperative relationship with Lithuania's law
enforcement agencies. Although Lithuania has made some
progress in improving regulations and procedures and
developing an export control infrastructure, it still
lacks the professional skills to detect narcotics and
clandestine labs. In 2005, the USG will continue to
promote increased GOL attention to the drug problem, and
support activities aimed at preventing the production and
trafficking of illicit narcotics. In 2005, the DEA will
provide training to Lithuanian law enforcement agencies
on the investigation and seizure of drug laboratories.


20. Table 1. Narcotics seized by the Lithuanian Police
in 2004 (January-November) and in 2003

Per Calendar Year 2003 2004 (11 months)
Poppy straw (kg) 269 349
Poppy straw extract (l)53 45
Cannabis Straw (kg) -- --
Marijuana (kg) 30.1 4.7
30.1 4.7
Heroin (kg) 0.8 1.85
Ecstasy (tablets) 98,458 31,152
Amphetamine (kg) 6.96 3.27
Metamphetamine (kg) 24.72.19
Cocaine (kg) 0.183 12.87
Hashish (kg) 262.7 4
Safrol (l) 20.2 20
BMK (l) 34.6 14.5


Police also seized small amounts of LSD, hallucinogenic
mushrooms, various psychotropic drugs, and precursors.

Table 2. Narcotics seized by Lithuanian Customs in 2004
(January-November) and in 2003

Per Calendar Year 2003 2004 (11 months)
Heroin (g) -- --
Cocaine (kg) 0.162 12.57
Poppy straw (g) -- --
Poppy straw extract (ml) 0.60 --
Opium (ml) -- --
Marijuana (g) 8,190 0.4
Hashish (g)--2.2
Hallucinogenic Mushrooms (g) --------------
Metamphetamine (g) -- 300
Amphetamine (g) 1.5 0.4
Ecstasy (tablets) 21,000 30,720

Customs also seized 20 kilograms of the First Category
Precursor BMK and 150,000 units of various psychotropic
drugs.

KELLY