LITHUANIA: 2005 INSCR NARCOTICS AND CHEMICAL

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 VILNIUS 001288

SIPDIS

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

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: SNAR PREL LH
SUBJECT: LITHUANIA: 2005 INSCR NARCOTICS AND CHEMICAL
CONTROL SECTION

REF: SECSTATE 209561

Lithuania


I. Summary

In 2005, Lithuania increased the efficiency of law
enforcement counternarcotics efforts, improved
drug-consumption research capabilities, and strengthened
implementation of the National Drug Addiction Prevention and
Drug Control Program at the federal and municipal levels.
Lithuania remains a transit route for heroin and other
illicit drugs from Asia and Russia to Western Europe and
produces synthetic narcotics for both domestic use and
export. The most popular drugs for domestic consumption
include synthetic narcotics, poppy straw extract, heroin, and
cannabis. Lithuania's domestic drug trade is at least LTL 500
million (USD 172 million) and growing. The number of
registered drug addicts and drug-related crimes increased in

2005. Law enforcement cooperation between the U.S. Government
and the Government of Lithuania is very good. Lithuania is a
party to the 1988 UN Drug Convention.

II. Status of Country

Synthetic narcotics, poppy straw extract, heroin, and
cannabis are the most popular illicit drugs in Lithuania.
Heroin is smuggled into Lithuania from Central Asia and the
Balkans. Cocaine imports from South America transit Western
Europe into Lithuania and then on to neighboring countries.
Law enforcement authorities estimate that the domestic drug
trade is over LTL 500 million (USD 172 million) per annum and
growing. Organized crime groups operating in central and
western Lithuania smuggle illegal narcotics and
psychotropics, especially ecstasy, into other Western
European countries, including Norway, Germany, Ireland, and
the United Kingdom.

The number of people seeking initial treatment for drug
addiction increased from 10.3 cases per 100,000 inhabitants
in 2003 to 12.2 cases per 100,000 inhabitants in 2004.
Nearly 73 percent of registered drug addicts are younger than
35 years old, 90 percent live in cities, and 20 percent are
women. Lithuania had 943 registered cases of HIV in October
2005, an increase of 133 from October 2004. Approximately
eighty percent of those registered with HIV contracted the
disease through intravenous drug use.

III. Country Actions Against Drugs in 2005

Policy Initiatives. Lithuania approved a Drug Prevention
Action Plan for 2006 under the overall National Drug
Addiction Prevention and Drug Control Program which the
Government adopted in 2004. In 2005, the parliament
designated this program as critical to Lithuania's long-term
national security. Under the auspices of the program, 54
municipalities (out of 60) established local drug control
commissions and approved local programs.

The national Narcotics Control Department (NCD),established
in 2004, commissioned its first survey of drug use in
Lithuania. The study found that 8.2 percent of Lithuania's
residents had used drugs at least once in their lifetime,
with those 15-34 years old significantly more likely than
those 35-64 years old to have tried drugs at least once (14.1
percent and 3.8 percent respectively.) The NCD, in
cooperation with the Nordic Council of Ministers, also
initiated a drug prevention and education project targeted at
reducing the sale and use of illicit narcotics in bars and
clubs.

Accomplishments. In 2005, Lithuania increased funding to the
National Drug Prevention and Control Program by twenty
percent, from LTL 10.2 million (USD 3.51 million) to LTL 12.2
million (USD 4.21 million) and allocated LTL 15.25 million
(USD 5.25 million) to the 2006 Action Plan. The national
police department strengthened prevention and control
measures at public events including concerts and holiday
celebrations, arresting several individuals for selling
illicit drugs. In 2005, the police also organized a "Drug
Prevention Week" for about 600 school children from around
the country.

Law Enforcement Efforts. Lithuanian law enforcement
registered 1,313 drug-related crimes as of November 2005, a
slight increase over the 1,290 registered during the same
period in 2004. In 2004, Lithuanian law enforcement detained
869 persons for criminal acts related to the possession or
sale of narcotic and psychotropic substances. In the first
ten months of 2005, law enforcement detained 845 persons. As
of November 2005, police and customs had seized 545 kilograms
of poppy straw, 76 liters of poppy straw extract, 59
kilograms of cannabis, 48 kilograms of hashish, and 5,500
ecstasy tablets. They also impounded small quantities (less
than five kilograms each) of heroin, cocaine, amphetamines,
methamphetamines, LSD, hallucinogenic mushrooms, various
psychotropic drugs, and precursors.

In 2005, the police shut down a laboratory producing
high-quality amphetamines. They confiscated 769 grams of
amphetamine and three kilograms of BMK (1-phenyl-2-propanon),
an amphetamine and methamphetamine pre-cursor, from the
laboratory site. The Customs Service initiated fourteen
pre-trial investigations related to narcotics smuggling in

2005.

In May 2005, law enforcement officials on the Latvian border
seized 23 kilograms of hashish hidden in a passenger car.
Swedish and Lithuanian law enforcement cooperated to stop a
drug smuggling group that included five Lithuanians and had
attempted to transport 130 kilograms of hashish and 3.5
kilograms of amphetamine from Lithuania to Sweden. Russian
and Lithuanian law enforcement officials busted a criminal
group that transported heroin and amphetamine to Russia,
arresting three individuals and seizing 30 grams of heroine
and one kilogram of amphetamine. In October 2005, Norwegian
law enforcement detained three Lithuanians for transporting
56 kilograms of rohypnol tablets. In December 2005,
Lithuanian police participated in a joint operation with
Ireland and France to arrest a Lithuanian arriving in Ireland
by car ferry with 113,000 ecstasy pills concealed in his car
bumper.

The Lithuanian court system heard 1,111 drug-related cases in
2005, with a 75 percent conviction rate. Those convicted of
trafficking or distribution face prison terms of five to
eight years.

Corruption. Lithuania does not encourage or facilitate
illicit production of controlled substances or money
laundering. Lithuania has established a broad legal and
institutional anti-corruption framework, but low-level
corruption and bribery continues to be the basis of frequent
political scandals. There were no reports involving
Lithuanian government officials in drug production or sale or
in the laundering of drug proceeds.

Cultivation/Production. Illicit laboratories in Lithuania
produce amphetamines for both local use and export. Lithuania
is not a major cultivator of illicit narcotics, but law
enforcement regularly finds and destroys small plots of
cannabis and opium poppies used to produce opium straw
extract for local consumption. In 2005, police, in
cooperation with customs agents, eradicated 10,089 square
meters of poppies and 286 square meters of cannabis.

Drug Flow/Transit. Poppy straw is transported through
Lithuania to Kaliningrad and Latvia. Marijuana and hashish
arrive in Lithuania from the east and the west, by land and
sea (e.g., from Morocco). Heroin comes to Lithuania by the
Silk Road (Afghanistan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan,
Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus, Lithuania) or the Balkan road
(via the Balkans and Central or Western Europe). From
Lithuania, heroin leaves by ferry or car to Scandinavian
countries, Poland, and Kaliningrad. Cocaine arrives in
Lithuania from Central and South America via Germany, the
Netherlands, and Belgium. Amphetamines arrive from Poland and
the Netherlands. Amphetamines from Lithuania are usually
transported by truck to Sweden and Norway through Poland,
Germany and Denmark. Most ecstasy tablets come by land or sea
from the Netherlands. Iceland was a new destination for
amphetamines and cocaine in 2005. The United States is
occasionally a destination country for synthetic narcotics,
primarily ecstasy, from Lithuania.

Domestic Programs (Demand Reduction). Lithuania operates five
national drug dependence centers and ten regional public
health centers, and attempts to reduce drug consumption
through education programs and public outreach, especially in
schools. In 2005, twenty rehabilitation centers and seventeen
addict rehabilitation communities operated in Lithuania. The
Prisons Department operates a rehabilitation center for
incarcerated drug addicts, and allocated LTL 780,000 (USD
280,000) in 2005 to purchase equipment and fund activities to
prevent drug trafficking, train officials, and educate prison.
Treaties and Agreements. Lithuania is a party to the 1988 UN
Drug Convention, the 1971 UN Convention against Psychotropic
Substances, and the 1961 UN Single Convention as amended by
the 1972 Protocol. Lithuania also is a party to the UN
Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and its
protocols against migrant smuggling and trafficking in Women
and Children. An extradition treaty and mutual legal
assistance treaty are in force between the U.S. and
Lithuania. In 2004, Lithuania signed agreements with Belgium
to increase law enforcement cooperation and with Turkey to
enhance cooperation in fighting terrorism, organized crime,
and drug trafficking.

IV. U.S. Policy Initiatives and Programs

Bilateral Cooperation. Law enforcement cooperation between
the United States and Lithuania is very good. In 2005, the
United States continued to support Lithuania's 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 United
States sponsored a conference in Lithuania on drug prevention
and treatment with participation of speakers from the
Department of Health and Human Services and the White House
Office of National Drug Control Policy. Lithuanian Customs
opened negotiations with a U.S.-based logistics company for
assistance in narcotics detection and interdiction.

The Road Ahead. The United States looks forward to continuing
its close cooperative relationship with Lithuania's law
enforcement agencies. In 2006, the United States will
continue to promote increased Lithuanian attention to the
drug problem and will support activities aimed at preventing
the production and trafficking of illicit narcotics. A U.S.
priority will be to encourage Lithuania to focus on the role
of communities, parents and schools in drug abuse prevention
and on strengthening counseling and other services as part of
drug treatment programs.

MULL