MONTENEGRO: 2006-2007 INTERNATIONAL NARCOTICS

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BELGRADE 001803

SIPDIS

INL FOR J LYLE, EUR/SCE FOR P POLETES

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: SNAR MW
SUBJECT: MONTENEGRO: 2006-2007 INTERNATIONAL NARCOTICS
CONTROL STRATEGY REPORT (INCSR) PART I: DRUGS AND
CHEMICAL CONTROL


This is an Embassy Podgorica cable. It has not been
cleared with Embassy Belgrade.

BELOW FOLLOWS THE 2007 INTERNATIONAL NARCOTICS CONTROL
STRATEGY REPORT (INCSR) FOR MONTENEGRO:


I. Summary

Montenegro is used by organized crime groups as a transit
country for cannabis from Albania and Kosovo, and smaller
amounts of other narcotics from the Middle East and Latin
America, destined for the Western Balkans and Western
Europe. A small domestic market for illegal drugs
exists. The Government of Montenegro is implementing a
comprehensive action plan against illegal drugs, and is
seeking close law enforcement relationships with other
regional states. Montenegro became an independent state
on June 3, 2006, and is in the process of becoming a
signatory to relevant international conventions and
agreements, including the 1988 UN Drug Convention.

II. Status of Country

If left unchecked, the use of Montenegrin territory by
drug smugglers would tend to undermine political
stability and economic growth, and contribute to crime in
neighboring states. The Government of Montenegro
estimates that only a small percentage of the illegal
drugs entering the country are for the domestic market.
Protection of its borders is a national priority, and the
United States and other international donors support
those efforts; in particular, U.S. donations of ocean and
lake patrol craft have been effective in interrupting
water-borne smuggling.

III. Country Actions Against Drugs in 2006

Policy Initiatives. Changes passed by the Parliament in
2006 to the domestic criminal surveillance law will allow
the use of improved methods and additional technical
means in investigating crimes, including drug
trafficking. The adoption in 2004 of the new Criminal
Code and Criminal Procedure Code included anti-narcotics
provisions meeting objectives in the 1988 UN Drug
Convention, and included Montenegro's first Law on
Witness Protection, creating a specialized police unit
for this purpose as well; in 2006, Montenegro continued
discussion with neighboring states on regional
cooperation in witness protection.

Law Enforcement Efforts. Training of police officers in
techniques for combating organized crime and financial
crimes remains central to coursework at the national
police training center, re-established as a professional
Police Academy on October 25. Independent Montenegro has
retained the separate counter-narcotics service in the
police force, and is looking to coordinate its efforts
with the police surveillance unit, border police, the
customs service, and the domestic intelligence service.
Montenegrin authorities report that through the end of
September 2006, police arrested 320 persons on felony
drug charges in 280 cases, with an additional 42 persons
charged with misdemeanor drug charges in 38 cases. The
police seized 936.7 kilograms of cannabis, 3.3 kilograms
of heroin, 8 grams of hashish, 69 grams of cocaine, 332
tablets of Ecstasy, 4.8 kilograms of precursor chemicals.
Two seizures of marijuana crops were made in 2006: one of
400 seedlings, the second of 670 seedlings.

Corruption. Corruption and the perception of corruption
are prevalent in Montenegro, and affects both law
enforcement and the judiciary. The Government attempts
to identify, prosecute and punish instances of official
corruption, but does not specify whether the acts
underlying specific disciplinary actions and prosecutions
are narcotics-related or not. Narcotics-related
corruption is addressed by laws that criminalize any and
all corrupt activities by government employees. The
Government has criminalized the production and
distribution of narcotic and psychotropic drugs as well
as the laundering of proceeds from illegal drug
transactions, and enforces these laws as a matter of
policy. There are no reports that senior government
officials engage in, encourage, or facilitate the
production and distribution of narcotic and psychotropic
drugs as well or the laundering of proceeds from illegal
drug transactions.

Agreements and Treaties. Montenegro became an

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independent state on June 3, 2006, and is in the process
of becoming a signatory to relevant international
conventions and agreements, including the 1988 UN Drug
Convention. Montenegro has signed memorandums of
understanding (MOUs) with neighboring states to
facilitate cooperation in the fight against all forms of
crime. As of October 2006, Montenegro has such MOUs with
Albania, Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Macedonia, Romania,
Serbia, and Slovenia, as well as with UNMIK in Kosovo.
Montenegro signed an international agreement on Witness
Protection Relocation and Cooperation with Serbia and
Bosnia and Herzegovina in July 2006.

Drug Flow/Transit. Montenegro is used by organized crime
groups as a transit point for drug smuggling, due to the
country's central location, topography - both coastal and
mountainous - and its past reputation as a facilitator of
smuggling. Cannabis is smuggled from producers in
Albania and Kosovo, en route to the Western Balkans and
Western Europe; heroin from the Middle East transits
Albania and Kosovo, crossing Montenegro before being
transported further into Western Europe. A joint action
by Montenegro, Serbia, and Italy at the end of 2004 into
the first half of 2005 seized 200 kilograms of cocaine
from Latin America before it could be smuggled into
Western Europe.

Domestic Programs (Demand Reduction). The Government
plans to re-convene its expert group to update its 2003-
2006 action plan to combat drug use among children and
youth. The group includes participants from the Interior
Ministry, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Culture,
Education Ministry, Justice Ministry, Labor and Social
Welfare Ministry, Customs service, local governments, and
NGOs. The Government has recognized the potential
problem of drug use -- especially synthetic drugs --
among foreign tourists, and the effect upon Montenegro's
tourism sector, which is a central pillar of the economy.

IV. U.S. Policy Initiatives. The Government of Montenegro
works closely with the United States and EU countries in
reforming and improving its law enforcement and judicial
capacity. The United States has provided extensive
technical assistance, equipment donations, and training,
to the police, customs service, and judiciary. Several
U.S. Departments have programs that directly and
indirectly support counter-narcotics activities in
Montenegro, including the Department of Justice (ICITAP
and OPDAT),Department of Homeland Security (Montenegro
Border Security Program, and US Coast Guard),Department
of Defense (Defense Threat Reduction Agency),Department
of the Treasury, and Department of State (Export Control
and Border Security/EXBS, and SEED foreign assistance
funding of Justice, Treasury, and DHS programs). The
programs are aimed at professionalizing the police and
customs service, improving the ability of Montenegro to
control its borders at land and at sea, improve
prosecution of corruption and organized crime, including
money laundering and illicit trafficking, and increase
the ability of the judiciary to effectively address
serious crime. SEED-funded speakers have also helped
publicize anti-drug campaigns carried out by local NGOs.

POLT