PORTUGAL SEIZES NARCOTICS AT RECORD LEVELS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 LISBON 001262

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE FOR INL

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/22/2016
TAGS: SNAR PREL PGOV KCRM PT
SUBJECT: PORTUGAL SEIZES NARCOTICS AT RECORD LEVELS


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Classified By: Dana M Brown, Pol/Econ Officer, State Department
Reason: 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (SBU) Summary: Until 2006, Portugal maintained a modest
drug interdiction program with relatively small operations
compared to other consumer nations. This year, however,
Portugal has already seized roughly 28 metric tons of
cocaine, quickly surpassing its 2005 totals after only a few
months and closing in on Spain as Europe's most significant
entry points for narcotics. Portuguese police are monitoring
the situation and attempting to work with international law
enforcement when possible, but have reported that they have
few contacts in producer nations with whom they can
coordinate. Please see ACTION REQUEST in para 11. End
Summary.

Drugs on the Rise
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2. (U) On June 20, Duarte Alves, an investigator with the
Central Directorate for the Investigation of Narcotics
Trafficking (DCITE) told Pol/Econ officer that Portugal's
Judicial Police (PJ) had seized around 28 metric tons of
cocaine this year, compared to 18 tons in all of 2005. In
contrast, last year Spain reported cocaine seizures of 48.43
tons, roughly 4 tons per month. As of late June, Portugal's
average monthly seizures in 2006 reached 4.7 tons per month
and if the current pace continues for the rest of the year,
Portugal will overtake Spain as the main point of entry for
cocaine into Europe, based on interdiction figures.


3. (U) Jose Braz, the adjunct national director for the
DCITE, announced Portugal's 2005 narcotics seizure figures at
a February 2006 press conference. Portugal ranked second
among EU members for drug seizures in 2005 and apprehended
20% of all cocaine seized in the European Union:

-- Hashish: 28.25 tons seized
-- Cocaine: 18 tons seized
-- MDMA (ecstasy): 213,777 tablets seized


4. (U) By comparison, 2004 had similar hashish seizure
numbers but roughly half the cocaine and "ecstasy" seizures:

-- Hashish: 28.97 tons, valued at USD 22.8 million
-- Cocaine: 7.42 tons, valued at USD 1.63 billion
-- Ecstasy: 107,353 tablets, valued at USD 643,000

Police Reaction
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5. (C) Pol/Econ officer paid a call on PJ Inspector Luis
Baptista to discuss the increased seizures of cocaine and
ecstasy. Baptista concluded that the increased drug seizures
and arrests by authorities is not the result of more
intensive or more effective policing, but rather an increase
in the amount of drug traffic headed towards Europe as a
whole. He said the PJ had seen an increase in maritime
trafficking, and suggested that greater unemployment among
legitimate fishermen might have drawn fishermen into
transporting narcotics. Baptista claimed it was easier for
police to locate the fishermen since the fishermen used known
channels. However, in direct contrast to Baptista's comment,
one PJ director announced to the BBC in February that
successes were a result of the PJ honing their investigation
techniques.


6. (U) One example of 2006's successful interdictions was the
February 18 seizure of 8,000 kilograms of cocaine, the
largest bust in Portuguese history and reportedly the largest
single seizure in Europe to date. The PJ located the drugs
in a warehouse in the Algarve and arrested seven Spanish
nationals suspected to have been involved in the shipment.
Other sting operations, including "Tutti-Frutti" with
Uruguayan officials in May, have located concealed shipments
and implicated well-established Portuguese businesses.

International Cooperation Focused Elsewhere
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7. (C) Despite the increase in Portuguese narcotics seizures,

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Baptista complained that few nations cooperated actively to
combat increased trafficking. He claimed a noticeable
decline in U.S. anti-drug training support for Portuguese
missions over the last several years. He mentioned training
programs that he had participated in with U.S. authorities in
the past, and expressed his desire to renew cooperative
bonds.


8. (C) Baptista also reported that the PJ lacked contacts
from source countries and often had to work through Interpol
-- a slow and complicated process. He asked whether it would
be possible to locate some law enforcement officials in Latin
America, particularly Colombia, Venezuela, and Brazil, to
improve sting operation intelligence and facilitate arrests.
Baptista described Portuguese and Dutch efforts to jointly
combat ecstasy trafficking. He reported that their
cooperation was highly effective and said he hoped he could
establish similar cooperation with others.

Sources and Destinations
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9. (U) According to a PJ 2004 report, 76% of cocaine seized
in Portugal was in transit to other countries, 90% of which
was destined for Spain. Nearly 54% of hashish seized in
Portugal was intended for domestic consumption, while the
remaining 46% headed again mostly to Spain. Shipments of
cocaine to Portugal came mostly from South America -- Brazil
was the source country for almost 80% of cocaine. Hashish
originated equally from Morocco and domestic growers.
Ecstasy came almost exclusively from Holland and was destined
for Portuguese consumption.

Comment and Action Request
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10. (U) Portuguese police have seized almost double the
weight in cocaine over the last several years, but reported
they were unsure whether there was a significant increase
headed for Europe, traffickers were trying different entry
points, or the investigative work was paying off. It is
likely a combination of the three.


11. (SBU) ACTION REQUEST for INL: In light of these numbers
and the request for further engagement from the USG, we would
welcome Department's guidance on how best to engage Portugal
more energetically in counternarcotics collaboration,
including in the area of training that could connect them
with other law enforcement officials in the same field.
Hoffman