PORTUGUESE DISCUSS COCAINE TRENDS WITH STAFFDEL

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 LISBON 001937 SIPDIS SIPDIS SENSITIVE DEPARTMENT FOR H AND INL E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: OREP SNAR ASEC PO SUBJECT: PORTUGUESE DISCUSS COCAINE TRENDS WITH STAFFDEL BRENNAN REF: LISBON 1262 LISBON 00001937 001.2 OF 002 ¶1. (U) Summary: Staffdel Brennan, a delegation made up of House International Relations Committee (HIRC) and House Judiciary Committee staffers, visited Portugal from August 30 - September 2 to meet with local law enforcement and politicians to discuss narcotrafficking trends from Latin America to Europe. The delegation visited in preparation for a committee hearing on drug flows to Europe later in September. Law enforcement officials highlighted Portugal's cocaine seizures, which already exceed 30 metric tons (MT) in 2006 as well as international counternarcotics cooperation plans. End summary. More Drugs Seized, Use Reportedly Stable -------------- ¶2. (U) Judicial Police (PJ) Director for Counternarcotics Jose Braz, the main law enforcement agency involved in counternarcotics efforts, told the Staffdel that Portugal has seen a significant increase in cocaine seizures thus far in ¶2006. Portugal has seized more than 30 MT of cocaine in the first six months of this year accounting for over 50% of the total cocaine entering the European Union. Braz reiterated his request for a U.S. law enforcement interlocutor here in Lisbon (reftel) and commented that such a presence would significantly help in the international efforts to stem narcotics trafficking. ¶3. (SBU) In response to the Staffdel's questions about cocaine seizures, Braz told the delegation that Portuguese PJ undercover operations had led to significant finds in 2006 including: "Operation Atlantico" in February which found 2.8 MT of cocaine, "Operation Portuguese Soul" also in February which netted 8.2 tons, "Cyclone" which located another 2.8 tons and "Tornado" in mid August which discovered 6 MT of cocaine and 3 million Euros. According to Braz, most of the deliveries were made in international waters when traffickers unwittingly moved shipments onto GOP-controlled vessels during undercover missions. Braz said Portuguese law recently changed to allow such undercover missions. ¶4. (SBU) Despite the increased police captures, several interlocutors including Ministry of Justice Advisor Filipe Costa underscored that Portugal is primarily a transit nation and Portugal's cocaine consumption remains among the lowest in Europe. Members of the Staffdel responded that other transit nations soon found themselves consuming and offered the examples of Brazil and Pakistan. International Response -------------- ¶5. (U) Portugal's PJ is currently coordinating an effort with Spain, the UK, France, and Germany to form an Atlantic nation police liaison monitoring center along the lines of JIATF East (Joint Inter-Agency Task Force) in Key West. The PJ sent several members to do a case study on "lessons learned" from JIATF East and will participate in a September meeting to discuss recommendations. The Atlantic nation group hopes to have an information sharing agreement in place by the end of this year and plans to establish an office based in Portugal staffed with representation from each member nation by 2007. During a meeting with Colombian DCM Rodrigo Pinzon, the Staffdel encouraged Colombia to become involved with the European interagency group to increase the information available overall. Monitoring the Problem -------------- ¶6. (U) The European Monitoring Center for Drugs and Drug Addiction statisticians stressed that their information on supply was limited because the EU is more focused on demand reduction overall. Nevertheless, they noted that drug users in Portugal and the rest of Europe in general preferred heroin over cocaine. However, they acknowledged that the center only has information on admitted cocaine users (usually addicts) and that given the usual drug trajectory, they would not have a full picture of current cocaine use for years to come. Conclusions for the HIRC Meeting LISBON 00001937 002.2 OF 002 -------------- ¶7. (SBU) Staffdel members said they plan to relay the following observations and recommendations from their visit to the HIRC in the meeting scheduled for September 21: OBSERVATION -- The USG and EU should play a more significant role in stemming the flow of cocaine into Europe. The European drug trade may be undercutting US counterterrorism goals in Colombia by providing a cocaine profit margin two to three times higher than in the U.S. money that finds its way into the coffers of foreign terrorist organizations (FTOs). RECOMMENDATIONS -- Encourage Embassy Lisbon's assistance to and operational support for the new international police liaison center modeled on JIATF East through a Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) presence in country along with Portuguese, Spanish, UK, German, French, Colombian, and Brazilian counterdrug police. -- That DEA officials conduct a laboratory analysis of cocaine seized in recent major seizures to ascertain the origin of the illicit drugs. -- Based upon DEA "signature analysis," origin country police officials should be approached to participate in the liaison center. -- An Embassy Lisbon law enforcement liaison (DEA or other) should consider establishing mechanisms to monitor cocaine trafficking, seizures and arrests more closely and in a timelier manner. Police Respond to Threat, Politicians Less Interested -------------- -------------- ¶8. (SBU) Comment: Portuguese officials are keen to reach out, both to EU neighbors and to the United States to close the net on drug traffickers. The new JIATF East-like liaison center promises to be a useful tool in coordinating a European response to the trans-Atlantic drug supply. Nevertheless, Portuguese politicians appear only vaguely aware of the dangers that being "Europe's drug gateway" could pose in the future. We believe that the media attention on these large cocaine seizures will help highlight the issue beyond law enforcement circles. End comment. O'Neal