CROATIA INCSR 2006 - PART ONE

UNCLAS ZAGREB 001338 SIPDIS SIPDIS SENSITIVE DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/SCE, INL JUSTICE FOR OIA, AFMLS, AND NDDS DEA FOR OILS AND OFFICE OF DIVERSION CONTROL TREASURY FOR FINCEN E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: SNAR PREL KJUS KCRM HR SUBJECT: CROATIA INCSR 2006 - PART ONE REF: STATE 172484 Sensitive but unclassified; please handle accordingly. ¶1. (U) Below please find per reftel request, part one of post's submission for the annual International Narcotics Control Strategy Report. Part two on money laundering will be submitted septel. ¶I. Summary Croatia is not a producer of narcotics. However, narcotics smuggling, particularly heroin, through the Balkans route to Western Europe remains a serious concern. Croatian law enforcement bodies cooperate actively with their U.S. and regional counterparts to combat narcotics smuggling. Croatia is a party to the 1988 UN Drug Convention. II. Status of Country Croatia shares borders with Slovenia, Serbia, Montenegro, Hungary, and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and has a 1,000 km long coastline (4,000 km adding in its 1,001 islands),which presents an attractive target to contraband smugglers seeking to move narcotics into the vast European market. Croatian police have noted a steady increase in smuggling from the east, estimating that 70 to 80 percent of heroin destined for European markets is smuggled through the notorious "Balkans Route." III. Country Actions Against Drugs in 2006 Policy Initiatives. In December 2005 Croatia adopted a National Strategy for Narcotics Abuse Prevention in November for the 2006-2012 period, developed with assistance from the European Monitoring Center for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA). The Strategy aims to bring demand and supply reduction efforts in line with EU policies and creates a National Information Unit for Drugs to standardize monitoring and the assessment of drug abuse data to facilitate data sharing with the EU's EMCDDA programs. In February 2006 the Government adopted the Action Plan on Drug Abuse Control for the 2006-2009 period. Its goal is to achieve equal availability of programs throughout the country targeting primarily children, youth and families. By the end of 2005, the Government completed establishment of the network of addiction prevention centers, which are now available in all of Croatia's 22 counties. In June 2006, Parliament adopted changes to the Criminal Code, which increased sentences for possession and dealing of illicit drugs. The amendments also simplified confiscation of assets of organized criminals. Croatia instituted changes to the criminal code during the year, increasing penalties for several provisions. The minimum penalty for individual narcotics production and dealing was increased from one to three years. The minimum penalty for selling of narcotics by organized groups was increased from three to five years. The minimum penalty for incitement or facilitating the use of illegal narcotics was increased to one year. In addition, possession of related equipment or precursor chemicals is now punishable by a punishment of no less than one year, an increase from three months. According to the criminal code, police are able to control deliveries and shipments, a method that was used frequently with international cooperation. One of the changes to the criminal code, effective October 2006, eased measures to confiscate assets of organized crime groups. The amendment places the burden of providing evidence about the origins of assets on the defendant rather than the prosecutor, and allows confiscation of assets acquired during the period of incriminating activity. Croatia continues to cooperate well with neighboring and other European states to improve the control and management of its porous borders. Cooperation on narcotics enforcement issues with neighboring states is generally described as excellent. Law Enforcement Efforts. The Interior Ministry, Justice Ministry and Customs Directorate have primary responsibility for law enforcement issues, while the Ministry of Health has primary responsibility for the strategy to reduce and treat drug abuse. The Interior Ministry's Anti-Narcotics Division is responsible for coordinating the work of counter-narcotics units in police departments throughout the country. The Interior Ministry maintains cooperative relationships with Interpol and neighboring states, and cooperates through the South-Eastern Cooperation Initiative (SECI). Croatian police and Customs authorities continued to coordinate counter-narcotics efforts on targeted border-crossing points, although with 189 legal border crossings, the level of coordination was not consistent. Heroin (25 kg in 2005 vs. 80 kg in the first nine months of 2006) and hashish (6 kg in 2005 vs. 12 kg in the first nine months of 2006) seizures increased this year. The sharp rise in heroin seizures was attributed to a large seizure by border police. Marijuana (428 kg in 2005 vs. 144 kg in the first nine months of 2006) and cocaine seizures (17.6 kg in 2005 vs. 5kg to date this year) declined, as have amphetamine and ecstasy seizures. Police reported 4.7 percent more arrests this year in connection with narcotics charges when compared to 2005. Increased attention has been paid to detecting money laundering with funds obtained through narcotics dealing. In 2005 police submitted ten such criminal charges. Corruption. Narcotics-linked corruption does not appear to be a major problem in Croatia. As a matter of government policy, Croatia does not encourage or facilitate illicit production or distribution of narcotic or psychotropic drugs or other controlled substances, or the laundering of proceeds from illegal drug transactions. Similarly, no senior government official is alleged to have participated in such activities. In 2006, police increased efforts to fight corruption internally, resulting in the removal of six hundred thirty officers. Agreements and Treaties. Croatia ratified the UN Convention Against Corruption in April 2005. Croatia is a party to the 1988 UN Drug Convention, the 1961 UN Single Convention as amended by its 1972 Protocol and the 1971 UN Convention On Psychotropic Substances. Croatia is also a party to the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and its protocols against trafficking in persons, migrant smuggling, and illegal manufacturing and trafficking in firearms. Extradition between Croatia and the United States is governed by the 1902 Extradition Treaty between the U.S. and the Kingdom of Serbia, which applies to Croatia as a successor state. Croatia has signed bilateral agreements with 29 countries permitting cooperation on combating terrorism, organized crime, smuggling and narcotics abuse. The Croatian constitution prohibits the extradition of Croatian citizens; however, the Government of Croatia permits its citizens to be extradited to the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY). Cultivation/Production. Small-scale cannabis production for domestic use is the only narcotics production within Croatia. In 2005, 2,960 cannabis plants were seized. Opium poppies are cultivated on a very small scale for culinary use of the seeds. Because of Croatia's small market and its relatively porous border, Croatian police report that nearly all illegal drugs are imported into Croatia. However, authorities believe that given the existence of ecstasy labs in Bosnia and Herzegovina, it is inevitable that small-scale labs will be discovered in Croatia. Drug Flow/Transit. Croatia lies along part of the "Balkans Route." Authorities believe that up to 80 percent of the heroin from Asian sources travels across this route on its way to the European market. Although not considered a primary gateway, police seizure data indicate smugglers continue to attempt to use Croatia as a transit point for other drugs, including cocaine and cannabis-based drugs. A general increase in narcotics abuse and smuggling has been attributed to liberalization of border traffic and increased tourism and maritime activities. Police noted that cocaine seizures primarily occurred at Croatia's seaports. Cannabis-based drugs have increasingly been identified at road border crossings. Ecstasy and other pill-form narcotics are smuggled into Croatia both from Western Europe (The Netherlands and Belgium are primary suspected sources) and eastern countries in small quantities for domestic use. Domestic Programs/Demand Reduction. The Office for Combating Drug Abuse is the focal point for coordination of various agencies activities to reduce demand for narcotics. This Office develops the National Strategy for Narcotics Abuse Prevention, which was adopted by the government in November for the period of 2006-2012. According to the Office, Istria County continued to have the highest rate of treated addicts, followed by the Zadar and Varazdin County. The high rates in Istria did not necessarily reflect high drug abuse rates, but rather an efficient system of their inclusion in treatment due to good cooperation between drug abuse prevention centers and general practitioners. In 2005, 6,688 persons underwent drug addiction treatment, which is a 15.6 percent increase from in the previous year. The majority of those treated were opiate addicts. The number of the first-time seekers of addiction treatment, which has been sliding since 2001, rose by 9.3 percent in 2005 and the number of new opiate addicts increased 7.2 percent compared to 2004. Government sources ascribe the increase to a wider and more efficient network of addiction prevention centers. Approximately 72 percent of the overall number of addicts was addicted to heroin. The Government said that the number of addicts infected with hepatitis C and HIV, which stood at 47 percent and 0.5 percent respectively, has not changed significantly in 2005. The number of deaths caused by overdose continued to rise. There were 104 drug-related deaths in 2005, down from 108 in 2004 (of which 88 died from overdose). Demand reduction programs are coordinated by the Government's Office for Combating Drug Abuse. The Ministry of Education requires drug education in primary and secondary schools. Other ministries and government organizations also run outreach programs to reach specific constituencies such as pregnant women. The state-run medical system offers treatment for addicts, but slots are insufficient to accommodate all needing treatment. Methadone is used in the treatment of 67 percent of patients. The Ministry of Health operates in-patient detoxification programs as well as 14 regional outpatient methadone clinics. In January 2006, Croatian authorities adopted guidelines to change the official health protocol on disbursement of heptanon and other heroin addiction replacement therapy drugs. This initiative was taken to counter the growing abuse of heptanon in Croatia: seizures of illegal heptanon doubled in 2005 compared to 2004 and 20 persons died from overdose. Under the guidelines only licenced psychiatrists are allowed to prescribe substitute treatment which must occur in the presence of a general practitioner. The Ministry of Heath is currently forming guidelines for buprenophine usage. The Government spend 49.8 million kuna (8.6 million USD) on all drug abuse related programs) in 2005, which is eight percent less than in the previous year. It has created a network of county-level expert advisory groups that work with local governments to counter narcotics abuse and serve as incubators for policy initiatives. In Varazdin, the advisory group continued a random drug testing program for high school students. IV. U.S. Policy Initiatives and Programs Bilateral Cooperation. The primary objectives of U.S. initiatives in Croatia are to offer assistance with the development of skills and tools among Croatian law enforcement agencies to improve their ability to combat organized crime and narcotics trafficking and to improve Croatian law enforcement agencies' abilities to work bilaterally and regionally to combat trafficking. Having achieved basic objectives, U.S. assistance for police reform efforts under the ICITAP (DoJ) program was refocused on combating organized crime and corruption. In October 2006, Croatian police formed the first joint police-prosecutor task force to target a criminal organization allegedly involved in drug trafficking and other illegal activities. In addition, Croatian police have been regular participants in training programs at the U.S.-funded International Law Enforcement Academy in Budapest as well as follow-on training in Roswell, New Mexico. Under the Export Control and Border Security (EXBS) program, police and customs officers have been trained this year on border security, tracking training, and commodity identification, all of which will assist in preventing trafficking through Croatia. Road Ahead. For 2007, U.S. expert training teams will join in-country U.S. trainers to help Croatian police develop skills in surveillance, management development, port security and port vulnerability assessments. Resident advisors will continue to assist the Ministry of Interior in improving police and prosecutor cooperation in complex narcotics and organized crime cases. Additional training and detection equipment donations planned for 2007 under the EXBS program will have ancillary benefits for Croatia's fight against narcotics trafficking, particularly in the areas of interagency cooperation and border management. BRADTKE