2007-2008 INSCR FOR AZERBAIJAN

UNCLAS BAKU 001464 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR INL AND EUR/CARC E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: SNAR PREL EAID AJ SUBJECT: 2007-2008 INSCR FOR AZERBAIJAN REF: STATE 136780 Azerbaijan ¶I. Summary Azerbaijan is located along a drug transit route running from Afghanistan and Central Asia to Western Europe, and from Iran to Russia and Western Europe. Domestic consumption and cultivation of narcotics as well as seizures have increased since 2006-2007. The United States has funded counternarcotics assistance to Azerbaijan through the FREEDOM Support Act since 2002. Azerbaijan is a party to the 1988 UN Drug Convention. II. Status of Country Azerbaijan's main narcotics problem is the transit of drugs through its territory, but domestic consumption in growing. Azerbaijan emerged as a narcotics transit route in the 1990s because of the disruption of the "Balkan Route" due to the wars in and among the countries of the former Yugoslavia. According to the Government of Azerbaijan (GOAJ),the majority of narcotics transiting Azerbaijan originates in Afghanistan and follows one of four primary routes: Afghanistan-Iran-Azerbaijan-Georgia-western Europe; Afghanistan-Iran-Nagorno-Karabakh and the occupied territories of Azerbaijan-Armenia-Georgia-Western Europe; Afghanistan-Iran-Azerbaijan-Russia; or Afghanistan-Central Asia-the Caspian Sea-Azerbaijan-Georgia-western Europe. Azerbaijan shares a 380 mile (611 km) frontier with Iran, and its border control forces are insufficiently trained and equipped to patrol it effectively. Iranian and other traffickers are exploiting this situation. The most widely abused drugs in Azerbaijan are opiates -* especially heroin -- licit medicines, hemp, ecstasy, hashish, cocaine and LSD. Domestic consumption continues to grow with the official GOAJ estimate of drug addicts reaching 18,000-20,000 persons. Unofficial figures are estimated at approximately 180,000 to 200,000, the majority of which is heroin addicts. Students are thought to be a large share of total drug abusers at 30-35 percent. The majority of heroin users is concentrated in major cities and in the Lankaran District (64.6 percent), which borders Iran. Drug use among young women has been rising. III. Country Actions Against Drugs in 2007 Policy Initiatives. The GOAJ continued to refine its strategy to combat drug transit and usage in Azerbaijan. The GOAJ bolstered its ability to collect and analyze drug-related intelligence, resulting in more productive investigations against narcotics traffickers. The GOAJ assumed the chairmanship of GUAM (Georgia-Ukraine-Azerbaijan-Moldova) in 2007 and has pushed sharing of counternarcotics information through the GUAM countries Virtual Law Enforcement Center (VLEC) in Baku. The VLEC was established with USG assistance. The center provides an encrypted information system that allows member states' law-enforcement agencies to share information and coordinate their efforts against terrorism, narcotics trafficking, small arms, and trafficking in persons. The extent to which information is shared among GUAM member states through the VLEC appears limited. In 2007 the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) increased its cooperation with Azerbaijan's Ministry of Internal Affairs and is developing strategies to further strengthen regional cooperation. Law Enforcement Efforts. According to Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) information from January-October 2007, the MIA confiscated 107.2 kilos of opium, 121 kilos of marijuana, 67.6 kilos of hashish, 58 kilos of heroin and 1.1 grams of cocaine. The MIA statistics said that 95.3 percent of drug related crimes were solved. The MIA reported that one in seven crimes in Azerbaijan was related to the illegal trade in narcotics. During the reporting period, there was a 6.7 percent increase in crimes related to the illegal trafficking of narcotics and an 11.4 percent increase in crimes related to the sale of narcotics. Of the 1659 people who were prosecuted for drug-related crimes in Azerbaijan, 95.5 percent were described as able bodied, unemployed people who were not in school, 28.8 percent had a criminal record, 3.6 percent were women and 0.18 percent were underage children. Corruption. Corruption remains a significant problem in Azerbaijan and permeates the entire society. Several Azerbaijani prosecutors have attended DOJ-sponsored training courses on investigating transborder crimes, implementing the Azerbaijani criminal code, and developing courtroom skills*such as preparing courtroom evidence and cross examining witnesses. These broad-based skills may aid in the prosecution of drug-related cases and limit the scope of corruption. Agreements and Treaties. Azerbaijan is a party to the 1988 UN Drug Convention, to the 1971 UN Convention Against Psychotropic Substances, and to the 1961 UN Single Convention as amended by its 1972 Protocol. Azerbaijan also is a party to the UN Convention Against Corruption, and to the UN Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime and its protocols against trafficking in persons, migrant smuggling and illegal manufacturing and trafficking in firearms. Cultivation and Production. Azerbaijan's problem with narcotics largely stems from its role as a transit state, rather than as a signficant drug cultivation site. Cannabis and popp are cultivated illegally, mostly in southern Azerbaijan. Drug Flow/Transit. Opium and poppy straw originating in Afghanistan transit to Azerbaijan from Iran, or from Central Asia across the Caspian Sea. Drugs are also smuggled through Azerbaijan to Russia, then on to Central and Western Europe. Azerbaijan cooperates with Black Sea and Caspian Sea littoral states in tracking and interdicting narcotics shipments, especially morphine base and heroin. Caspian Sea cooperation includes efforts to interdict narcotics transported across the Caspian Sea by ferry. Law enforcement officials report that they have received good cooperation from Russia. Domestic Programs. In 2007, Azerbaijan continued the anti-narcotics public service announcement begun in the summer of 2006, about the dangers of drug usage. The advertisements were aimed at a younger audience and were displayed in downtown Baku, in kiosks and on billboards. IV. U.S. Policy Initiatives and Programs. Bilateral Cooperation. In 2007, the U.S. Export Control and Related Border Security (EXBS) office continued to assist the Azerbaijan State Border Service (SBS) and the State Customs Committee (SCC). EXBS training and assistance efforts, while aimed at the nonproliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their delivery systems, directly enhance Azerbaijan's ability to control its borders and to interdict all contraband, including narcotics. During 2007, EXBS sponsored border control and management courses for the SBS and SCC officers. Some of these courses provided participants with real-time, hands-on inspections and border control tactics at sea and in the field. Others improved the Border Guard's control of Azerbaijan's southern border, as well as the ability of SCC officers to detect contraband. The U.S. donation of search tools and related equipment improved the Customs Contraband Teams' detection capabilities. A 2006 U.S. Border Patrol assessment of Border Guard operations on the Iranian border prioritized the direction of U.S. assistance. The U.S. contribution of fencing, and construction materials to rebuild watchtowers, and vehicles significantly enhanced the Border Guards' ability to hamper illegal penetrations of Azerbaijan's southern border. During 2006, DTRA and EXBS helped equip a maritime base near Azerbaijan's southern border in Astara. The base will host two patrol boats and two fast response boats which were delivered in early 2007. The facility will also be used for extended patrols by larger vessels from Baku. In August 2007, the Department of Justice International Criminal Investigative Training Assistance Program (DOJ/ICITAP) provided a three-week high-risk entry course with mass spectrometer analysis and drug training. This capacity has already been put into use by the Minster of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Health. The Road Ahead. The U.S. and Azerbaijan will continue to expand their efforts to conduct law enforcement assistance programs in Azerbaijan. While our assistance programs in Azerbaijan proper are strong, we have little window into what is happening in the Azerbaijani exclave of Nakhchivan or into activities in Nagorno Karabakh and the occupied territories. The increase in government revenues from the opening of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline has resulted in a significant inflow of cash into a developing economy with a high number of unemployed and underemployed young people; Azerbaijan's increasing wealth could be linked to reports of increasing drug consumption. There are signs that an increased proportion of the budget of the Ministry of Internal Affairs is going into counternarcotics operations and seizures. These confrontations have resulted in a few violent confrontations and increased causalities amongst security personnel and drug runners. DERSE