AZERBAIJAN: DRUG SEIZURES UP IN FIRST HALF OF 2007

C O N F I D E N T I A L BAKU 000791 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/21/2017 TAGS: ECON SNAR PGOV PREL PINR KCOR AJ IR SUBJECT: AZERBAIJAN: DRUG SEIZURES UP IN FIRST HALF OF 2007 REF: 06 BAKU 1475 Classified By: POLITICAL ECONOMIC COUNSELOR JOAN POLASCHIK PER REASONS 1.4 (B,D) ¶1. (SBU) According to official Government of Azerbaijan (GOAJ) and UNDP statistics, for the first five months of 2007 the GOAJ interdicted 330 kilograms of illegal drugs. The breakdown of the seizures by drug type is heroin 23 kg, opium/opiates 67 kg, marijuana 50 kg and hashish 190 kg. In 2006, the GOAJ seized approximately 312.5 kilograms of illegal drugs up from 245 kilograms in 2005 and 218 kilograms in 2004. Based upon press reports citing GOAJ drug interdiction efforts, most seizures are relatively small -- one to two kilograms. According to official statistics provided by the State Statistical Committee, Azerbaijan has rarely interdicted any shipments larger than 50 to 100 kilograms. ¶2. (SBU) While the exact locations of the government's drug seizures are not always known, presumably the majority of drugs seized originated from Iran. Azerbaijan shares a 600 kilometer border with Iran, with large swaths uncontrolled by either government. On June 9, State Customs Committee official Ogtay Mammadov told local press outlets that 85 percent of the drugs transported to Azerbaijan came from Iran. ¶3. (SBU) Azerbaijan's Interior Minister Ramil Usubov previewed this increase in counternarcotics efforts in April, when he told the press that the GOAJ is paying special attention to the fight against international drug trafficking and "is stepping up its efforts in this struggle." He added that the common drug routes were Afghanistan-Central Asia-Russia-Europe, and Afghanistan-Iran-Azerbaijan/South Caucasus countries-Russia-Europe. Usubov stated that Azerbaijan cooperates with Iranian authorities and arrests primarily Iranian and Azerbaijani citizens. Usubov added, however, that the GOAJ does not always succeed in detaining drug dealers or traffickers from Iran, alluding to the lack of cooperation with the Iranian government. ¶4. (C) COMMENT: The historically low number of drug interdictions, especially heroin, by GOAJ authorities does not track with Azerbaijan's geographic position near major drug producing and transit countries. Minister of Internal Affairs Usubbov's public commitment to increase counternarcotics efforts is encouraging, but the minimal seizures to-date are not in-line with the large seizures regularly made by neighboring countries such as Turkey. Azerbaijan's widespread corruption problems could be to blame. We will continue to monitor the situation. END COMMENT. LU