Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07CONAKRY1239
2007-11-14 15:10:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Conakry
Cable title:  

GUINEAN POLICE SEIZE 278 KILOS OF COCAINE OVER TEN

Tags:  SNAR PGOV PREL ASEC GV 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO6151
PP RUEHPA
DE RUEHRY #1239/01 3181510
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 141510Z NOV 07
FM AMEMBASSY CONAKRY
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1872
INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE
RUEABND/DEA WASHDC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHMCSUU/FBI WASHINGTON DC
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 CONAKRY 001239 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/09/2017
TAGS: SNAR PGOV PREL ASEC GV
SUBJECT: GUINEAN POLICE SEIZE 278 KILOS OF COCAINE OVER TEN
MONTHS

Classified By: POL/ECON CHIEF SHANNON CAZEAU FOR REASON 1.4 B AND D

-------
SUMMARY
-------

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 CONAKRY 001239

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/09/2017
TAGS: SNAR PGOV PREL ASEC GV
SUBJECT: GUINEAN POLICE SEIZE 278 KILOS OF COCAINE OVER TEN
MONTHS

Classified By: POL/ECON CHIEF SHANNON CAZEAU FOR REASON 1.4 B AND D

--------------
SUMMARY
--------------


1. (C) The new director of Guinea,s police anti-drug unit
reports that his unit has seized 278 kilos of cocaine since
January 2007. The director said that Guinea,s drug
trafficking problem has worsened significantly in recent
years and the anti-drug unit is ill equipped to effectively
stem the flow of cocaine. He acknowledged that corruption is
a major problem, but did not have a clear strategy for
addressing it. Eager for any kind of technical assistance,
training and/or equipment, the director said he would be
happy to collaborate with the USG to improve Guinea,s drug
interdiction program. END SUMMARY.

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COCAINE BUTTONS AND VANISHING KILOS
--------------


2. (SBU) On October 31, poloff and RSO met with the newly
appointed Director of Guinea,s police anti-drug unit, Bakary
Thermite Mara, who had been reassigned from his previous
position as Director of Interpol. RSO congratulated Mara for
recent successful crackdowns including the arrest of four
Nigerians who were apprehended after police found that they
had manufactured buttons out of two grams of cocaine each and
then attached them to clothing, reportedly to be used to
transport the drugs out of the country. RSO also
congratulated Mara for the July arrest of several police
officers who had stolen 14 kilos of seized cocaine and used
the proceeds to purchase four new vehicles.

--------------
LET ME SHOW YOU THE EVIDENCE
--------------


3. (C) Mara was eager to share the details of another
successful drug bust that he had overseen earlier that
morning. My boss doesn,t even know about this one yet,8
he said. Mara said that airport police had detained a
Ghanaian, who was booked on an Air Maroc flight to Spain, on
suspicion of drug trafficking. As he called for his deputy
to bring in the evidence, Mara said that the hunch turned out
to be true when the Ghanaian later voided the cocaine he had
swallowed. The deputy came in a few minutes later and dumped

the contents of a plastic bag onto the desk ) approximately
20 capsules, three-inches long and one-inch in diameter, full
of cocaine. When asked about the quantity, Mara said it
represented at least a kilo and was probably worth $40,000
(COMMENT. If it was in fact a kilo, the actual value is
probably closer to $100,000).

--------------
278 KILOGRAMS OF COCAINE SEIZED IN 2007
--------------


4. (C) At poloff request, Mara agreed to share his office,s
statistics on recent drug busts, which he made available to
the Embassy a few days later. The report dates back to
January 2007 and includes 31 separate cases. Of these 31
cases, 15 involved seizure of cocaine totaling approximately
278 kilograms. Most were relatively small seizures, but
there were three larger busts: a July 22nd case involving 51
kg, a July 13 case involving 182 kg, and a September 13 case
involving 23 kg. The remaining 16 cases involved marijuana.
While drug totals were listed, there was no information as to
how much money was seized in connection with these drug
cases.

--------------
WE ARE NOT INCORRUPTIBLE
--------------


5. (C) Referring to the July case involving the arrest of
police officials, poloff asked Mara to discuss his strategy
for addressing corruption within the anti-drug unit. Mara
said that he had been appointed to the position specifically
because his bosses have utmost confidence in him. The
administration knows there is corruption here,, he added.
Mara said that drug trafficking naturally comes with lots of
money, guns and women which makes it particularly attractive
to low-paid police officials. Referring to himself, he said
we cannot say that we are not corruptible, but maybe less
so than the rest.,


6. (SBU) Mara defined corruption not only in financial

CONAKRY 00001239 002 OF 002


terms, but also as a lack of moral values. He said that it
is important to ensure that officers understand their moral
responsibility as law enforcement officials in order to fully
appreciate the dangers of corrupt behavior. RSO agreed with
Mara and said that it is important that this mentality of
morality be passed onto new officers, especially as Guinea
looks to develop its new police academy.

--------------
GROWING DRUG TRAFFICKING PROBLEM
--------------


7. (SBU) When asked whether he has seen an increase in drug
trafficking in Guinea, Mara said that drugs have been an
issue in Guinea for a long time. He clarified that Guinea,s
fight against drugs began in 1976 when the government created
an office to deal with drug abuse and inebriation. However,
Mara acknowledged that the magnitude of Guinea,s drug
problem is much bigger now than it was even a few years ago.
He added that aside from its mounting cocaine trafficking
problem, significant quantities of marijuana are grown in
Guinea for local consumption.

--------------
LOOKING FOR A BETTER IMAGE
--------------


8. (SBU) Mara ended the meeting with a tour of the
anti-crime unit,s office facilities, which were comprised of
a number of bare offices, most without even a desk or a
chair. They did have a new bunkhouse and the toilet
facilities were under renovation. The Director,s office was
well-furnished with new-looking furniture, a computer and a
television. While walking embassy staff to their car, Mara
emphasized that any material assistance would be more than
welcome. He pointed to a dilapidated jeep and said &we just
aren,t projecting the right image when we do a big drug bust
and put the traffickers in the jeep...only to have to get
back out and push the vehicle in order to get the engine
going.8

--------------
COMMENT
--------------


9. (C) Other contacts have indicated that corruption is
rampant within the police anti-drug unit. According to
sources, seized cocaine is often stolen by police officers
and resold with the proceeds distributed up the chain of
command. The Minister of Interior and Security was seen on a
national television broadcast burning some of the seized
cocaine, but one contact told poloff that the burning was
more symbolic and only represented a token quantity of the
cocaine that had actually been seized. A contact with an NGO
prisoner advocacy organization co-located at the Conakry
prison, said that many police officers have brand new
vehicles and other suspiciously expensive items, things that
they could not possibly afford on their salaries. The chief
police commissar of the Conakry prison, who was sitting in a
well-equipped office with new furniture and a television and
computer, told poloff that he had over 300,000 euros sitting
in his safe that he was not authorized to show.


10. (C) The new chief of the anti-drug unit has his work cut
out for him. In his previous position as the head of
Interpol, he was generally very cooperative with the Embassy.
The general inadequacy of Guinea,s law enforcement agency,
coupled with rampant corruption, make it ineffective in
stemming the growing drug trafficking problem. Embassy is
exploring possible avenues of assistance. END COMMENT.
CARTER