IRAN: HANDING DRUG CONTROL TO THE REVOLUTIONARY GUARD

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 03 IRAN RPO DUBAI 000027 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR NEA/IRAN, INL, INR, IO E.O. 12958: DECL: 4/23/2017 TAGS: IR PGOV PINR SNAR PREL SUBJECT: IRAN: HANDING DRUG CONTROL TO THE REVOLUTIONARY GUARD RPO DUBAI 00000027 001.2 OF 003 CLASSIFIED BY: Jillian Burns, Director, IRPO, DOS. REASON: 1.4 (b),(d) 1.(S/NF) National police chief General Esmaeel Ahmadi-Moqaddam is the new secretary-general of the Drug Control Headquarters, replacing Fada-Husseini Maleki, announced the Iranian government in early April. General Ahmadi-Moqaddam said that President Ahmadi-Nejad hired him to address the drug issue as a law enforcement officer. The head of the UN office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in Tehran Roberto Arbitrio gave IRPO an update on Iran's narcotics program April 21. Our UNODC expert believes these developments in the area of drug control reflect an overall trend in Iranian government to crack-down on perceived moral decay. How this sudden change of drug chiefs will actually affect issues of drug control and rehabilitation remains to be seen. Arbitrio's description of the events leading up to the change in drug officials to be reported septel. End Summary National Police chief, as the new drug tsar -------------- 2.(S/NF) The head of the UNODC office in Tehran Roberto Arbitrio (please protect),who occasionally briefs IRPO on drug-related issues when passing through Dubai, provided an update of the recent shift in the management of Iran's drug control program April 21. According to the UNODC official, his Iranian associate and interlocutor Fada-Hussein Maleki, Iran's head of drug control, was unexpectedly replaced by the national police chief General Esmaeel Ahmadi-Moqaddam in early April. Arbitrio said that General Ahmadi-Moqaddam is rumored to be a former Basij leader, who supported President Ahmadi-Nejad during his presidential campaign and is also married to the president's sister. Though the replacement of Maleki is due to political reasons said Arbitrio (reported septel),the selection of Ahmadi-Moqaddam is a step to intensify the country's already strict drug control program. 3.(S/NF) Arbitrio said the extent to which the union between the Drug Control Headquarters with police may affect different aspects of drug control is yet unclear. According to an April 12 Iran daily article, Ahmadi-Moqaddam maintained a strong focus on rehabilitation of addicts and did not just focus on law enforcement. He told reporters on the sidelines of his inauguration ceremony that the police plan to collect and rehabilitate about 300,000 high-risk drug addicts during the current Persian calendar year, which started March 21, and that the ministries of health, welfare and other offices will cooperate. He said addicts should be treated (not imprisoned), while adding that addicts are considered criminals unless they contact a rehabilitation center for treatment. 4.(S/NF) Despite these statements, Arbitrio understands that President Ahmadi-Nejad hired Ahmadi-Moqaddam to address the drug issue as a law enforcement officer. Though Ahmadi-Moqaddam said he has always been supportive of Iran's drug policy, Arbitrio thinks it is possible that the dismissal of Maleki, already considered a hard-liner, together with the government's recent pressures on issues of morality (such as the recent crackdown on women's dress code) may indicate a more severe approach. Drug control and Iran's borders -------------- 5.(S/NF) According to Arbitrio, Iran is highly concerned about Pakistan's ability to control its border with Iran and the operation of Jundullah group in Sistan-va Baluchistan. Arbitrio said the security situation in the east is deteriorating. He described a helicopter trip last November in which he took ambassadors to inspect the southern border area, a trip he said he could not make today due to the lack of security. Arbitrio said the Iranian side of the border was well equipped with watch towers, trenches, and fences, while he did not observe any similar security measures on the Pakistani side of the border. 6.(S/NF) Arbitrio explained that cooperation on border security issues between Iran and Afghanistan is much more positive than that between Iran and Pakistan. Afghanistan is interested in learning from Iran's expertise, and there remains a degree of trust. He said that UNODC is trying to use Iran to facilitate greater Afghanistan-Pakistan cooperation, noting that Pakistan is increasingly serving as a transit point for drugs between Afghanistan and Iran. 7.(S/NF) According to Arbitrio, Iran has major concerns about RPO DUBAI 00000027 002.2 OF 003 all of its borders and feels they are inflamed, in particular the Baluchi, Kurdish, and Azeri regions. UNODC promoting Iran's regional collaboration -------------- 8.(S/NF) Arbitrio said that UNODC has been working in Iran since the late 1990's not only with the objective to assist Tehran in reducing narcotics trafficking and drug abuse, but to also strengthen regional and national cooperation on drug control. Arbitrio indicated that UNODC would continue its policy of facilitating the process of international engagement on the drug issue, albeit in the face of suspicion from many in the region. He said the UNODC had several regional meetings lately in the Caspian region, Caucuses, Turkey, and the Persian Gulf. He said that in the Caspian region, Azerbaijan is especially interested in increasing bilateral relations, as they currently deal through multilateral programs with Russia. Russia and Iran were still discussing exchanging drug liaison officers. 9.(S/NF) The three Caucuses countries and Turkey have generally positive cooperation with Iran and plan to continue cooperating. He noted that the Turks seemed pleased that the new head of the Drug Control Headquarters had a background dealing with security issues in Kurdistan. The Gulf countries, however, are more sensitive and concerned about cooperation with Iran. Saudi Arabia, Arbitrio said, is particularly suspicious of Iran regarding narcotics but is keeping channel open for bilateral cooperation. He noted that in general the UAE, considered a very important UNODC partner, prefers bilateral cooperation with Iran over dealing via the GCC. Arbitrio noted UNODC would soon produce a report out of a recent round of international consultations. 10.(S/NF) UNODC is also facilitating collaboration between Iran and East Asian countries. Arbitrio said several antinarcotics delegations recently went to Iran, and had interesting exchanges; these included Burma, Thailand, Vietnam, and Laos. Next on the agenda is a visit to Iran by Indonesian religious leaders, followed by collaboration with China. Possible recycling of seized opium? -------------- 11.(S/NF) According to Arbitrio, after the revolution, the new Islamic government declared its opposition to continuing licit opium cultivation for pharmaceutical use in Iran. Recently, the government requested reauthorization to legalize opium production for pharmaceutical use, but Arbitrio doubted the request would be granted. Arbitrio, commenting on the disposition of the 200-300 tons of seized opiates a year in Iran, acknowledged corruption within the police. He also noted recent arrests for police corruption. He suspected, however, that much of the opium or heroin was illegally routed to Iranian pharmaceutical companies for the production of legal, opium-based medicine. If true, this would be a violation of the UN requirement to destroy all seized drugs. New "crack" gains popularity -------------- 12.(S/NF) Arbitrio indicated that because Afghanistan, the world's largest opium producer, is producing a surplus of 30% over demand, dealers are encouraging increased consumption of opium and its derivatives by creating and marketing new products and new systems of consumption, such as cocktailing. Arbitrio predicted such efforts will also spread in the West. (Note: cocktailing refers to combining a number of drugs together. Endnote) Arbitiro said that the current drug of choice in Iran is compressed heroin or "crack," growing in popularity in comparison to opium or normal heroin. (Note: What is called crack in Iran is heroine-based, unlike the cocaine based crack in the West. Endnote) This crack is approximately one-sixth heroin and is typically smoked in pipes. Drug treatment -------------- 13.(S/NF) Arbitrio spoke positively about drug addiction treatment in Iran, particularly in terms of government policy. He said Iran uses the entire range of drug treatment techniques, from homeopathic, psychological, methadone and other advanced pharmaceutical programs, to the combination of them all. However, currently the availability of drug treatment is very low compared to the estimated 4 million drug users. He said NGO's provide free treatment, and that the government also provides free and low cost treatments. Paid private clinics are RPO DUBAI 00000027 003.2 OF 003 used by rich Iranians, Arbitrio said. Causes of drug use -------------- 14.(S/NF) In a wrap-up discussion, Arbitrio discussed why Iranians are increasingly turning to drugs. He said that life in Iran has become more depressing, and that there is a clear economic crisis; average salaries are 150-200 thousand tomans (about 150-200 dollars),salaries are often not paid in months, and people's first idea is to leave the country. He said the educated were not interested in President Ahmadi-Nejad's vision of the future, and there is also increasing fear of an international conflict. He said if he were a young Iranian boy with little hope for a successful future, he couldn't be sure he wouldn't join the popular drug culture. He noted an alarming increase of women and children turning to drug use. He mentioned a recent movie about a young middle class Iranian girl who becomes addicted to drugs, which won an award at Toronto film festival. He said the government did not like the film but allowed it to be shown. 15.(S/NF) Comment: Regardless of Iran's relatively progressive drug programs and policies, the country has not been successful in preventing an epidemic of drug abuse. Punishment of people involved with drugs from addicts to smugglers has been Iran's drug control policy since the 1990's, and today more than 40% of the Iranian prison population is comprised of individuals arrested for drug offenses. This situation could worsen if the recent appointment of the police chief to head the Drug Control Headquarters leads to a much heavier emphasis on interdiction and away from drug treatment. It is doubtful that such a policy would succeed, for as Arbitrio said and others echo, economic depression, coupled with social repression, is major reasons for Iran's drug epidemic. As long as the country has high levels of unemployment and under-employment, it is doubtful Iran will make much progress in its war on drugs. BURNS