KOSOVO: UNMIK CUSTOMS ASSISTS IN SEIZURE OF OVER

C O N F I D E N T I A L PRISTINA 000021 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR EUR/SCE, INL, AND EXBS, NSC FOR BRAUN, USUN FOR DREW SCHUFLETOWSKI, USOSCE FOR STEVE STEGER, OPDAT FOR ACKER E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/26/2016 TAGS: PBTS SNAR KCRM KJUS EAID UNMIK YI SUBJECT: KOSOVO: UNMIK CUSTOMS ASSISTS IN SEIZURE OF OVER 400 KILOS OF COCAINE REF: PODGORICA 0006 Classified By: CDA ALEX LASKARIS FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: UNMIK Customs Service became suspicious when a truck later found to contain about 430 kilograms of cocaine entered Kosovo from Montenegro. They held the truck overnight in Peja, and escorted it to the Macedonian border January 8, where Macedonian authorities discovered the cocaine and arrested the driver. While the seizure is a positive development, it highlights the porous nature of Kosovo's borders. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (C) Macedonian authorities seized about 430 kilograms of cocaine in a Macedonia-registered truck crossing the Kosovo-Macedonia border at Han-i-Elezit on January 8. UNMIK Customs Service Deputy Director Agim Nika (protect) told poloff that the truck entered Kosovo through Montenegro at the Kulla border crossing on January 7. According to Nika, UNMIK Customs officials became suspicious when the driver said the truck contained paint shipped from Venezuela to Montenegro and bound for Greece. They did not think it made sense for the shipper to truck the cargo overland from Montenegro, through Kosovo and Macedonia, to Greece when they could have shipped it directly to a Greek port, so they contacted the UNMIK Customs Intelligence Unit for further investigation. Because the Kulla border crossing lacks Customs inspection facilities, the truck was sealed and sent to the Peja inland Customs processing facility for inspection. UNMIK Customs Intelligence Unit asked the Kosovo Police Service (KPS) to do a canine inspection of the truck, and they held it in Peja overnight. ¶3. (C) KPS inspectors searched the vehicle. According to KPS Organized Crime Unit Director Fatos Haziri (protect),the KPS dogs alerted the inspectors to something in three of the containers. When they opened them, they did not find any drugs. Haziri said UNMIK Customs decided they should send the truck on to Macedonia, where scanners could be used, instead of opening all of the containers and damaging the packaging. According to Nika, UNMIK Customs escorted the truck and its Macedonian driver to the Han-i-Elezit/General Jankovic border crossing. They shared their intelligence with the Macedonian authorities, who discovered the massive quantity of cocaine with their scanners. ¶4. (C) COMMENT: The seizure was an example of good cooperation between UNMIK Customs and Macedonian authorities, but it was an unfortunate reminder of Kosovo's need for better inspection equipment at its borders and inland processing stations. We have long been concerned about Kosovo being a transit route for illegal drugs. This case is also noteworthy in that the narcotics route on which we have focused has been from Afghanistan/Turkey into Western Europe, not from South America to Greece. An Export Control and Related Border Security (EXBS) assessment team visited Kosovo in September and indicated a desire to start a program in Kosovo, which Post strongly supports. END COMMENT. ¶5. (SBU) U.S. Office Pristina clears this cable in its entirety for release to U.N. Special Envoy Martti Ahtisaari. LASKARIS