NAS VIENTIANE: UPDATE ON METHAMPHETAMINE IN LAOS

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 VIENTIANE 000257

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SUBJECT: NAS VIENTIANE: UPDATE ON METHAMPHETAMINE IN LAOS


1. (SBU) Summary. Almost everyone in the Lao lowlands, from
the Prime Minister in Vientiane to street vendors in Pakse,
is keenly aware that methamphetamine trafficking is on the
increase and that the lives of thousands of Lao citizens have
become more precarious as a result. Lao law enforcement
agencies do not have the capacity to effectively interdict
illicit drugs, but with sufficient training and equipment,
could provide a significant deterrent. The Embassy and the
Government of Laos (GOL) will focus existing law enforcement
programs on the strategic golden triangle region of the
northwest and the new Thailand-Vietnam highway that runs
across Savannakhet Province. Demand reduction programs
remain Laos' most effective tool against methamphetamine, but
addict treatment capacity is still unsatisfactory. The
Embassy and the GOL are preparing to launch a new drug
awareness campaign that focuses on students as a means to
stem the growth in ATS abuse. Methamphetamine addiction and
associated crime appear to be increasing rapidly. End
Summary.


2. (SBU) While it took decades for the GOL to acknowledge
that opium was a serious problem that had to be addressed,
Lao officials have been very proactive where ATS is
concerned. The reason for this is that while methamphetamine
addiction is penetrating all levels of Lao society, it is
disproportionately impacting the urban middle class and the
communist party elite. Even professionals in the counter
narcotics field have found that their families are not
immune. Consequently, the issue has great resonance and
anti-ATS programs have unflinching support from the majority
of GOL officials.

LAW ENFORCEMENT
--------------


3. (SBU) The law enforcement agencies of Laos do not have
the capacity that they need to combat methamphetamine
trafficking and transit. The problems posed by corruption,
long and porous borders, large neighbors who produce and
consume ATS, and growing internal demand for yaa baa
(methamphetamine) have combined to overwhelm the police. The
majority of officers lack even the most rudimentary of
investigative skills, do not know how to conduct a suspect
interview (without employing force),and often find
themselves short of standard police equipment (handcuffs,
flashlights, body armor). The GOL currently has no
counter-drug intelligence capability, and consequently has no
information where the ATS entering Laos comes from or what
organizations are involved. All of this makes Laos a perfect
transit route for major traffickers, as there is no
significant threat of interdiction against any drugs or
chemicals smuggled through Laos.


4. (SBU) Fortunately, law enforcement agencies in Laos can
be trained. The Customs Department, which cooperates
effectively with the U.S., has demonstrated a relatively high
level of motivation and competence with regard to drug
interdiction. Some provincial Counter Narcotics Units (CNU)
have been so effective against street dealers that officers
are now receiving death threats, and one officer in Udomxay
proudly shows off the bullet wounds he suffered in a
successful ATS raid.


5. (SBU) The Embassy and Lao National Commission for Drug
Control and Supervision (LCDC) have agreed in principle to a
new law enforcement strategy that will focus limited law
enforcement program resources where they are needed most.
UNODC and the GOL have identified the region of Northwest
Laos that is bordered by China, Burma, and Thailand as a
strategic zone for the interdiction of illicit drug
trafficking. Heroin and methamphetamine enter Laos here from
Burma for transit to Thailand, Vietnam, China, and other
nations in the region. Precursor chemicals for the
production of ATS move from China to Burma through this part
of Laos. USG funded law enforcement assistance will target
primarily Counter Narcotics Units (CNUs) and Customs posts in
Bokeo, Luang Namtha, and Udomxay provinces. In addition the
CNU and Customs post in Savannakhet will receive extra
funding as they attempt to control trafficking between
Vietnam and Thailand on the East-West Economic corridor that

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runs across the recently opened Savannakhet-Mukdahan Bridge.
CNUs and customs offices in other areas will continue to
receive sufficient support to sustain operations.


6. (SBU) What the officers in counter-narcotics agencies
need are the skills, tools, and information necessary to do
their jobs. A good first step would be to pay the police an
appropriate salary, comparable to what they could receive in
the private sector, approximately $200-400 per month (a
typical salary for security guards in Vientiane). The
majority of junior officers now receive only $20-40 per
month, an open invitation to corruption. Better training
would also help, though Laos is not without training
resources. China provided training for several dozen
narcotics officers in 2005-2006. Laos participates in
programs at the International Law Enforcement Academy (ILEA)
Bangkok, and may receive additional USG supported training as
funding allows. Embassy Vientiane is also providing
essential equipment to CNUs, albeit in limited quantities.
The greatest challenge for USG law enforcement programs in
Laos is the lack of cooperation between GOL agencies and the
difficulty of convincing Ministry of Public Security (MOPS)
officials that U.S. offers of assistance are sincere with no
hidden agenda.

DEMAND REDUCTION
--------------


7. (U) The GOL realizes that its law enforcement agencies
are not currently able to bring ATS trafficking under
control, and that demand reduction programs are the only
viable way to stem the growth of methamphetamine abuse. In a
series of seminars given throughout the country, LCDC
Chairman Soubanh Sririthirath has emphasized that officials
need to find home-grown solutions to ATS, and that officials
should not wait for external assistance that is unlikely to
come. Soubanh is particularly eager to undertake drug
education programs that might help to stem the growth of
methamphetamine addiction among students, probably the best
hope that Laos has of reducing ATS abuse under the current
circumstances.


8. (SBU) At the same time, Minister Soubanh has indicated
that he is more than willing to work with any donor that can
provide some assistance. Fortunately, the number of
potential donors appears to be on the rise, as evidenced by
the opening of new provincial treatment centers funded by
Thailand, China, and Brunei. Unfortunately, however, these
Programs tend to lack the quality control that is built into
U.S.-funded programs. The Thai treatment center has serious
structural problems, and Brunei is facing funding gaps after
stretching its funding to build two facilities instead of one
first-rate one. (Note: See para 13 for further details on
problems in provincial centers.)

2007 Lao National ATS Awareness Campaign


9. (U) The Embassy and LCDC have agreed to use approximately
$120,000.00 of demand reduction funds to support the
Programme Facilitation Units, (PFU) 2007 ATS Civic Awareness
Campaign. Unlike some of the campaigns in previous years,
all of the sub-elements of this year's campaign will be
coordinated to deliver a single unified anti-drug theme. The
major components of this year's campaign will include:

--Nationwide classroom instruction using printed materials
from D.A.R.E., GTZ (German Government aid agency),and the
Lao Ministry of Education. Each lesson module will also have
supplementary materials on a video compact disc.
Provincial Committees for Drug Control (PCDC) will each
receive VCD players and projectors to support classroom
instruction (1 set per province).

--Drug awareness pamphlets for general distribution, and VCDs
of popular Lao artists performing anti-drug songs.

--Sporting goods, imprinted with an anti-drug message that
will promote a healthy lifestyle and constructive
extracurricular activities.


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--Centralized train-the-trainer programs for the teachers and
local officials who will carry out the awareness campaign.
The training will include proper use of the instructional
materials and equipment that the campaign will provide.

--Public service announcements on radio and television.

Addiction


10. (SBU) According to the GOL, Laos has approximately
40,000 methamphetamine addicts. The GOL reached this
estimate based on data collected by village administrators,
compiled the district level, reported by the provinces, and
finally tabulated nationally. Even LCDC lacks confidence in
this number, as it relies on village officials to report
accurately a statistic that may reflect poorly on their
performance. In one conversation that the NAS had with the
medical director of a modest provincial treatment clinic, she
stated that villages were underreporting addicts by at least
33%. The NAS believes that nationally, there could easily be
as many as 200,000 ATS users, though not all of these are
hard core addicts. The GOL, UNODC, the NAS have all noted
that while there are no reliable numbers on the growth of ATS
trafficking and abuse, an abundance of anecdotal evidence
suggests that that the situation is continuing to
deteriorate.


11. (U) Unfortunately the national ATS treatment capacity is
less than 1200 beds or 2400 patients per year even if every
space available were used. Effective treatment capacity,
taking into consideration the number of fully trained staff,
appropriate patient density, and currently available funding,
is not more than 600 at one time or 1200 per year.


12. (U) The Somsagna Treatment Center in Vientiane, operated
by the city, is the nation's largest facility, with a normal
resident population of between 500 and 700 men and 20 to 40
women. Capacity there will increase by 128 following the USG
funded renovation of the women's rehabilitation wing. The
renovated dormitory will feature a much lower and more
therapeutically effective patient density; were all of the
existing Somsagna structures rebuilt to this standard, the
total patient load, including the new wing, would not exceed

500. Somsagna has the most capable and experienced staff in
the nation and other facilities send their staffs there for
training (paid for in some cases by the Embassy).


13. (SBU) Within Laos, addict treatment is a provincial
responsibility, and the national government does not have a
budget to support treatment centers. Thailand, the U.S., and
China constructed new 100 bed treatment facilities
respectively in Pakse, Savannakhet, and Udomxay. Brunei
built two clinics in Xaignaboury Province, each rated at 70
beds, but in truth able to hold no more than 30 apiece. All
of these facilities have opened in the past 15 months,and
were handed over to their respective Provincial governments
for operation, but none are fully functional. The reasons
for this are:

--Other than the U.S. center in Savannakhet, none were handed
over complete with furniture and medical supplies, and the
provinces did not allocate funds to furnish the facilities.

--Addicts' families lack confidence in the proficiency of the
staffs, and send patients to the Somsagna instead.

--Provinces allocated budgets too small to operate the
facilities, and charge patients too much for many to afford.


14. (SBU) Minister Soubanh has publicly acknowledged that
the new centers' financial problems, and has suggested that
Laos create a national trust fund for their support. Until
that is in place, the GOL should consider upgrading
Somsagna, the one facility that is fully utilized
(approximately 185% of optimum capacity) before looking at
new venues for treatment centers that provincial governments
will be challenged to support.

CRIME


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15. (SBU) The perception among many urban Lao that violent
crime is on the increase is the most obvious indicator of how
ATS trafficking is impacting Lao society. Accurate
statistics on violent crime are not readily available from
the GOL, and even homicides often go unreported in the press.
Word of a February 28 home invasion in an upscale Vientiane
neighborhood circulated widely on the streets, but was never
mentioned in the media. In this particular case, a
methamphetamine addict apparently in need a fix killed two
elderly women in a desperate robbery attempt, then slit his
own throat when the police, alerted by neighbors, confronted
the man before he had an opportunity to make his getaway.


16. (SBU) The double homicide came only a few months after
two expatriate NGO staff members were assaulted with machetes
by a group of four young men in central Vientiane. The
tourist areas of Vientiane are now frequented by young
thieves seeking to pick a pocket or snatch a bag. For the
first time in decades, youth gangs have appeared on the
capital's streets. Members of the diplomatic community have
reported thefts by their household staffs. In those
relatively rare cases where investigation provides some
insight into the motivation behind these crimes, the need to
pay for the ATS addiction of the perpetrator or a relative
almost always emerges as a primary cause. Though there are
all too few reliable statistics on crime or addiction, petty
theft, violent crime, and methamphetamine abuse all appear to
be rising in parallel.


17. (SBU) Comment. Methamphetamine has now become Laos'
greatest illicit drug program, eclipsing opium. Future U.S.
assistance to Laos may need to focus more heavily on law
enforcement and demand reduction programs than in the past.
The situation is not beyond rescue, and the right combination
of aid and regional cooperation could help to bring ATS back
under control. End comment.
HASLACH