TURKMENISTAN: COUNTERNARCOTICS OFFICIALS CONDUCT PUBLIC

UNCLAS ASHGABAT 001649 SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR SCA/CEN, INL E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV KCRM SOCI TX SUBJECT: TURKMENISTAN: COUNTERNARCOTICS OFFICIALS CONDUCT PUBLIC DRUG BURN ¶1. (U) Sensitive but unclassified. Not for public Internet. ¶2. (SBU) SUMMARY: On December 20, the State Counter Narcotics Service hosted a drug burning ceremony near Ashgabat. It was the third such event this year. The consignment of narcotics had been seized by Turkmenistan's law-enforcement agencies during operations to combat drug trafficking. Representatives of international organizations, diplomatic missions and the media attended the event. Each of the participants at the event was invited to throw a bag of drugs into special purpose-built furnaces. A senior Turkmen official highlighted U.S. counter-narcotics assistance. END SUMMARY. ¶3. (SBU) The diplomatic corps, mostly composed of resident chiefs of mission, departed from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building at 8:15 a.m. in a convoy of vehicles headed out to the drug burn site at the village of Kasamly Julge. A large number of people attended, even though diplomatic missions were invited to the event only the previous afternoon and the event was held early in the morning on Saturday. DEA TDY Special Agent represented the Embassy at the event. Also joining the group was a government bus for local journalists. ¶4. (SBU) The event opened with a speech by Colonel Myrat Islamov, Chief of the State Counter Narcotics Service. In his speech, he mentioned the support of the international community and specifically cited the United States. Following him was Ircan Saka, UNODC International Coordinator, who spoke about Turkmenistan's increasing cooperation with the international community on counter-narcotics. Following the speeches, everyone moved to the furnaces. The drug burning furnaces, built from special refractory brick, were heated to a temperature of 800-1000 degrees, at which any narcotic or psychotropic substance loses chemical structure and is converted into ash. Without much ceremony, all attendees were invited to pick up a bag of seized drugs and pitch it into the fire. There were a number of local photo journalists, reporters and diplomats photographing all stages of the burn. DEA TDY Special Agent threw a kilo of heroin and several large bags of opium/morphine base. ¶5. (SBU) The narcotics were packed in cellophane sacks and parcels. Local media reported that the destroyed drugs had a total weight of 1 ton 157 kilograms and 547 grams, however, DEA Special Agent estimated that the 15-20 flour sack-sized bags on display actually weighed considerably less. The event was organized by the State Commission under the Cabinet of Ministers for Coordination of the Fight against Drugs and by the State Counter-Narcotics Service. Officers of Turkmenistan law-enforcement agencies and authorized experts supervised the drug burn. ¶6. (SBU) COMMENT: This, the third such event this year, was, as usual, more of a media event than an opportunity to learn details about Turkmenistan's counter-narcotics efforts. Although the government announced the total amount of drugs being seized and burned, information about the incidents of drug seizures and drug related statistics were not released. Colonel Islamov specifically noted the U.S. assistance to Turkmenistan's counter-narcotics efforts in his speech. Thanks to CENTCOM, INL and Embassy programs, DEA Special Agent was one of the few diplomats at the event who had actually interacted with the Turkmen officials hosting the event. The burn proved to be an uncommon opportunity to reinforce the U.S. Government's commitment to support Turkmenistan's counter-narcotics efforts. END COMMENT. MILES