TURKMENISTAN'S STATE COUNTERNARCOTICS AGENCY ASKS

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ASHGABAT 000821 SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR SCA/CEN, EUR/ACE, INL DUSHANBE FOR DEA MOSCOW FOR DEA ISLAMABAD FOR DEA ANKARA FOR DEA AID/W FOR EE/EA E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL EAID SNAR TX SUBJECT: TURKMENISTAN'S STATE COUNTERNARCOTICS AGENCY ASKS FOR TRAINING, EQUIPMENT REF: ASHGABAT 347 ¶1. (U) Sensitive but unclassified. Not for public Internet. ¶2. (SBU) SUMMARY: The chief of Turkmenistan's DEA-like State Counternarcotics Service (SCNS),Murad Islamov, said in a June 24 meeting that he is eager to accept technical assistance from the United States and that "we need a foundation on which we can work together in the future." Islamov has a list of equipment, facilities, and training programs that he would like and is shopping them around to various donors. Islamov repeated earlier statements that he is strategic about deciding on training needs and will not send officers for training if he thinks that it will not be a good use of time. DEA now needs to decide what it can offer. END SUMMARY. ¶3. (SBU) Islamov met with DEA Special Agent William Gustafson, the Chief of the Embassy's Office of Military Cooperation and INLoff for almost two hours on the fringes of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Caspian Sea Initiative conference on June 24. Islamov was primarily concerned with his new agency's technical needs (reftel). Islamov asked questions about U.S. practices and laws during the interactive meeting. ISLAMOV SPELLS OUT HIS AGENCY'S NEEDS ¶4. (SBU) Islamov spelled out the priorities of the State Counternarcotics Service: -- 70 Toyota Hilux trucks and 30 Toyota Corollas. (Islamov cited ease of serviceability of Toyotas in Turkmenistan.); -- A state-of-the-art regional training center. (Later in the conversation, he indicated that the State Counternarcotics Service is building a new training center and gymnasium in Bekrove, a western suburb of Ashgabat. He said that he would like DEA to provide training at this center when construction is completed.); -- One- or two-month courses for Special Forces investigative units in the latest crime-solving and counternarcotics techniques -- taught locally and overseas by DEA if possible; -- Scanners at border crossing stations; -- Additional border crossing stations; -- Six working sniffer dogs; -- Training manuals on operations and investigation techniques, including a catalog with photos of synthetic drugs; -- Face recognition and fingerprint analysis software. Gustafson added that DEA could provide training on best use of this equipment, and the chief of the Office of Military Cooperation suggested a familiarization trip to the U.S. on these products, to which Islamov reacted positively; -- Two or three fast boats for patrolling the Caspian Sea. Islamov added that the State Border Service would also need boats for its work; and -- Training on weapons use and techniques. ASHGABAT 00000821 002 OF 002 He asked for feedback as soon as possible on which equipment the U.S. Government can fund, so that he can plan his budget. Islamov hoped to receive this information before leaving for the International Drug Enforcement Conference in Istanbul on July 7. DEA is sponsoring Islamov's and Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Mustafa Geldiyev's participation in the conference. ¶5. (SBU) The U.S. delegation suggested a one-year course in English training at the Defense Language Institute in El Paso, Texas, followed by extended training at the DEA Academy in Quantico, Virginia. Gustafson added that it might be possible to embed foreign drug-enforcement officers in DEA headquarters if the relationship with that country is a close one. PRAISE FOR THE U.S. RELATIONSHIP AND ASSISTANCE ¶6. (SBU) Islamov said that the U.S. Government provides the only real useful assistance -- other countries and organizations just talk about it. While it was too early for DEA agents to come regularly to provide technical assistance, Islamov said, "We need a foundation on which we can work together in the future," and asked that the U.S. and Turkmen sides make rational decisions about assistance and cooperation together as a team. COMMENTS ON TRAINING ¶7. (SBU) Islamov said that he refuses to have his valuable personnel participate in some donors' training programs, if he thinks that the particular training will not be useful. He added that he carefully picks participants in order to allocate training resources most rationally. Islamov asked that DEA have some role in the upcoming Port Security Project, which the U.S. Coast Guard is running. NEW ROLE OF STATE CUSTOMS SERVICE ¶8. (SBU) Islamov said that the State Customs Service and the State Counternarcotics Service have a good relationship. He said that Customs "has its own assignments, but we specialize in narcotics. We have a narrow direction and we know what we want." He said that the State Counternarcotics Service is already detecting and intercepting drugs. ¶9. (SBU) COMMENT: It appears that Islamov wants to work with the United States -- but we know from other donors that he has spoken to them about assistance needs also. Nevertheless, it is clear that there are areas that we can work on with Turkmenistan's State Counternarcotics Service. DEA and others need to identify training to offer so that we can move this relationship forward. END COMMENT. HOAGLAND