K-9 DRUG OFFICER SPEAKS UP ABOUT NARCOTICS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 CONAKRY 000329 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/30/2018 TAGS: PGOV NARC ASEC KDEM GV SUBJECT: K-9 DRUG OFFICER SPEAKS UP ABOUT NARCOTICS CORRUPTION AND VIOLENCE AGAINST POLICE REF: CONAKRY 0184 Classified By: A/DCM SHANNON CAZEAU FOR REASON 1.4 B AND D ¶1. (C) SUMMARY. A K-9 officer within Guinea's anti-drug unit shares his insights regarding narcotics-related corruption and the recent, violent stand-off between the police and the military. Contact said that there are least 13 confirmed deaths resulting from the violence, and likely more unconfirmed casualties. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (C) Poloff and RSO met with a new police contact on June 25 to discuss the recent police strike that resulted in a violent stand-off with the military. Contact is a police commissioner in charge of the K-9 unit within Guinea's Anti-Drug unit (OCAD). He said he was interested in speaking with the Embassy because he was present when Ambassador Carter attended a recent ceremony during which the GoG allegedly incinerated cocaine (reftel). Contact added that he knows the U.S. Government is interested in combating drug trafficking issues, and he is frustrated with the level of corruption within OCAD. ¶3. (C) When asked about last week's police strike that resulted in violence, Contact said that as soon as he heard about the strike started by the CMIS police on June 16, he decided to stay home. He said he has not been back to work since the strike began, but received reports of what was going on via telephone calls from colleagues. Contact added that he told his colleagues at OCAD that they should also go home because he expected the military to raid their offices in search of seized narcotics. (COMMENT. The military did raid OCAD the afternoon of June ¶17. END COMMENT). ¶4. (C) Contact commented that about ten minutes before the military attacked OCAD, the Director General of OCAD's daughter, who is also a police officer, came to her father's office to clear out any drugs and money kept on the premises. According to contact, the fact that the daughter came just before the military did suggests that she had inside information regarding the raid. ¶5. (C) Regarding the total number of casualties resulting from the violence, Contact said that he was aware of at least 13 confirmed deaths on the police side, but said there might be as many as 19 deaths. He said that it has been difficult to get an accurate total because a number of police officers are missing or otherwise unaccounted for. Contact added that he knew of a case of one police officer who had been intentionally searched out by military officers and then beaten to death. ¶6. (C) In response to a question about possible negotiations between the police and the Government of Guinea (GoG),Contact said that the police had established a "commission" of representatives that was proceeding with negotiations. He said that no agreement had been reached, but that the GoG is expected to offer permanent employment to 654 police contractors. These contractors had originally been told that they had to receive formal training before they could be offered permanent employment, but Contact said that the GoG had decided to waive the training requirement in order to "calm the situation." Contact added that the GoG had agreed to some rank promotions, but there was no indication of an agreement on salaries. ¶7. (C) Returning to drug trafficking issues, Contact said that most of the officers working at OCAD, especially senior officers, are involved in narcotics-related corruption. He said he was embarrassed that the GoG refused to provide a cocaine sample to Ambassador Carter during the recent incineration ceremony, stressing that the fact that the GoG refused suggests that the burned powder was not actually cocaine. "It was manioc," he said; "it did not burn the way cocaine should burn." Contact added that the handful of OCAD police officers who are actually interested CONAKRY 00000329 002 OF 002 in combating narcotics trafficking are threatened by senior police officials seeking to maintain the system of corruption. He said that corruption goes all the way up through the system to Police Director General Bangoura. ¶8. (C) Contact mentioned that he is the head of the K-9 unit and asked for assistance in getting his unit trained. When asked whether he had any dogs, Contact sheepishly shook his said and said the entire K-9 unit does not actually have any canines. He added that OCAD leadership is vehemently opposed to getting dogs. "Every time I ask for them, they tell me that they are too expensive, or they don't have room for kennels, etc," he said. Contact added that police leadership does not want dogs on the force because they would be too effective in countering narcotics. -------------- COMMENT -------------- ¶9. (C) Contact was unusually eager to discuss internal police affairs and expressed interest in continued confidential conversations with the Embassy. Although his motivations are unclear, he seems sincere in his interest to combat narcotics trafficking and the rampant corruption that comes with it. END COMMENT. CARTER