BAR RAIDS POINT TO CHINESE ORGANIZED CRIME

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 DILI 000012 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR EAP/MTS SINGAPORE FOR DEA - HOLSKE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KCRM SMIG SNAR PREL KPKO ID CH TT SUBJECT: BAR RAIDS POINT TO CHINESE ORGANIZED CRIME DILI 00000012 001.2 OF 002 ¶1. (U) Summary: In the first week of January, Timor-Leste's National Police, with the support of U.N. police advisors, have raided seven Dili bars. All evidence points to Chinese prostitution rings having made inroads into the country. Small amounts of ecstasy and drug paraphernalia were also seized. In keeping with provisions of Timorese law (including the fact that prostitution is legal),those detained can only be handled as immigration cases. Those who were not released shortly after the raids face deportation. The Timorese police are concerned about evident involvement of Chinese organized crime in prostitution and possibly other illegal activities. End summary. Joint Raids On January 2 -------------- ¶2. (U) In the early morning hours of January 2, the National Police of Timor-Leste (PNTL),in a coordinated action with the United Nations Police Mission (UNPOL) and the Portuguese National Guard (GNR),carried out a coordinated raid on two Dili bars, the Moon Bar and the Mona Lisa bar. Initially, 37 persons were held on suspicion of prostitution and immigration-related offenses. A source in UNPOL's intelligence unit confirmed that all those arrested were either Chinese or Indonesian nationals. However, under Timor-Leste law, an individual may only be held for twelve hours for purposes of identification, then he or she must be released absent multiple witness statements or strong incriminating evidence. This, together with the fact that only pimping and not prostitution itself is illegal in Timor-Leste, meant that some of the suspects were subsequently released. However, seven Indonesian women were deported, while seventeen Chinese women are awaiting deportation. UNPOL raised concerns that there are insufficient safe havens to transfer released trafficked women after they are caught by the police. The UNPOL source said UNPOL and the PNTL are probing possible connections between the bars' operators and similar activities in Baucau or elsewhere in Timor-Leste. ¶3. (SBU) UNPOL also told RSO that during the raids, they found $24,000 in cash and small quantities of ecstasy. UNPOL confirmed that interrogations revealed that money was transferred back to China after being laundered in Timor-Leste. PNTL Acts Alone On January 17 -------------- ¶4. (SBU) The PNTL unilaterally carried out a second set of raids early on January 17, hitting five more establishments for alleged drugs and prostitution activity. Neither UNPOL nor the GNR were informed nor participated. On January 17, PNTL Deputy Commissioner for Operations Mateus Fernandes told RSO and PolOff that the five bars were widely-known to be involved in prostitution and drugs. During this operation, police arrested 73 people from several countries including Indonesia, Thailand and China. All 53 foreigners were using tourist visas, and they are now currently under investigation by immigration police. The 20 Timorese were released due to lack of evidence. The police also seized paraphernalia apparently related to narcotics, but no drugs were recovered. Because of the PNTL's lack of resources and counter-narcotics expertise, several items seized remain unidentified. ¶5. (SBU) UNPOL Dili District Commander Dave Lawry (protect) told RSO that the January 17 raids were done without UNPOL approval or knowledge. UNPOL was surprised by this, since the operation had originally been planned as a joint activity. Despite this, UNPOL agreed to help the PNTL with the processing of the detainees in order to maintain cooperation and ensure that these procedures were carried out legally. ¶6. (U) Both UNPOL and PNTL state that recent media reports of methamphetamines in Timor-Leste are not correct. They confirmed that during numerous raids and other arrests, only small amounts of ecstasy were found. If methamphetamines were an ingredient in the ecstasy seized, the quality was too low to be detected. According to contacts, the PNTL's main concern is the likely DILI 00000012 002.2 OF 002 involvement of Chinese organized crime in prostitution. KLEMM