TAJIKISTAN: NARCOTICS, LAW ENFORCEMENT, AND JUSTICE SECTOR

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 DUSHANBE 001318

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

STATE FOR SCA/CEN (HUSHEK)
STATE FOR INL/AAE (BUHLER)
JUSTICE FOR (DUCOT AND NEWCOMBE)
DEFENSE FOR OSP/P

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: SNAR KCRM KJUS PGOV PREL RF TI
SUBJECT: TAJIKISTAN: NARCOTICS, LAW ENFORCEMENT, AND JUSTICE SECTOR
JULY - SEPTEMBER UPDATE

REF: Dushanbe 1316


1. (U) Summary: The Ambassador and Foreign Minister signed letters
of agreement to provide over $13 million in additional INL border
security, police, anti-crime, and justice sector assistance to
Tajikistan. This status report and reftel cover these and prior
projects. Tajikistan's Drug Control Agency worked with Afghanistan
and other neighboring countries, improved drug interdiction and
resulted in the seizure of 2,754 kilos of drugs during the first
nine months of 2008, including 1,152 kilos seized by the Tajikistan
Drug Control Agency alone, a 25.6% increase over last year. The
Border Guards too have been active with multiple instances of
hundreds kilo drug seizures. Since the beginning of 2008, in the
Shurabad border area alone Border Guards had fifteen firefights with
armed drug smugglers. Judges are handing down stiff sentences to
convicted foreign drug traffickers. Working with anti-drug services
from Russia and elsewhere, the Sugd Regional Counter-Narcotics
Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs broke up three
narco-trafficking rings. The Agency for State Financial Control and
Combating Corruption opened criminal cases against 122 state
officials (more than half of them are law enforcement and security
agencey officers) for abuse of office, bribery, and embezzlement of
state funds. End summary.

INSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENTS



2. (U) On August 2, Ambassador Jacobson and Foreign Minister Zarifi
signed two letters of agreement which provide more than $13 million
to continue border security and police programs to enhance
Tajikistan's security and to launch justice sector projects to
improve rule of law and provide access to justice.


3. (U) With this assistance, the International Narcotics and Law
Enforcement program provided more than $28 million in assistance to
support Tajikistan's security, rule of law and counter narcotics
efforts since 1992. Overall, the United States provides more than
$40 million of assistance annually to Tajikistan. These funds
contribute to Tajikistan's security, economic development,
democratic freedom, and the health and education of Tajikistan's
citizens.


4. (U) The Director of Tajikistan's Drug Control Agency (DCA),
Rustam Nazarov, attended a meeting of the XXVI International Drug
Enforcement Conference (IDEC) in Istanbul, Turkey July 8-10. The
U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration-organized conference brought
together more than 300 high-level law enforcement officials from 93
countries throughout the world. Conference participants focused on
pharmaceutical abuse, the nexus of drugs and terrorism, money
laundering, and intelligence sharing across multi-national law
enforcement agencies. General Nazarov reported on the drug
situation in Tajikistan and drug control measures being taken in
Central Asia.


5. (U) On August 11 the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
sponsored a two-week training course to improve the skills of 15
Afghan police, customs, and border service officers to fight against
drug trafficking. Officers from the Drug Enforcement Agency and the
Drug Control Agency jointly conducted the training.

MUTUAL COOPERATION
QMUTUAL COOPERATION


6. (U) On July 9, the Drug Control Agency Deputy Director Vaisiddin
Azamatov held joint meetings with the Afghan Minister of Interior,
Zarar Ahmad Moqbil. The officers discussed cooperation and
expansion of joint efforts to fight drug trafficking. Azamatov
briefed the Afghan minister on the drug situation in Tajikistan and
measures taken by the Tajik government to improve the efficiency of
the law enforcement agencies to fight drug trafficking.

NARCOTICS AND WEAPONS SEIZURES


7. (U) During the first nine months of 2008, the Drug Control Agency
and other law enforcement and security services seized 2,754 kilos
of drugs. DCA officers single-handedly seized over 1,152 kilos of
drugs, a 25.6% increase over the comparable period of 2007,
according to the Analytical Information Department of the
counternarcotics agency. Drug control agency officers carried out

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15 joint operations with the other Tajik counternarcotics agencies
seizing an additional 233 kilos. The DCA carried out 37 joint
operations with Afghan and Kazakh law enforcement services and
seized an additional 1,369 kilos of drugs, including 444 kilograms
of heroin.



8. (U) On July 16, Tajik law enforcement officials seized 36 kilos
of raw opium and 114 grams of hashish in the Vahdat district located
17 kilometers east of Dushanbe. Ministry of Internal Affairs
Counter-Narcotics Department officers arrested a resident of
Khatlon's Muminabad district and initiated criminal proceedings
against him.


9. (U) The Committee for National Security reports that officers
seized nearly 100 kilos of drugs in Hamadoni district. On July 14,
border guards on routine patrol tried to detain a group of Afghan
drug traffickers who were illegally crossing the Tajik-Afghan border
river in Khatlon's Khamadoni district. Border guards fired on the
traffickers who fled back to Afghanistan. Five sacks containing 98
kilograms of narcotics, including 10 kilograms of heroin, 52
kilograms of raw opium, and 36 kilograms of cannabis were found at
the scene.


10. (U) On August 7, also in the Khatlon area, Border Guards
detained a Tajik national at the Afghan border in Shurabad district
and confiscated more than 140 kilograms of hashish and five
kilograms of heroin as well as a Kalashnikov machine-gun.
Authorities opened criminal proceedings against the drug trafficker
and an investigation is under way.


11. (U) On September 16 and 23 in the Yol area of the Tajik-Afghan
border the Border Guards seized 252 kilograms of narcotics including
30 kilos of heroin and 222 kilos of hashish. According to press
reports, several traffickers and two border guards were killed in
the skirmishes but the Border Guards will not confirm this
information.


12. (U) This year the Border Guards have had fifteen firefights with
armed drug smugglers in the Shurabad border area alone. The Border
Guards and security officers on this stretch of the border seized
452 kilograms of drugs, including 40 kilograms of heroin since the
beginning of the year.


13. (U) During the course of an investigation of an earlier arrest
of a Tajik drug smuggler which netted 5.2 kilos of drugs, the
smuggler provided information about an additional 14 kilos of heroin
which DCA officers seized in the Khatlon area. The smuggler claimed
the drug belonged to an Afghan smuggler. DCA officers continue to
investigate.


14. (U) According to the Customs Service, they discover about two
kilos of heroin hidden in dried apricots during passenger inspection
at the Dushanbe airport prior to a flight to Samarra, Russia on
September 10. The drugs reportedly belong to Bakhtiyor Junaydov, a
resident of GBAO's Roshtqala district. Authorities are pressing
charges against Junaydov under Article 200 (illicit drug
trafficking); Article 32 (criminal attempt); and Article 289
(contraband) of Tajikistan's Criminal Code.

CONVICTIONS


15. (U) On September 14 Saddriddin Toshev, a judge from the
Shohmansur area of Dushanbe, sentenced three foreign nationals for
drug trafficking. The court sentenced Ms. Garcia Joanna Gardovski,
Qdrug trafficking. The court sentenced Ms. Garcia Joanna Gardovski,
a Philippine national, to 13 years in prison for attempted transport
of three kilograms of heroin to Istanbul. The court also sentenced
Makkongza Azvidin Flora, a South African national, to 15 years in
prison. Inspectors found six kilograms of heroin in his luggage.
Tajik law enforcement officers traced the drugs to Khonzoda valadi
Butkhoja, the Afghan national main supplier. The court sentenced
him to 16 years in prison.

DRUG-TRAFFICKING GROUPS


16. (U) Since the beginning of this year, the Sugd Ministry of
Internal Affairs counternarcotics directorate (northern Tajikistan)
broke up three groups of narco-traffickers and solved 16

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drug-related crimes. During the reporting period, the
Counter-Narcotics Directorate seized over 332 kilograms of
narcotics, including 129 kilograms of heroin. During the January -
June period, authorities in the Russian Federation detained 11
residents of the Sugd province for drug smuggling including four
from Mastchoh, three from Spitamen, two from Jabbor Rasulov and one
from Pendjikent. Law enforcement agencies conducted a large-scale
anti-drug operation, dubbed Poppy-2008, involving officers from the
counternarcotics directorate and other law enforcement agencies of
the Sugd region.

REWARDS FOR FIGHT AGAINST DRUGS


17. (U) The President of Tajikistan bestowed awards on three Drug
Control Agency officers for exemplary service combating drug
trafficking. The President presented the "Spitamen Level II" award
to senior investigator Mirnemat Dodometov; the "Khizmati Shoista"
award to Saidjon Nehmonov, the head of Investigation Department of
DCA; and presented a Certificate of Merit to Murodqul Hazratkulov,
the head of Administration Department at DCA. Since the
establishment of the Drug Control Agency 21 members have received
awards.

CORRUPTION


18. (U) Officers of the Khatlon Anti-Corruption Department
discovered serious financial violations in the Pyandj Production
Cooperative "Zohiriyo". A spokesperson for the Anti-Corruption
Agency said that Jalol Zoidov, director of "Zohiriyon" concealed
income and had not paid 348,876 somonies in taxes (equivalent to
more than $100,000). The Khatlon Anti-Corruption Department began
criminal proceedings against Zoidov under the provisions of Article
291 of Tajikistan's Criminal Code - tax evasion.


19. (U) During the first six months of this year the Agency for
State Financial Control and Combating Corruption reports it opened
criminal cases against 122 state officials. The officials face
charges of abuse of office, bribery, and embezzlement of state
funds. Anti- corruption Agency officials began more than half of
the criminal proceedings against officers from the law enforcement
agencies and security services including 34 against police officers,
six against tax officers, five against customs officers, nine
against officers from the Ministry of Defense, two against border
officers, six against officials with the Ministry of Justice, and
three against judges.



20. (U) As an example, the spokesperson outlined the case against
Rahmon Sharipov, chief of the police directorate in Khatlon's Rumi
district. The spokesman said "Sharipov faces charges of abuse of
office and bribery. The investigation has established 34 instances
of bribe-taking for 10,000 somonies and $12,000. Officers also
found more than 5,000 somonies and $41,000 as well as several
unregistered criminal cases in his house." In all, the
Anti-Corruption Agency detected 504 corruption-related crimes over
the report period of which public servants committed 122.

INL PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION


21. (U) During the reporting period, INL Dushanbe continued to
implement projects in border security, policing, and the with
ABA/ROLI in the justice sector. Upon signing of ALOA 7 and 8 INL
began implementation of new projects in eastern Tajikistan's as well
Qbegan implementation of new projects in eastern Tajikistan's as well
as in the justice sector, anti-TIP, and demand reduction sectors.
Full report reftel.

JACOBSON