2008-2009 BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA INCSR REPORT (PART I)

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 SARAJEVO 001674 SIPDIS DEPT FOR INL (LYLE/KIMMEL); EUR/SCE (FOOKS/STINCHCOMB) E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV SNAR KCRM BK SUBJECT: 2008-2009 BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA INCSR REPORT (PART I) REF: STATE 100992 ¶1. (U) Below follows the 2008-2009 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report (INCSR) Part One for Bosnia-Herzegovina. ¶I. Summary Narcotics control capabilities in Bosnia and Herzegovina ("Bosnia") remain in a formative stage and have not kept pace with developments in other areas of law enforcement. Bosnia is still considered primarily a transit country for drug trafficking due to its strategic location along historic Balkan smuggling routes, weak state institutions, lack of personnel in counternarcotics units, and poor cooperation among the responsible authorities. The political will to improve narcotics control performance exists in some quarters of the Bosnian government. However, faced with ongoing post-war reconstruction issues, it has to date focused limited law enforcement resources on war crimes, terrorism and trafficking in persons and has not developed comprehensive antinarcotics intelligence and enforcement capabilities. Despite some improvement in cooperation among entity and cantonal law enforcement agencies, gradual improvements in the oversight of the financial sector, and substantial legal reform, the increasing political divisions currently paralyzing the Bosnian government have contributed to poorly coordinated enforcement efforts. Narcotics trade remains an integral part of the activities of foreign and domestic organized crime figures that operate, according to anecdotal evidence, with the tacit acceptance (and sometimes active collusion) of some corrupt public officials. Border controls have improved, but flaws in the regulatory structure and justice system, lack of coordination among police agencies, and a lack of attention by Bosnia's political leadership mean that measures against narcotics trafficking and related crimes are often substandard. In 2008, Bosnia took almost no additional steps to set up a state-level body to coordinate the fight against drugs and develop the national counternarcotics strategy mandated by legislation passed in late 2005. However, law enforcement agencies, often in cooperation with neighboring countries, succeeded in making some substantial heroin-related arrests and seizures. Bosnia is making efforts to forge ties with regional and international law enforcement agencies. Bosnia is party to the 1988 UN Drug Convention. II. Status of Country Bosnia is not a significant narcotics producer, consumer, or producer of precursor chemicals. Bosnia does occupy a strategic position along the historic Balkan smuggling route between drug production and processing centers in Southwest Asia and markets in Western Europe. Bosnian authorities at the state, entity, cantonal, and municipal levels have been unable to stem the transit of illegal migrants, black market commodities, and narcotics since the conclusion of the 1995 Dayton Peace Accords. Traffickers have capitalized in particular on an ineffective justice system, public sector corruption, and the lack of specialized equipment and training. Bosnia is increasingly becoming a storehouse for drugs, mainly marijuana and heroin. Traffickers "warehouse" drugs in Bosnia, until they can be shipped out to destinations further along the Balkan Route. One of the main routes for drug trafficking starts in Albania, continues through Montenegro, passes through Bosnia to Croatia and Slovenia and then on to Central Europe. Information on domestic consumption is not systematically gathered, but authorities estimate Bosnia has 120,000 drug addicts. Anecdotal evidence and law enforcement officials indicate that demand is steadily increasing. No national drug information system focal point exists, and the collection, processing, and dissemination of drug-related data is neither regulated nor vetted by a state-level regulatory body. III. Country Actions Against Drugs in 2008 Policy Initiatives. On November 8, 2005, the Bosnian House of Representatives passed legislation designed to address the problem of narcotics trafficking and abuse. The state-level counternarcotics coordination body and national counternarcotics strategy mandated by the legislation were not fully in place as of October 2008 partly due to the increasing general paralysis in state level institutions and a dispute between the Ministries of Security and Civil Affairs as to who is responsible to move the initiative forward. Bosnia is a state with limited financial resources, but, with USG and EU assistance, it is attempting to build state-level law enforcement institutions to combat narcotics trafficking and organized crime and to achieve compliance with relevant UN conventions. The full deployment of the SARAJEVO 00001674 002 OF 003 Border Police (BP) and the establishment of the State Investigative and Protection Agency (SIPA) have improved counternarcotics efforts. Telephone hotlines, local press coverage, and public relations efforts have focused public attention on smuggling and black-marketeering. Law Enforcement Efforts. Law enforcement agencies made some significant drug-related arrests during the reporting period, however, overall counternarcotics efforts remain inadequate given suspected trafficking levels. Cooperation among law enforcement agencies and prosecutors is primarily informal and ad hoc, and serious legal and bureaucratic obstacles to the effective prosecution of criminals remain. Through September 2008 (latest available statistics),law enforcement agencies in Bosnia-Herzegovina (including the State Investigation and Protection Agency, the Border Police, Federation Ministry of Interior, Republika Srpska Ministry of Interior and Brcko District Police) have filed criminal reports against 1294 persons for drug related offenses. These agencies also report having seized 15.86 kg of heroin, 883 g of cocaine, 1.3 kg of amphetamines, 81.6 kg of marijuana, 3,021 cannabis plants, 490 cannabis seeds, 784 Ecstasy tablets, and 235 grams of hashish. The above statistics do not include approximately 50 kg of heroin seized by police forces in neighboring countries in operations conducted with the assistance of BiH law enforcement agencies. The Border Police (BP),founded in 2000, is responsible for controlling the country's three international airports, as well as Bosnia's 55 international border crossings covering 1,551 kilometers. The BP has been considered one of the better border services in Southeast Europe and is one of the few truly multi-ethnic institutions in Bosnia. However, declining relative wages vis-a-vis other local and entity law enforcement agencies along with harsh working conditions have led to sustained personnel shortages in the BP. There are still a large number of illegal crossing points, including rural roads and river fords, that the BP is unable to control. Moreover, many official checkpoints and many crossings remain understaffed. SIPA, once fully operational, is supposed to be a conduit for information and evidence between local and international law enforcement agencies, however, several local law enforcement agencies, including the Republika Srpska police, have at times refused to cooperate with SIPA. Cultivation/Production. Bosnia is not a major narcotics cultivator. Officials believe that domestic cultivation is limited to small-scale marijuana crops grown in southern and eastern Bosnia. Bosnia is not a major synthetics narcotics producer or refiner. Corruption. Bosnia does not have laws that specifically target narcotics-related public sector corruption and has not pursued charges against public officials on narcotics-related offenses. Organized crime, working with a few corrupt government officials according to anecdotal evidence, uses the narcotics trade to generate personal revenue. There is no evidence linking senior government officials to the illicit narcotics trade. As a matter of government policy, Bosnia does not encourage or facilitate illicit production or distribution of narcotic or psychotropic drugs or other controlled substances, or the laundering of proceeds from illegal drug transactions. Agreements and Treaties. Bosnia is a party to the 1988 UN Drug Convention and is developing bilateral law enforcement ties with neighboring states to combat narcotics trafficking. Bosnia is also party to the 1961 UN Single Convention as amended by the 1972 Protocol, the 1971 UN Convention Against Psychotropic Substances, and the UN Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime and its protocols against migrant smuggling and trafficking in persons. A 1902 extradition treaty between the U.S. and the Kingdom of Serbia applies to Bosnia as a successor state. Bosnia is a party to the UN Convention against Transnational Crime and its protocols against migrant smuggling and trafficking in persons. Bosnia is a party to the UN Convention against Corruption. Drug Flow/Transit. While most drugs entering Bosnia are being trafficked to destinations in third countries, indigenous organized crime groups are involved in local distribution to the estimated 120,000 drug users in the country. Major heroin and marijuana shipments are believed to transit Bosnia by several well-established overland routes, often in commercial vehicles. Local officials believe that Western Europe is the primary destination for this traffic. Officials believe that the market for designer drugs, especially Ecstasy, in urban areas is rising rapidly. Law enforcement authorities posit that elements from each ethnic group and all major crime "families" are involved in the SARAJEVO 00001674 003 OF 003 narcotics trade, often collaborating across ethnic lines. Sales of narcotics are also considered a significant source of revenue used by organized crime groups to finance both legitimate and illegitimate activities. There is mounting evidence of links and conflict among, Bosnian criminal elements and organized crime operations in Russia, Albania, Serbia, Montenegro, Croatia, Austria, Germany, and Italy. Domestic Programs. In Bosnia there are only two methadone therapy centers with a combined capacity to handle about 160 patients. The limited capacity of the country's psychiatric clinics, also charged with treating drug addicts, is problematic, as the number of addicts and drug-related deaths in the country is rising steadily. It is estimated that between 70 to 80 per cent of drug addicts who undergo basic medical treatment are recidivists. The Bosnian government currently pays for the basic medical treatment of drug addicts, but there are no known government programs for reintegrating former addicts into society. As part of an overall public campaign to promote a "122 Crime Stoppers" hotline that citizens can use to report crimes in progress, the Federation police included a short video that encourages citizens to report any drug deal they witness. The Citizens, Association for Support and Treatment of Drug Addicted and Recovered Persons (UG PROI in local language) maintains a private facility to help drug addicts near Kakanj. During the year UG PROI presented anti-drug messages to students through a drama program in elementary schools throughout Bosnia-Herzegovina. In June UG PROI organized a race against drugs involving both a fund-raising event and a large anti-drug abuse demonstration in downtown Sarajevo. IV. U.S. Policy Initiatives and Programs Policy Initiatives. USG policy objectives in Bosnia include reforming the criminal justice system, strengthening state-level law enforcement and judicial institutions, improving the rule of law, de-politicizing the police, improving local governance, and introducing free-market economic initiatives. The USG will continue to work closely with Bosnian authorities and the international community to combat narcotics trafficking and money laundering. Bilateral Cooperation. The USG's bilateral law enforcement assistance program continues to emphasize task force training, improved cooperation between law enforcement agencies and prosecutors, and other measures against organized crime, including narcotics trafficking. The Department of Justice's International Criminal Investigative Training Assistance Program (ICITAP) program provided specific counternarcotics training to entity Interior Ministries, SIPA and BP. The USG Export Control and Border Security (EXBS) program provides equipment and training to law enforcement agencies including the BP and the Indirect Taxation Administration (ITA) to stop the import of weapons of mass destruction and dual use items. EXBS Assistance increased BP and ITA's ability to detect and interdict contraband, including narcotics. The Overseas Prosecutorial Development Assistance Training (OPDAT) program provides training to judges and prosecutors on organized crime-related matters. The Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) in Rome maintains liaisons with its counterparts in Bosnian state and entity level law enforcement organizations. The DEA has also sponsored specific narcotic interdiction training in Bosnia. The Road Ahead. Strengthening state-level law enforcement and judicial institutions, promoting the rule of law, combating organized crime and terrorism, and reforming the judiciary and police in Bosnia remain top USG priorities. The USG will continue to focus its bilateral program on related subjects such as public sector corruption and border controls. The USG will continue to provide political support to state-level institutions in the face of significant attacks on them by national forces intent on destroying the state. We will encourage Bosnia to proceed with the full implementation of the planned national counternarcotics strategy. The international community is also working to increase local capacity and to encourage interagency cooperation by mentoring and advising the local law enforcement community. CEFKIN