PENTAGON AND DEA OFFICIALS PARTICIPATE IN

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 TASHKENT 000561 SIPDIS DEPT FOR SCA/CEN, INL FOR ANDREW BUHLER, DEA ANKARA FOR MARK DESTITO, ISLAMABAD FOR MIKE MARSAC, DUSHANBE FOR PAUL HACKETT E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/16/2018 TAGS: PGOV PREL SNAR UZ SUBJECT: PENTAGON AND DEA OFFICIALS PARTICIPATE IN COUNTERNARCOTICS WORKING GROUP IN TASHKENT REF: TASHKENT 400 Classified By: Lt. Col. Brian Swanland for reasons 1.4 (b, d) ¶1. (C) Summary: As part of the military-to-military Action Officers Working Group (AOWG),on April 17, 2008 a separate meeting was held with Uzbek officials to discuss possible counternarcotics cooperation and border security-related issues as part of a Counternarcotics Working Group. Two visiting senior DEA officials were also present for the meetings and also met separately on April 18 with officials from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, who restated the Government of Uzbekistan's desire to resume active cooperation with DEA. Uzbek military and law enforcement officials also shared data on drug production, seizures, and arrests. The Government of Uzbekistan followed through on its previous hints that it would welcome renewed cooperation and restated its assurances that the powerful National Security Service (NSS) has also approved the idea of DEA reopening an office in Tashkent. End summary. ¶2. (U) The Government of Uzbekistan (GOU) was represented by the Director, National Center for Drug Control under the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Mr. K. Dusmetov. He was accompanied by Mr. M. Dliev, the Chief, International Department of the National Center for Drug Control. Also in attendance were Mr. D. Musaev, the Section Chief, Bureau of the Head Office on Contraband Control of the State Customs Committee, B. Mirjodjaev, the Officer in Charge of Internal Affairs of the First Bureau on Contraband Control of the State Customs Committee, LTC U. Djengaziev, the Deputy Chief of the Office on Drug Trafficking and Illegal Drug Trade of the Main Criminal Investigation and Anti-Terror Office of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Major Sh. Ulugkhujaliev, the Section Chief of the Drug Trafficking and Illegal Drug Trade Office of the Main Criminal Investigation and Anti-Terror Office of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and Major B. Erkuziev, the Officer-in-Charge of the Office on Drug Trafficking and Illegal Drug Trade of the Main Criminal Investigation and Anti-Terror Office of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. ¶3. (U) The U.S. Government (USG) was represented by two senior members of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA),Regional Director Mark Destito form the DEA office in Ankara, Turkey and Assistant Regional Director Michael Marsac from the DEA office in Islamabad, Pakistan as well as representatives from the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD),the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS),and U.S. Central Command, Army forces Central Command (ARCENT),Air Forces Central Command (AFCENT) and the Marshall Center. The chief of the U.S. delegation from CENTCOM was Colonel Michael McCarthy, USAF. He was accompanied by the Desk Officer for Uzbekistan and representative of J7 (Training),Major Conrad Shupay USA. Also from CENTCOM was the Medical Military-Military Exchange Program Officer Major Benjamin Feliciano USAF. Mr. Carl Funk represented CENTCOM/J2. OSD was represented by LTC Mark Derber, USA and AFCENT was represented by Major Kent Broome, USAF. The Marshall Center was represented by LTC Tracy Roou, USA and LTC Paul Riley, USA. Defense Attache LTC Jeff Hartman, USA, MSG Kevin Moffett, USA, and Lt. Col. Brian Swanland, USAFR represented DAO Tashkent. TASHKENT 00000561 002 OF 004 ¶4. (U) The meeting was held in a cordial atmosphere with a frank exchange of viewpoints. Various proposals, subject to approval by higher authority, were discussed. a. The U.S. side discussed assisting the GOU in enhancing counternarcotics capabilities. This included a tentative offer by DEA to send a site survey team to Uzbekistan's Special Investigative Unit (SIU) to identify training and equipment shortfalls and opportunities for further counternarcotics engagement. The Uzbek side responded enthusiastically, saying they would discuss this matter with their headquarters and felt the response would likely be that headquarters would want to see this happen before the end of this year. b. The U.S. side described Law Enforcement Professional Development Training opportunities in the first quarter of FY09 targeting the professional development of the SIU to improve regional cooperation and develop professional relationships. The Uzbek side said they would study these opportunities. ¶5. (U) The U.S. side proposed to undertake the study of requirements for additional patrol boat training, to include the possible upgrade of patrol boat facilities in Termez. The Uzbekistan participants pledged to study these issues. ¶6. (U) The U.S. side reminded the Uzbek participants of the necessity of providing a diplomatic note regarding the replacement parts required for the patrol boats which were delivered to Termez last year. ¶7. (U) During the meeting the Uzbek participants volunteered information about their counternarcotics activities in the form of a powerpoint briefing. This briefing explained trends in Uzbek counternarcotics activities over the past twelve years. Some of the main points of the briefing included the following: a. Opium poppy production in Afghanistan increased steadily until 1999, dropped until 2001 and then increased steadily thereafter. From 2006-2007 there was a 17 percent increase to 193,000 hectares under cultivation. This is consistent with data trends presented by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). b. Total production (in Afghanistan) in the last twelve years amounted to 45,600 metric tons of opium. c. Opium seizures in Uzbekistan during the twelve year period amount to 13,917.5 kilograms. d. Heroin seizures in Uzbekistan during the twelve year period amount to 4,476.3 kilograms. e. Drug-related criminal cases during the twelve year period amount to 104,903 cases. f. A total of 69,181 persons were detained in the twelve year period for drug-related crimes, resulting in 65,767 convictions. g. The foreign citizens arrested during the twelve year period for drug-related crimes include 1,458 Tajik citizens, TASHKENT 00000561 003 OF 004 325 Kyrgyzstan citizens, 313 Turkmenistan citizens, 156 citizens from the Russian Federation, 113 form Kazakhstan, 72 from Afghanistan, and 592 from other countries. h. In 2007, drug seizures included opium (730.9 kg),heroin (479.9 kg),marijuana (680.8 kg),opium poppies (169.2 kg) and hashish (52.9 kg). i. In one operation called "Black Poppy 2007," Uzbek authorities employed 1100 operational units, 446 traffic patrol checkpoints, 390 screening units, 7,500 public representatives, 1,485 instances of technical detection, and 381 sniffing dogs. This resulted in 648 cases involving 1.07 ha of poppies under cultivation and 517 cases involving marijuana. j. In the twelve year period, 29.2 hectares of plants were eradicated. k. Major seizures in 2006 included 272.6 kg of opium seized on 19 February in the Surkhandaryo Region, 51.5 kg of heroin seized on April 8 in the Tashkent Region, 129.5 kg of heroin seized on April 18, 2006 in the Surkhandaryo Region, 101.5 kg of heroin seized on October 17 in the Surkhandaryo region and 45 kg of opium seized on the border with Afghanistan. ¶8. (C) On April 18 the visiting DEA Regional Director and Assistant Regional Director (accompanied by poloff) also met with three key counternarcotics officials from the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The GOU uncharacteristically approved and organized the meeting on very short notice, suggesting its keen interest in accommodating the DEA visitors' request. The GOU participants were the same MVD officials who met with the visiting DEA Acting Country Attache from Tajikistan a few weeks earlier: Chief of the Department for Combating Illicit Drug Trafficking and Circulation Shakirjon Inagamov; Deputy Chief of the Department for Counternarcotics and Head of the Special Investigative Unit (SIU) Colonel Nodir Kurbanov; and SIU Section Chief Shokhrukh Ulughudjaev (reftel). ¶9. (C) The GOU officials appreciated the opportunity to restate their hopes to resume cooperation with more senior DEA officials as soon as possible. As in the previous meeting, Inagamov specifically noted that not only does the MVD support the idea of DEA's return but that the National Security Service does as well. (Comment: This comment is significant and is meant to assure DEA and the Embassy that there would not be any bureaucratic obstacles imposed by the powerful security services if DEA were to resume operations in Uzbekistan. End comment.) The SIU officials emphasized how valuable previous DEA-provided training and cooperation was in building a professional cadre of officers, and they stated several times that the "Ministry of Internal Affairs is waiting for you." ¶10. (SBU) After these talks, on May 7, 2008, Uzbekistan's MFA informally asked for a diplomatic note from the USG requesting a resumption of a permanent DEA presence in Uzbekistan. (Comment: On May 12, 2008, the Embassy was informed by DEA Regional Representative Mark Destito that the DEA Administrator and Chief Operations Officer approved reopening the DEA office in Tashkent, which we understand will require interagency approval in Washington. End TASHKENT 00000561 004 OF 004 comment.) ¶11. (U) POC: Lieutenant Colonel Brian Swanland, USAFR, Security Assistance Office, USDAO Tashkent, Office: (998-71) 120-5450, extension 2302, classified e-mail: swanlandbe@state.sgov.gov, unclassified e-mail: swanlandb@state.gov. NORLAND