ALGERIA'S 2009-2010 INTERNATIONAL NARCOTICS

UNCLAS ALGIERS 000982 SIPDIS STATE FOR INL: JLYLE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: SNAR AG SUBJECT: ALGERIA'S 2009-2010 INTERNATIONAL NARCOTICS CONTROL STRATEGY REPORT (INCSR),PART I, DRUGS AND CHEMICAL CONTROL REF: STATE 97309 Summary -------------- ¶1. (U) Algeria is primarily a transit country for drugs, but both domestic production and consumption are rising. Drug seizures increased substantially in 2008 and the first half of 2009. The Government of Algeria (GOA) is committed to addressing the problem and has begun several domestic programs to combat drug use and production, but Algeria faces significant difficulties in securing its borders against cross-border trafficking. Algeria is a party to the 1988 UN Drug Convention. Status of Country -------------- ¶2. (U) Algeria currently is not a major center of drug production, money laundering, or production of precursor chemicals. However, it remains a significant transit point for drug trafficking into Europe and is evolving from merely a transit point into a destination and producer of drugs as well. There is a small but growing domestic market for harder drugs such as heroin and cocaine, but cannabis remains the most widely-used illicit drug in the country. ¶3. (U) The government takes the drug problem seriously, and efforts are underway to combat both distribution and use. The GOA has introduced a public awareness program and has established treatment facilities to educate and treat those affected by drug use, and law enforcement and border security agencies are actively engaged in stopping the production in and flow of drugs through Algeria. Trafficking arrests and drug seizures are frequently reported in the Algerian press. ¶4. (U) According to Algeria's National Office for the Fight Against Drugs and Addiction (ONLCDT),Algeria is a transit point for drugs smuggled from Morocco to Europe. Algerian officials assert that Morocco is the principal source of drugs such as cannabis entering Algeria. The GOA at times also blames an increase in illegal immigration through Algeria for the increase in drug usage by Algerian youth. Algeria faces serious problems with cross-border trafficking, particularly in the southern areas of the country, where the vast desert along Algeria's southern border is almost impossible to secure completely. There was a significant increase in drug trafficking attempts in 2008 due to the proliferation of drug networks throughout the country and the refinement of their methods, drawn from their collaboration with international drug networks and their use of improved communications equipment. The National Gendarmerie reports that the bulk of drugs seized in Algeria is intended for export, while there is likely a large increase in domestic drug consumption as well. Public statements by the National Gendarmerie indicate that the GOA is committed to combating drug trafficking, which it sees as a national threat. ¶5. (U) In addition to smuggling activities, Algeria in recent years has seen an increase in domestic drug production, particularly cannabis being cultivated in the southeast and in the area of the capital, Algiers. In 2008, there also were several front-page press reports of domestic poppy production, noting that areas of Algeria's southern Sahel region were being used for poppy cultivation. Algeria's judicial police division indicated that drug seizures increased markedly from 2007 to 2008, and the amount of cannabis seized in the first half of 2009 exceeds that of the entire year of 2008. Country Actions Against Drugs -------------- ¶6. (U) Policy Initiatives: Algeria's official national drug policy consists of five stated goals: (1) revision of laws related to drugs and addiction; (2) education and information campaigns; (3) improved national coordination mechanisms; (4) improved law enforcement capacity; and (5) reinforcement of bilateral, regional, and international efforts on anti-narcotics and border control efforts. ¶7. (U) The GOA's internal anti-narcotics legislative policies strive to adapt Algerian drug and trafficking laws to address the increased trafficking and consumption levels, and to bring Algerian legislation into conformity with international conventions, particularly the 1988 UN Drug Convention. Other plans include drafting regulations governing incineration of narcotics and reviewing control mechanisms for the legal production, marketing, and storage of drugs and psychotropic substances. ¶8. (U) The ONLCDT is charged with developing national policies in the realms of drug prevention, treatment, and suppression, and with coordinating and ensuring follow-through. The office is the government's center for the collection and analysis of data on trafficking, use, and treatment in the country. ONLCDT in 2008 held four regional seminars on the creation, enactment, and evaluation of anti-drug programs and participated in several conferences hosted by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and European anti-narcotics organizations. ¶9. (U) Law Enforcement Efforts: The following table is a summary of Algeria's drug seizures since 2007, based on statistics provided by the ONLCDT. 2009 (January-June): Cannabis: 44,600 Kg; 1618 plants Cocaine (including crack): 537 gr Heroin and Opium: 372 gr; 977 plants Other psychotropic substances: 42,164 tablets; 990 Ml solutions 2008: Cannabis: 38,041 Kg; 10,712 plants Cocaine (including crack): 784 gr Heroin and Opium: 1 10 gr; 77,612 plants Other psychotropic substances: 924,398 tablets; 2,050 Ml solutions 2007: Cannabis: 16,641 Kg; 20,987 plants Cocaine (including crack): 22,055 gr Heroin and Opium: 382 gr; 74,817 plants Other psychotropic substances: 233,950 tablets; 5,960 Ml solutions ¶10. (U) Algerian security agencies are expanding their capabilities to respond to crime by adding personnel and attempting to engage in more training. Increased interagency intelligence sharing and interdiction efforts improved the effectiveness of government responses, increasing seizures in 2008; seizures to date in 2009 are far exceeding those of ¶2008. ¶11. (U) In the first half of 2009, Algeria arrested 6,163 individuals on drug-related offenses, comprising 2,021 arrested for drug trafficking, 4,128 arrested for drug use, and 14 arrested for cultivating cannabis and opium. Of those arrested, 46 were foreigners, including 8 Nigerians, 5 Malians, 5 Nigeriens, 3 Moroccans, 3 Liberians, 2 French, 1 Spanish, 1 Tunisian, and 18 of unspecified nationality. In 2008, Algeria arrested 10,954 individuals on drug-related offenses, comprising 3,520 arrested for drug trafficking, 7,365 arrested for drug use, and 69 arrested for cultivating cannabis or opium. Of those arrested, 118 were foreigners, including 23 Nigerians, 15 Malians, 12 Nigeriens, 11 Moroccans, 9 Gambians, 5 Cameroonians, 5 French, 3 Spanish, 3 Ghanaians, 2 Ugandans, 1 Congolese, 1 Ivorian, 1 Liberian, 1 Sierra Leonean, 1 Chadian, 1 Tunisian, 1 Turk, and 23 of unspecified nationality. ¶12. (U) Algerian law provides for a prison sentence of 2 months to 2 years and a fine of roughly USD 70 to USD 750 for personal consumption of narcotics or psychotropic substances and a term of 10 to 20 years and a fine of roughly USD 70,000 to USD 700,000 for production or distribution. ¶13. (U) Corruption: The Algerian government does not as a matter of government policy 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. However, some cases of narcotics-related corruption among governmental, judicial, military, or law enforcement officials almost certainly occur; the Algerian press periodically includes reports of arrests of low-level police or military officers for drug offenses. Algerian law provides a maximum prison sentence of ten years and fines ranging from USD 2,500 to USD 150,000 for public officials convicted of any form of corruption. ¶14. (U) Agreements and Treaties: Algeria is a party to the 1988 UN Drug Convention, the 1971 UN Convention on Psychotropic Substances, the 1961 UN Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs as amended by the 1972 Protocol, and the UN Convention against Corruption. Algeria also is a party to the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and its protocols. Algeria and the United States currently are finalizing terms of a Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty that will govern cooperation on law enforcement matters. ¶15. (U) Cultivation/Production: The GOA has stated its commitment to the total eradication of domestic cannabis and opium poppy production. In the cannabis-producing southern and western regions of the country, the government is implementing an eradication program linked to a development strategy involving reform of local government and a highly subsidized crop substitution program. Nevertheless, Algerian drug officials have indicated that crop substitution programs have made little headway in providing economic alternatives to cannabis production. The government in 2008 reported that as a result of intensified law enforcement and interdiction measures it eradicated illicitly cultivated opium poppy in small areas in the north of the country. Over 74,000 poppy seedlings were eradicated in 2007 and almost 80,000 were eradicated in the first nine months of 2008. ¶16. (U) Drug Flow/Transit: Algeria is a source of hashish for Europe. Shipments include hashish produced domestically and in Morocco. Spain, Italy, and France are all transfer points for Europe-bound Algerian drug flows. Most large shipments of illicit drugs bound for Europe reportedly travel via fishing vessels or private yachts. ¶17. (U) Algeria's vast desert and ocean borders make smuggling of all kinds a significant challenge for the country's police, border security, customs, and immigration forces. Algeria's long and often poorly demarcated borders with Tunisia, Libya, Niger, Mali, Mauritania, and Morocco lend themselves to cross-border trafficking. The large expanse of desert along Algeria's southern border is almost impossible to secure in its entirety, but public statements by the National Gendarmerie indicate that the government is keen to combat drug traffickers. ¶18. (U) Algerian officials frequently comment on the large amounts of illegal drugs that enter Algeria from Morocco, and the GOA recognizes the need for better regional cooperation on border security and drug trafficking. Security force sources say that more than 13 tons of drugs were seized near the Algerian/Moroccan border during 2008. Algerian officials also have suggested that drug smuggling networks in the south are coordinating with terrorist groups, which engage in extortion and money laundering. ¶19. (U) Domestic Programs (Demand Reduction): To address prevention and treatment, the GOA's national drug policy includes the introduction of lessons on the dangers of drugs into mosque sermons, the expansion of education programs to increase public awareness, and efforts to coordinate better actions taken by different ministerial departments, particularly Health, Education, and Justice. The ONLCDT also conducts anti-drug use campaigns in schools and local communities. ¶20. (U) Algerian officials have increasingly voiced their concern about signs of growing domestic heroin and cocaine use. In 2008, the GOA launched a public campaign to reduce domestic demand for those drugs as well as for cannabis. The Ministry of Health has established a program to train the staffs of psychiatric hospitals in the treatment of drug addiction and launched a program to establish drug centers countrywide. Algeria's national drug policy also includes the support and expansion of drug treatment facilities and the creation of post-rehabilitation centers to provide extended treatment and to help reintroduce drug addicts into society in an effort to prevent recidivism. U.S. Policy Initiatives -------------- ¶21. (U) The USG supports Algeria's efforts to improve its counternarcotics capabilities and plans to begin training with Algerian police and customs officials in FY 2010, particularly in regard to trafficking. PEARCE