MALI ANSWERS INTERPOL'S CALL BY ARRESTING DRUG

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BAMAKO 000266

SIPDIS

RABAT FOR LEGAL ATTACHE
DEPT FOR INL - AARON ALTON
DOJ FOR DEA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/29/2019
TAGS: PGOV KCRM KJUS PREL ML
SUBJECT: MALI ANSWERS INTERPOL'S CALL BY ARRESTING DRUG
TRAFFICKER

REF: BAMAKO 00097

Classified By: Political Officer Fred Noyes, Embassy Bamako,
for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).

1.(SU) Summary: On March 26, Malian police arrested Adrea
Tsakiris, a drug trafficker of dual French nd Greek
nationality wanted by authorities in several countries.
Tsakiris, who was in Mali hiding from an Interpol warrant, is
currently in custody waiting for extradition to France. The
arrest comes as Mali is battling a reputation as an
increasingly important transit point for West Africa's
burgeoning drug trade and the first appearance of crack
cocaine on Bamako streets. An INL program designed to provide
curriculum support and other opportunities to the Bamako
Police Academy, and the assignment of a senior law
enforcement officer to Embassy Bamako (Reftel),if and when
these are approved and implemented, will constitute the first
steps toward providing Malian police and judicial
counterparts with the skills and the tools needed to stem
increased drug traffic through Mali. End Summary.

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The Fugitive
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2.(SBU) Malian press described Andrea Tsakiris as "one of the
most sought-after drug traffickers on the planet." While we
have no way of assessing this claim, a French court in Rennes
issued an international arrest warrant for the dual
Greek-French national following the seizure of 3.2 tons of
cocaine in Guinea-Conakry. Interpol subsequently provided
Malian authorities with information that Tsakiris might be in
Mali, and Mali's Judicial Investigative Brigade arrest
Tsakiris less than 48 hours later. Tsakiris is currently in
Malian custody awaiting extradition to France.

3.(C) Malian police used relatively straight forward
investigative techniques to locate and apprehend Tsakiris.
The Director of the Judiciary Police, Hamidou Kansaye, told
the Embassy on April 7 that Tsakiris had been "prudent" in
his behavior and was clearly in Mali to hide from
authorities. Kansaye said Tsakiris avoided registering as a
guest in any area hotel and shunned the common practice of
relying on one preferred taxi driver, which would have made
his patterns more detectable for local police. On the other
hand, Tsakiris continued to use his cell phone. After
obtaining Tsakiris' phone number, the Judicial Investigative
Brigade (BIJ) asked the local cell phone company to identify
the towers activated by his cell phone use. This information
enabled the BIJ to determine where Tsakiris was staying and
he was apprehended shortly thereafter.

4.(SBU) Tsakiris was in possession of a French passport, the
validity of which was confirmed by French authorities at the
time of his arrest. Tsakiris also had on his person a
Guinean passport in a different name. Director Kansaye said
drug traffickers in West Africa are able to secure Guinean
identity documents with relative ease.

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Drugs, Traffickers and Chemists
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5.(SBU) Tsakiris's arrest took place in the context of a
larger drug problem confronting Malian authorities.
According to Director Kansaye, drug seizures and drug related
arrests in Mali have increased considerably. Kansaye noted
that drugs seized on Malian soil are generally not for local
consumption, with the exception of some marijuana use.
Kansaye claimed to believe that more than half of the
estimated 11,000 taxi bus drivers in Bamako used marijuana.
According to Kansaye, the intended destination of most
marijuana seized in Mali is Senegal or Mauritania, whereas
the cocaine transiting the country is generally heading
toward Europe, primarily Spain.

6.(SBU) There is little drug-related violence in Mali,
perhaps because Bamako is merely one of many transit points
across West Africa. Director Kansaye stated that - with the
exception of Tsakiris - most drug traffickers passing through
Mali are only mules paid small amounts to smuggle the drugs
and serve as middlemen. The drug lords controlling the trade
are elsewhere.

7.(SBU) Kansaye said the potential for drug-related violence

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in Mali was increasing, however, due to the recent arrival of
crack cocaine. Kansaye indicated that although the police
have only encountered crack cocaine on a couple of occasions
in Bamako, they are starting to encounter the precursor
ingredients for manufacturing crack cocaine, such as
ammonium. Kansaye believes crack cocaine could take root in
Mali in a way other drugs have not. First, at 1000 FCFA
(approx. 2 USD) a rock, crack is the first drug to appear in
Mali that would be accessible to the average Malian.
"Everyone can buy it," Kansaye said. Second, crack has the
potential to be developed locally. One side effect of Mali's
extraordinarily high unemployment rate for college graduates,
according to Kansaye, is that there are many "chemists out
there with diplomas but no jobs."

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Police Capabilities
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8.(SBU) Despite their rapid success in finding Tsakiris, the
Malian police are quick to admit that they have limited
capabilities. The Narcotics Brigade of the National Police,
for example, employs only 24 officers for the totality of
Mali, and training is sorely lacking. Director Kansaye
relayed one story of a drug seizure in northern Mali that was
reported by Kidal based Drug Brigade officers to superiors in
Bamako - and to local media - as a seizure of 750 kilograms
of cocaine. When the drugs were brought back to Bamako,
however, police discovered that the "cocaine" was actually
marijuana and that Drug Brigade officers in northern Mali had
misidentified the captured contraband. Kansaye also said
that Drug Brigade officers sometimes let drugs pass simply
because they do not recognize what they are.

9.(C) According to Kansaye, the police also need better
technology, equipment, and support. Although the police were
able to enlist the assistance of the phone company to
localize Tsakiris's cell phone, Kansaye underscored several
times that the Malian police do not have the technology to
tap telephones or to monitor cellular calls. Moreover, even
when the Malian police have technology, they often lack the
resources needed to use it. Kansaye provided just one rather
low tech example - the recent donation by external partners
of vehicles for use by the police. The vehicles are not
used, said Kansaye, because the police do not have the
gasoline to fill them.

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Police Accomplishments
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10.(SBU) Notwithstanding limited resources, the Malian police
have seized a significant amount of narcotics, particularly
at Bamako-Senou International Airport. Police data provided
to the Embassy indicate there were 39 arrests at Bamako-Senou
in 2008, involving 38 men and 1 woman. Police seized a total
of 29.11 kilograms (approx. 64 lbs.) of cocaine, as well has
84.9 kilograms (approx. 187 lbs.) of marijuana. The
smugglers arrested included 23 Malians, 7 Nigerians, and 9
persons of other nationalities.

11.(SBU) Of particular note is the method of smuggling
utilized by those arrested. In 25 recorded cases,
"ingestion" was the method of concealing the drugs. In 2
cases, smugglers attempted to hide the drugs in their
suitcases, in one case using a suitcase with a false bottom.
In 2 cases, smugglers hid the drugs in their clothes, and in
another 2 cases, smugglers hollowed out statuettes and placed
the drugs inside. In 8 cases, the smugglers "wrapped" the
drugs in one material or another - for example, one arrested
person attempted to disperse marijuana in sacs of incense.

12.(SBU) The Malian police also appear to make the most of
cooperative relationships with foreign counterparts. On
April 7, the Embassy was originally scheduled to meet not
with Director Kansaye of the Judiciary Police, but with his
subordinate, Director Seydou Toure of the Narcotics Brigade.
Toure was unable to meet with the Embassy because he had
received a call the morning of April 7 from police officials
in Venezuela advising that a shipment of drugs originating in
Venezuela was on route to Mali via DHL. Director Kansaye
advised the Embassy that the Judiciary Police maintain good
relations with DHL, as it is frequently used by drug
smugglers.

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Comment: Resource Shortages
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13.(SBU) Mali's National Judiciary Police appear committed to
stemming the flow of drugs across Malian borders. They are
also eager to cooperate with international law enforcement
counterparts. Although the challenges Malian narcotics
officers face in terms of resources and training are
daunting, Director Kansaye's candid willingness to discuss
what could be perceived as embarrassing shortfalls is both
refreshing and encouraging. Malian ability to interdict
increased drug trafficking through Bamako is a function of
these resource and training deficiencies. Given current
resource allotments, Malian officials are likely interdicting
only a small fraction of the drugs actually moving through
Bamako and the rest of Mali. We are looking forward to
working with INL to design a program that would enable us to
provide curriculum support to the Malian police academy and
also allow for the assignment of a senior law enforcement
officer to Embassy Bamako. The assignment of an INL officer
to Bamako will help ensure the effectiveness of future
collaboration with Malian law enforcement, increase
coordination with other donor nations in this sector, and
improve Malian authorities' ability to coordinate with
regional counterparts to effectively combat West Africa's
rising drug trade.
MILOVANOVIC