NATIONAL POLICE SPEARHEAD RECORD YEAR OF DRUG SEIZURES IN

UNCLAS BOGOTA 000478 SIPDIS SENSITIVE DEPT FOR INL/LP AND WHA/AND E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: SNAR PGOV PREL KCRM PTER CO SUBJECT: NATIONAL POLICE SPEARHEAD RECORD YEAR OF DRUG SEIZURES IN COLOMBIA REF: BOGOTA 3821 ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: The Colombian Public Forces set new records for seizures of cocaine (including base),marijuana, and drug labs in ¶2008. Colombian Public Forces seized 245 metric tons of cocaine and base, 258 metric tons (MTs) of marijuana, and 695 kilos of heroin this past year. They also destroyed 3,667 drug labs. While all forces contributed to this record breaking effort, the Colombian National Police (CNP) led the way by seizing 150 of the 245 MTs of cocaine, 199 MTs of the 258 MTs of marijuana, and 644 kilos of the 695 kilos of heroin. The CNP also destroyed 1,753 of the 3,667 labs destroyed. A variety of factors contributed to these unprecedented results, including aggressive senior police leadership, an expanded CNP Antinarcotics Directorate, and greater coordination between interdiction and eradication. The challenge ahead is to consolidate this success as Colombia begins to take on a greater role in controlling and funding programs that historically received significant USG support. END SUMMARY. -------------- By the Numbers -------------- ¶2. (SBU) The Government of Colombia (GOC),largely based on CNP successes, seized 503 MTs of cocaine and marijuana in 2008, which far eclipsed the previous national record of 380 MTs seized in 2007. The Colombian National Police accounted for 150 of the 245 MTs of cocaine seized by the GOC, and 199 of the 258 MTs of marijuana seized this year nationwide. The CNP also destroyed 1,753 of the GOC total 3,667 drug labs interdicted during this same period. Additionally, the Colombian Police seized 644 of the GOC total 695 kilos of heroin captured this year. CNP cocaine seizures primarily occurred at hydrochloride (Hcl) labs and their adjacent storage caches, road checkpoints, and seaports; antinarcotics units captured approximately 30 MTs of cocaine during seaport container inspections alone in 2008. COMMENT: Bogota Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) officials state that in addition to these documented seizures, they can attribute at least 100 additional metric tons of cocaine confiscated worldwide to CNP intelligence shared directly with them as part of bilateral investigations in 2008. END COMMENT -------------- Leadership Counts -------------- ¶3. (SBU) In mid-2007, the GOC appointed a new CNP Director, Major General Oscar Naranjo, and a new Antinarcotics Director, Brigadier General Alvaro Caro; both of these officers proved instrumental to current CNP antinarcotics successes. General Naranjo is a former head of both the CNP Intelligence and Judicial Police commands, and is known by Embassy officials to be a leader who issues clear goals and holds subordinates accountable to accomplish them and one his principal objectives was to strengthen the CNP's antinarcotics efforts. Naranjo also sought to provide the resources for his units to achieve their objectives, as evidenced by the major growth he authorized in the CNP Antinarcotics Police (DIRAN in Spanish). The DIRAN Director, Brigadier General Caro, brought an energetic and innovative leadership style to the unit and consistently focused on attaining results. U.S. advisors report that Caro often visits his deployed units to assess their progress and personally debriefs intelligence officers to ensure that targets they identify are being acted upon. On several occasions he authorized operations despite staff officer reluctance that missions might be too risky or uncertain of success. One operational innovation was the stationing of 30-50 man Jungla (Colombian Antinarcotics Police Airmobile Commandos) units at coca aerial eradication bases, so that these detachments could quickly act on local intelligence, and conduct lab interdiction missions using aircraft when spraying was not feasible due to weather or when spray missions ended early. This approach contributed led to many interdiction "targets of opportunity". COMMENT: This tactic will be less useful as we reduce our spray efforts and as flight hours become scarcer. END COMMENT. -------------- Bigger and Better Antinarcotics Police -------------- ¶4. (SBU) DIRAN, which accounts for less than five percent of the entire Colombian National Police force, accounted for 58 percent of cocaine, 75 percent of heroin, and 60 percent of the drug labs seized by the Colombian National Police in 2008. This elite antinarcotics force, which receives significant support from the USG, grew from 3,600 personnel in early 2007 to 6,300 by the end of 2008, to include a 30 percent increase in its Jungla Commandos and the assignment of thirteen Carabinero rural police squadrons to DIRAN during this period. Despite this growth spurt, the antinarcotics police maintained a high training proficiency through a combination of local CNP training courses, U.S. Customs and Border Protection mobile training teams, courses at U.S. military schools and the Department of State's International Law Enforcement Academy. The DIRAN training regimen is so well-respected that in recent years over 80 students from twelve countries have attended its International Jungla course, and DIRAN mobile training teams have responded to training requests from Afghanistan, Mexico, and Ecuador. A key enabler for DIRAN's interdiction successes remained its highly-skilled aviation wing (ARAVI),composed of both fixed wing and rotary wing aircraft that are essential for target identification and tactical movement to remote targets. U.S. aviation advisors state that the use of ARAVI flight hours were more efficient than in the past, since more accurate intelligence was driving the operations. ARAVI receives significant USG support, but has made efforts to nationalize many functions as USG support wanes. -------------- Intelligence, Investigations, and Cross-Training -------------- ¶5. (SBU) USG technical and operational support contributed greatly to DIRAN's major advances in intelligence operations and case preparations in recent years. In the last year alone, DIRAN expanded its intelligence and criminal investigator ranks by approximately 60 percent. DIRAN also tripled its investment in human intelligence payments in 2008. In addition to providing more informant money, DIRAN leaders acknowledge they now pay informants more promptly, which has led to increased cooperation, including a phenomenon of repeat informers - individuals who return multiple times to reveal the location of different drug labs. The recent arrival of the first two of three USG-provided upgraded C-26 Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance Aerial Platforms (ISRAPs) will further strengthen DIRAN's intelligence capabilities; the remaining two C-26s are expected to arrive by mid-2009. In June, the antinarcotics police also established a Tips telephone hotline, though officers say it is too early to determine its long-term impact. A final component to this enhanced DIRAN organization has been the extensive use of cross-training and internal rotations within the antinarcotics police that facilitates coordination among the various components and produces a great depth of professional experience throughout the organization. -------------- Aggressive Anti-Corruption Efforts -------------- ¶6. (SBU) DIRAN also strengthened its efforts to eliminate corruption from its ranks this year. In 2008, DIRAN created a DIRAN Internal Affairs unit to combat corruption and misconduct within the force. This Internal Affairs unit reports directly to the general heading up DIRAN and is well staffed and resourced to accomplish its mission. A DIRAN polygraph unit, jointly supported by the Narcotics Affairs Section (NAS) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE),is also active in this anticorruption effort. The unit conducted 1,083 polygraph exams of DIRAN personnel in 2008 alone. These anti-corruption efforts led to the opening of official investigations on 113 DIRAN members in 2008; 51 of whom, including three officers and twelve NCOs, have been dismissed and/or prosecuted. Bogota DEA officials contend that efforts to eliminate corruption, as well as a series of high-visibility drug cartel arrests and extraditions, have created a growing public perception that the police can be trusted, which has led to more citizens willing to share information with the authorities. COMMENT: The CNP, as outlined in Reftel, still face challenges in this area as evidenced by the resignations of two police generals and the dismissal of more than 200 other policemen for corruption allegations in 2008. END COMMENT. -------------- Every Cop is an Antinarcotics Cop -------------- ¶7. (SBU) The CNP Director's concept of the antinarcotics fight as a police-wide effort was clearly evident in 2008. DIRAN was the nucleus of the police's counternarcotics effort, but the dramatic interdiction gains registered this year would not have been possible without the participation of all police across Colombia. For instance, DIRAN seized 88 MTs of cocaine this year, while the rest of the CNP were not that far behind at 62 MTs. In the area of marijuana seizures, which typically does not involve complex airmobile operations or specially trained units, regular police seized 158 MTs -- almost four times the amount of marijuana seized by the antinarcotics police. A further example of the CNP full court antinarcotics press was the Carabinero Directorate, which officially has a rural security mandate. The Carabineros, in addition to enhancing Colombian rural security by arresting 1,559 criminals, seizing 2,144 weapons, and confiscating almost 300,000 rounds of ammunition, also managed to seize 26 MTs of cocaine, 15 MTs of marijuana, and play a major role in successful manual eradication security efforts this year. -------------- Challenge is to Consolidate Success -------------- ¶8. (SBU) COMMENT: The CNP's phenomenal interdiction successes, coupled with their record manual and aerial coca eradication accomplishments (Septel),made 2008 a banner year for the institution, and kept hundreds of metric tons off the streets of the U.S. The challenge over the next few years will be to pace our joint nationalization efforts to ensure a sustainable transition of responsibilities, so that these many antinarcotics advances can be built upon and continue to successfully battle narcoterrorism in the coming years. END COMMENT. BROWNFIELD