CORRECTED COPY - SEIZURE OF DRUG LAB PROVIDES PR

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 CONAKRY 000430 SIPDIS DEPT FOR: DS/IP/AF, DS/DSS/ITA, AF/EX E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/22/2029 TAGS: ASEC GV PGOV PREL SUBJECT: CORRECTED COPY - SEIZURE OF DRUG LAB PROVIDES PR OPPORTUNITY FOR DADIS Classified By: ARSO David Miller for reasons 1.4(a) and (g). ¶1. (SBU) Summary: The discovery of a cache of reported narco chemicals sparked a flurry of CNDD activity. The Embassy was invited by the Prime Minister to examine the cache that reputedly belonged to a Guinea narcotrafficking kingpin. The following day CNDD President Moussa Dadis Camara held a meeting at Radiodiffusion Television Guineenne (RTG) to discuss the situation and to appeal to the international community for assistance. These events appear to be designed to deflect attention from Dadis' plummeting popularity and re-focus public interest on counternarcotic activities. End Summary. ¶2. (S) On July 16, 2009 the RSO was invited to examine a "drug lab" in the Gbessia section of Conakry near the international airport that had attracted the attention of local residents. Prime Minister Kabine Komara also called the Charge for Embassy assistance and stated that the seized chemicals could possibly be used for "weapons of mass destruction." ARSO visited the site the following day along a high ranking delegation of GOG officials and members of the media. ARSO took photos of the chemicals and forwarded them for analysis. The Prime Minister's assertion that they could be used as WMD appears highly exaggerated. Although some of the chemicals could possibly be used to process drugs, it is difficult to determine their exact nature without further analysis. The CNDD claims that the chemicals belonged to a suspected drug trafficker in Guinea. However, many details about the seizure, the origin of the chemicals, and the drug lab's actual operation remain murky. The CNDD claimed it was concerned about safely disposing the chemicals and wanted USG and international assistance with the problem. ¶3. (S) Following the ARSO's visit to the lab, the Charge was again contacted by the Prime Minister inviting the Embassy to a press conference to be held by Dadis at the radio and television network RTG on June 21. A/DCM, ARSO and PolOff attended the three-hour meeting which was broadcast in its entirety that night, replacing the normal news show. ¶4. (U) Dadis arrived in high style, driving a white pickup packed with soldiers bristling with machine guns in the back. Thirty SUVs in the motorcade accompanying Dadis roared into the parking lot, and dozens of threatening red berets and other military disembarked. Traffic was stopped in both directions on a major Conakry thoroughfare for over three hours. ¶5. (U) The diplomatic community, members of the Forces Vives, ministers, and other CNDD members, along with heavily armed soldiers and bodyguards crammed into a television studio. Dadis took his seat on the sofa with an entourage of Pivi, Tiegboro, the Prime Minister and others sitting nearby. Dadis appeared calm and listened carefully to speakers from the affected community representatives, chemistry professors, and representative of community projects to combat drugs. Dadis would occasionally interrupt speakers or chastise them; the only outburst occurred when Dadis shouted at a soldier whose cell phone continued to ring and the red berets rushed to forcibly remove him. ¶6. (U) Unexpectedly, Dadis elevated Captain Tiegboro Camara's position from Secretary of State for Special Services, Anti-Narcotics, and Organized Banditry to that of a Minister, and appointed Commissar Lansana Laye Camara as Tiegboro's deputy. In his concluding remarks, Dadis repeatedly petitioned the international community for assistance, and often appeared to look at Embassy officers while doing so. ¶7. (SBU) COMMENT: The discovery of the chemical cache provided an opportunity for Dadis to shrug off his plummeting popularity and re-focus attention on his fight against narcotrafficking Another big production at the RTG, coupled with the evening broadcast, focused all eyes on Dadis and kept both allies and potential rivals literally at his side. ¶8. (SBU) Dadis' repeated calls for aid from the international community and from the U.S. via the Prime Minister, were striking. The disposal of the cache of chemicals did seem to genuinely confound some members of the GOG, however, the inordinate amount of attention focused on the proper disposal of these chemicals -- when other hazardous waste sites and toxic substances abound in Conakry -- may be interpreted as desperation to seek recognition and assistance from the CONAKRY 00000430 002 OF 002 international community. END COMMENT. BROKENSHIRE