NAS LIMA END OF MONTH REPORT - MARCH

UNCLAS LIMA 000544 SIPDIS STATE FOR INL/LP AND WHA/PPC ONDCP FOR LTCOL RONALD GARMEN E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: SNAR KCRM ASEC PREL PE SUBJECT: NAS LIMA END OF MONTH REPORT - MARCH 1.(U) Summary: - Eradication Report - Aviation Report - Maritime/Ports Report - Police Report - Community Anti-Drug Coalitions go National - Case Update on Valdez and Lorente - Extradition Requests - New Vice Ministry Leads GOP Counter Narcotics Effort Eradication Report ¶2. (U) Eradication operations continued in the San Martin region during the month of March. CORAH eradicated 905.68 hectares of coca bringing the year to date total to 1227.55 hectares. Over 71 percent of the coca eradicated were replanted fields that had been previously eradicated less than two years ago. Aviation Report ¶3. (U) Five NAS UH2 assets support counter narcotics and interdiction operations in the Apurimac/Ene/River Valley (VRAE). NAS Aviation supported the recover of a Peruvian Army crew after their Antonov 28 lost power and was forced to make an emergency landing. Crew and aircraft survived with no injury to the crew and minor damage to the aircraft. ¶4. (U) Dyncorp International program manager for Peru and other personnel visit during the month of March. An evaluation of Air Police education and training was conducted to determine what is needed to graduate qualified aviation mechanics in Peru so as to save on having to send them to the US for training. Maritime/Ports Program Report ¶5. (U) The Maritime/Ports program conducted training with DRIANDRO Ports and SUNAT personnel on the newly arrived Backscatter scanner system and ten ion scanners. This backscatter system will be used to scan for drugs, explosives and weapons in seagoing containers, vehicles, and trucks. Once the training is complete, the new system will be deployed to GOP Counter drug forces at land, air, and sea ports of entry. ¶6. (U) During the month of March, counter drug units at the international airport, seaports, postal system and land ports of entry seized 414.257 kilos of cocaine HCL. Cases of note are as follows: 160 kilos of cocaine bricks found in bags of paprika and destined for shipment out of the port of Paita were seized from a warehouse near Lima; at the port of Paita, the ionscan uncovered 68.616 kilos of cocaine disguised as coffee beans; 71.118 kilos of cocaine was discovered by the body scanners, ionscans, and K9 units at the international airport; known as a "rip off load," 28 kilos of cocaine brinks were discovered inside a piece of luggage that was to be placed inside a container just prior to its shipment. Police Report ¶7. (U) Counter drug operations destroyed 286 rustic and three HCL laboratories; seized 9.4 metric tons of chemical precursors; 1.4 metric tons of cocaine paste; and 1.5 metric tons of HCL cocaine. Of the 286 rustic laboratories, 114 were destroyed in the VRAE and Huallaga. ¶8. (U) Over six hundred students entered the PNP Police pre-academies in Santa Lucia, Ayacucho, Mazamari, and Tingo Maria. 25 of the newly enrolled students are from the indigenous population. To support and encourage indigenous participation, NAS has coordinated with the local chapter of Catholic Relief Services to provide meals and lodging for these particular students. Community Anti-Drug Coalitions Go National ¶9. (U) Beginning in November of 2008, NAS Programs created seven new Community Anti-Drug Coalitions (CAC) east of the Andes, specifically in Tocache, Ayacucho, Tingo Maria, Huanaco, and Pucallpa. NAS Programs had the opportunity to visit each new Coalition during the visit of INL/DR contractor CADCA to conduct capacity building training and monitor progress. The training sessions focused on reinforcing the core elements of the strategic prevention framework and was attended, on average, by 35 or so CAC members. Each CAC reports membership numbers between 50 and 60 members. These visits received intense media interest in each city resulting in media coverage in print, internet, radio, and television for four days. The reporting was positive and raised the visibility of each coalition. Regional and national government representatives attended the training in each city to include the local mayors in Ayacucho and Tingo Maria. Case Update on Valdez and Lorente - Extradition Requests ¶10. (U) A Panamanian prosecutor has requested the extradition of Luis Valdez - ex mayor of Ucayali currently under investigation and in custody for money laundering and drug trafficking in Peru- on money laundering charges and drug trafficking in Panama. GOP has approved a Colombian request to extradite Adalberto Raul Lorente on drug trafficking charges. New Vice Ministry Leads GOP Counter Narcotics Effort ¶11. (U) As of March 24, the Ministry of the Interior has been modified, under Law 29334, to include two Vice ministries: the Vice Ministry of Institutional Management and the Vice Ministry of Internal Order. Among other functions, the Vice Ministry of Internal Order has the GOP lead on counter narcotics. MCKINLEY