SPAIN: INCSR 2009-2010 REPORT, PART 1

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 MADRID 001139 SIPDIS STATE FOR INL - JOHN LYLE; ALSO FOR EUR/WE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL SNAR KCRM SP SUBJECT: SPAIN: INCSR 2009-2010 REPORT, PART 1 REF: STATE 97228 ¶1. (U) As requested in Ref, Post's submission for the "International Narcotics Control Strategy Report (INCSR),Part 1, Drugs and Chemical Control," follows in paragraph 2. Post will send statistical data on seizures for the full 2009 calendar year as soon as this information is available. POC for the INCSR, Part 1 in Spain is Hugh Clifton. Telephone: 34-91-587-2294, email: CliftonLH@state.gov. ¶2. (U) ¶I. Summary Spain remains the primary transshipment and an important market for cocaine imported into Europe from South and Central America. Spain continues to be the largest consumer of cocaine in the European Union (EU),with 3 percent of the Spanish population consuming it on a regular basis, although in 2009 its government continued to claim that domestic cocaine consumption is no longer on the increase. Spanish National Police, Civil Guard, and Customs Services, along with autonomous regional police forces, increased the law enforcement operational tempo during 2009. Across the board - for heroin, cocaine, hashish and ecstasy - the amount of drugs seized by law enforcement officials in Spain is expected to be lower in 2009. Spanish law enforcement officials attribute this to a combination of factors: increased maritime enforcement and port controls discouraged drug traffickers from sending their shipments to Spain, while Spain successfully dismantled drug cartels in Spain. As of the end of September 2009, law enforcement officials had seized only a third as much heroin as was seized in 2008. Also as of the end of September, the Spanish security services had only seized half as much hashish and ecstasy as in 2008 while cocaine seizures were at two-thirds of 2008 levels. The Spanish government ranks drug trafficking as one of its most important law enforcement objectives and Spanish drug enforcement continues to maintain excellent relations with U.S. counterparts. The United States continues to expand the excellent bilateral and multilateral cooperation in law enforcement programs it has with Spain, as symbolized by ongoing joint operations throughout the year. Spain is a party to the 1988 UN Drug Convention. II. Status of Country By most reports, Spain remains the principal entry, transshipment, and consumption zone for the large quantities of South American cocaine and Moroccan cannabis destined for European consumer markets. However, Spain disputed a November 2009 report by the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction that Spain is still the largest consumer of cocaine in the EU, arguing that the findings did not take into account the latest data on Spain's efforts to curb consumption. Spain is also a major source and transit location for drug proceeds returning to South and Central America. Colombia appears to continue to be Spain's largest supplier of cocaine from Latin America. Spain continues to face a sustained flow of hashish from its southern neighbors, Morocco and Algeria. Maritime smuggling of hashish across the Mediterranean Sea is a very large-scale business. Spanish police continued to seize multi-ton loads of Moroccan hashish, some of which is brought into Spain by illegal immigrants. The majority of heroin that arrives in Spain is transported via the "Balkan Route" from Turkey, although Security Forces in 2008 have noticed recent efforts to transport it into Spain by boat. The Spanish National Police have identified Turkish trafficking organizations that distribute the heroin once it is smuggled into Spain. Illicit refining and manufacturing of drugs in Spain is minimal, although small-scale laboratories of synthetic drugs such as LSD are discovered and destroyed each year. MDMA-Ecstasy labs are rare and unnecessary in Spain as MDMA labs in the Netherlands prefer shipping the final product to Spain. However, the Ecstasy trafficking trend has been to transship small quantities to the U.S. through cities in Spain to foil U.S. Customs inspectors who are wary of packages mailed from Belgium or the Netherlands. Spain's pharmaceutical industry produces precursor chemicals; however, most precursors used in Spain to manufacture illegal drugs are imported from China. There is effective control of precursor shipments within Spain from the point of origin to destination through a program administered under the Ministry of Health and Social Policy's National Drug Plan, known by its Spanish acronym of PNSD. III. Country Actions against Drugs in 2008 Policy Initiatives. The PNSD provides overall guidance and strategic directives for Spain's national policy on drugs. In January 2009, Spain approved its new PNSD for 2009-2016, which aims to have citizens more involved in the fight against drugs, with the MADRID 00001139 002 OF 004 hope to prevent and/or lower consumption, delay the age for initial consumption (currently at age 20 for cocaine and heroin, and age 18 for hashish),and to guarantee assistance to drug addicts. On January 23, 2009, the Council of Ministers approved a plan for drug-trafficking related assets to be confiscated and used to finance programs and activities of the security forces in the fight against drugs, drug-prevention programs, provide help to drug-addicts, and facilitate their social and labor insertion. In June 2009, the Ministry of Health and Social Policy reported that domestic cocaine consumption continued to stabilize following a decline in 2007. Similarly, cannabis use reportedly stabilized. The Ministry touted these developments as evidence that its prevention-based policies are effective. In July 2009, Spain hosted a mission by the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB),the independent and quasi-judicial monitoring body for the implementation of the UN's international drug control conventions. Spain held wide-ranging talks with the INCB, which in its annual report released in February, congratulated Spain on the decreased cocaine use by Spanish youths aged 14-18 years old. Spain is a UNODC Major Donor and a member of the Dublin Group, a group of countries that coordinates the provision of counternarcotics assistance. Law Enforcement Efforts. The Spanish law enforcement agencies responsible for narcotics control are the Spanish National Police and the Civil Guard, both of which fall under the domain of law enforcement and civil security matters within the Ministry of Interior. The Spanish Customs Service, under the Ministry of the Treasury, also carries a mandate to enforce counternarcotics legislation at Spain's borders and in Spanish waters. Because of the economic crisis, the Spanish Customs Services' intervention ships in the Cantabrian Sea area reduced their activity to 15 days per month in order to cut fuel expenses. The U.S. DEA Madrid Country Office continued to work with Spanish authorities in several of the more significant seizures and arrests this past year. Large-scale cocaine importation in Spain is principally controlled by Colombian drug traffickers, though Galician organizations also play an important role in the trafficking of cocaine into and within the country. Spanish authorities recorded several large seizures of cocaine in 2009. For example, a speed boat in Ribeira (A Corua) with 4,000 kilos of cocaine was stopped in January by the Spanish IRS (the drugs could have reached a market value of 120 million Euros). In February, a fishing boat with 5,000 kilos of cocaine was seized 800 miles from the Canary Islands. In June, 900 kilos of cocaine were seized in Alicante and Murcia. In September authorities seized 1,500 kilos of cocaine and dismantled a laboratory in Ciudad Real. Hashish trafficking is controlled by Moroccan, British, and Portuguese smugglers and, to some extent, nationals of Gibraltar and the Netherlands. All year long and across the country, Spanish authorities recorded large seizures of hashish in 2009. Security forces began the year with what would be their largest operation of 2009 when police in January seized 11,000 kilos of hashish in an underground parking lot in Seville. A slew of large-scale operations followed, including 7,000 kilos seized in February. In April, 2,100 kilos were seized in Ibiza while another 3,000 kilos were seized in a boat near Cadiz. In June security forces seized 13,750 kilos of hashish in five different operations around Spain. Spanish law enforcement officials, concerned about the increasing quantity of heroin coming into Spain from Turkey, in July launched a joint operation with France which ended with the seizure in Madrid of 92 kilos of heroin, the largest amount seized so far this year. In March, the Spanish National Police notched their largest seizure of "speed" in recent years, when they captured more than 35 kilos of amphetamine sulphate in a single raid in Zaragoza. SEIZURES: --- Heroin - Cocaine (MT) - Hashish - Ecstasy (KG) (MT) (MT) (pills x 1000) 2001 631 - 34 - 514 - 860 2002 275 - 18 - 564 - 1,400 2003 242 - 49 - 727 - 772 2004 271 - 33 - 794 - 797 2005 174 - 48 - 670 - 573 MADRID 00001139 003 OF 004 2006 454 - 47 - 451 - 408 2007 227 - 38 - 653 - 491 2008 548 - 28 - 682 - 535 2009 187 - 19 - 298 - 282 Corruption. Spain's Organized Crime Intelligence Center (CICO) coordinates counternarcotics operations among various government agencies, including the Spanish Civil Guard, National Police, and Customs Service. Under their guidance, law enforcement cooperation appears to function well. Spain neither encourages nor facilitates illicit production or distribution of narcotic or psychotropic drugs or other controlled substances, or the laundering of proceeds from illegal drug transactions. There is no evidence of corruption of senior officials or their involvement in the drug trade, but there continue to be isolated cases involving corrupt law enforcement officials who were caught facilitating drug trafficking. For example, in early 2009 authorities arrested nearly a dozen Civil Guard officers, including a Lieutenant Colonel, in the Barcelona area for ties to drug traffickers dating back to the mid-1990s. The corrupt officers are accused of tipping off thieves on drug shipments so that they could steal and re-sell the goods and divide the spoils. The case, with 27 defendants, went to trial in November ¶2009. Agreements and Treaties. Spain is a party to the 1988 UN Drug Convention, the 1961 UN Single Convention as amended by the 1972 Protocol and the 1971 UN Convention on Psychotropic Substances. Spain is also a party to the UN Convention against Corruption and the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and its three protocols. A 1970 extradition treaty and its three supplements govern extradition between the U.S. and Spain. The U.S.-Spain Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty has been in force since 1993, and the two countries have also signed a Customs Mutual Assistance Agreement. Spain has signed bilateral instruments with the U.S. implementing the 2003 U.S.-EU Extradition and Mutual Legal Assistance Agreements. Both countries have ratified these agreements. None have entered into force. Cultivation/Production. Coca leaf is not cultivated in Spain. However, there has been concern in recent years regarding clandestine laboratories in Spain. In October, a cocaine laboratory was dismantled in Ciudad Real. The Ministry of Interior reported the lab was capable of producing more than 50 kilos per week, making it the largest laboratory dismantled in the last eight years. Some cannabis is grown in country, but the seizures and investigations by Spanish authorities indicate the production is minimal. Opium poppy is cultivated licitly under strictly regulated conditions for research, and the total amount is insignificant. In 2008 Spain was added to the list of nontraditional countries authorized to export narcotic raw materials (NRM) to the United States. This enabled Spain to join the other "non-traditional" NRM exporters, Australia, France, Hungary, and Poland, as the only countries allowed to supply approximately 20 percent of the NRM required annually by the United States. Traditional exporters India and Turkey have preferred access to 80 percent of the NRM market. Spain is not a significant production zone for synthetic drugs. While not a significant producer of MDMA/Ecstasy, limited production of the drug has been reported in Spain. Drug Flow/Transit. Spain is the major gateway to Europe for cocaine coming from Colombia, Bolivia, Peru, and Ecuador. Traffickers exploit Spain's close historic and linguistic ties with Latin America and its extensive coastlines to transport drugs for consumption in Spain or distribution to other parts of Europe. The DEA continues to note that Colombian cocaine continues to be sent first to Africa and then smuggled northward into Spain. Spanish police note that the country's two principal international airports, Madrid's Barajas and Barcelona's El Prat, are increasingly entry points for much of the cocaine trafficked into and through Spain, and substantial numbers of body cavity smugglers continue arriving by air. Those two airports remain key transit points for passengers who intend to traffic Ecstasy and other synthetic drugs, mainly produced in Europe, to the United States. These couriers, however, are typically captured before they leave Spain or when they arrive in the U.S., due to strong bilateral collaboration. Spain remains a major transit point to Europe for hashish from Morocco, and Spain's North African enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla are principal points of departure. Spanish law enforcement has disrupted many drug shipments through its use of the Integrated External Surveillance System (Spanish acronym SIVE),deployed on its southern coast. In 2009 Spain expanded the use of SIVE by installing a fixed radar site in Ibiza, the first among a series of SIVE sites planned for the Balearic Islands, which are increasingly used as new transport routes for hashish originating from Morocco and Algeria. Domestic Programs/Demand Reduction. The national drug strategy identifies prevention as its principal priority and the government MADRID 00001139 004 OF 004 implemented an awareness campaign targeting Spanish youth and school children. The PNSD closely coordinates its demand reduction programs with the Spanish National Police, Civil Guard, Ministry of Health and Consumer Affairs, and Ministry of Public Administration. Spain's autonomous communities receive central government funding and provide drug addiction treatment programs, including methadone maintenance programs and needle exchanges. Prison rehabilitation programs also distribute methadone. As of early September, the government had contributed nearly 4 million euros to assist private, nongovernmental organizations that carry out drug prevention and rehabilitation programs. In July 2009, the Delegate of the Government for the National Drug Plan announced that beginning in the fourth quarter of 2009, "nine or 10" Spanish hospitals would begin to administer, on an experimental basis, a vaccine against cocaine addiction. IV. U.S. Policy Initiatives and Programs Bilateral Cooperation. The United States enjoys excellent bilateral and multilateral cooperation in law enforcement programs it has with Spain. Spain hosted two visits by the Secretary of Homeland Security in 2009 while the Ministers of Justice and Interior each visited Washington during separate visits. In anticipation of increased bilateral cooperation during Spain's assumption of the rotating EU Presidency during January-June 2010, a liaison officer from the Department of Homeland Security began a rotation at the Ministry of Interior. DEA worked very closely with its Spanish law enforcement counterparts during 2009, contributing to numerous successful joint investigations. The Coast Guard and JIATF-S in September hosted a delegation of senior Civil Guard officials for a visit to discuss best practices in counter-narcotics programs and preparations are underway for a delegation of senior counternarcotics officials from CICO to visit JIATF-S, SouthCom, and the Drug Enforcement Administration in January 2010. Road Ahead. As drug traffickers continue targeting Spain and its government recognizes the rewards of collaboration, the U.S. will continue close coordination with Spanish counternarcotics officials. Spain will continue to be a key player in the international fight against drug trafficking. The U.S. and Spain are natural partners in Latin America. Our expanding partnership will benefit Latin America in its counternarcotics efforts, as well as Spain and the U.S. CHACON