MAURITANIA: A NEW DRUG-TRAFFICKING HUB IN THE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 NOUAKCHOTT 000386 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/09/2019 TAGS: PGOV MR SNAR PTER SUBJECT: MAURITANIA: A NEW DRUG-TRAFFICKING HUB IN THE MAKING? Classified By: Ambassador Mark M. Boulware for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Summary: Drug-trafficking in Mauritania is on the rise and becoming a concern not only for the country but also the region. Mauritania is a transit country for hashish resin and cocaine, two highly profitable drugs. Hashish resin is trafficked from Morocco to the Gulf States through the Mauritanian-Malian border and the road to Nema. French authorities have found evidence that Touareg rebels and AQIM terrorists along the Mauritanian-Malian border profit from the trafficking by charging passage rights, selling water, gas and food to traffickers, and providing them with drivers. Mauritania is also a main passage country for cocaine trafficked from South America into Europe through Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, and Senegal. This traffic is so profitable that many suspect high-level authorities and even politicians are involved in it. The explosive combination of drug-trafficking and poor governance could lead Mauritania on the path of becoming a narco-state. The introduction into the local market of cheap drugs like crack, a derivative of cocaine, could also have a negative impact on Mauritanian society and crime rates. End summary. -------------- EXTRADITION OF MIGUEL ERIK WALTER -------------- ¶2. (C) PolOff and PolAsst met Jean-Luc Peduzzi, French Police Attache, on May 4 for an overview of drug-trafficking networks in Mauritania. Peduzzi opened the meeting by commenting on the recent extradition of drug-dealer Miguel Erik Walter (also known as Erick Mengua and Eric M'Benga),a French citizen of Senegalese origin. Walter is the suspected head of one of the biggest West African drug-trafficking networks. Accused of cocaine trafficking in Mauritania and of murder in France, Walter was arrested in Senegal for using a false Guinean passport. The French police pushed for his extradition to Mauritania because the drug-trafficking case there is solid and the French feared he would get off easily in France and Senegal. ¶3. (C) Peduzzi stated that the French are pleased with General Aziz for facilitating Walter's extradition and interpret Aziz's eagerness to cooperate as a sign that he is not involved in drug trafficking. The French are convinced Aziz would have never accepted the extradition if he or any of his close associates had any links to drug trafficking. Peduzzi intimated that Walter's extradition had been delayed because of a conflict between French Government interests and private French and Senegalese interests. Walter's lawyers, who also happen to be former President Chirac's and Senegalese President Wade's lawyers, had been lobbying the French Embassy against his extradition, on the grounds that he risked capital punishment in Mauritania. Peduzzi hopes that Walter's testimony will shed some light on high level Mauritanian complicity in drug-trafficking. -------------- TWO MAIN NETWORKS: HASHISH RESIN AND COCAINE -------------- ¶4. (C) Peduzzi explained that hashish resin and cocaine are the two main drugs trafficked through Mauritania and the region. There is minor trafficking of "chanvre indien" or hemp, but the French authorities are not concerned about it because its profitability is limited. "Chanvre indien," also known as Diomba, is mostly used by the Soninke and Pulaar. It is a cheap drug -- a tea glass costs 1,000 Ouguiya (approximated $4 USD) -- that comes from Ghana and enters Mauritania through Senegal. ¶5. (C) The hashish resin is produced in the Moroccan rif (countryside),where weather conditions are optimal. The French calculate that of a total of 3,000 tons produced in Morocco, at least 1,000 tons travel through Mauritania. The NOUAKCHOTT 00000386 002 OF 004 hashish route starts in Morocco and goes through Tindouf, Algeria and down the Malian border into Niger. From there, it veers to the North towards Libya and Egypt or to the east to Chad, Sudan, and the Red Sea. This traffic is highly profitable: high-quality hashish costs 800 Euros per kilogram in Morocco, and by the time it reaches the Arab peninsula its cost increases to 4,000 Euros per kilogram. ¶6. (C) The French are concerned that hashish traffic can destabilize the zone, as evidence suggests it indirectly benefits Malian Touareg rebels and terrorists operating along the Malian border. They fear drug-trafficking could finance terrorist activities. Terrorists and Touareg rebels along the Mauritanian-Malian border charge drug dealers passage rights and use this money to fund their operations. Touaregs are also known to provide dealers with gas, food, water and drivers. Peduzzi explained that AQIM and the Touaregs have started cooperating only recently. In 2006, AQIM and the Touaregs fought each other for control of the territory. The dispute was settled and resulted in AQIM leaders taking Touareg wives to seal their cooperation pact with the Touaregs. According to Peduzzi, a few years ago only four pickup trucks, three of them loaded with 300 kilograms of hashish and one devoted to logistics, made the trip down the Malian border. Today, up to 15 vehicles can travel in a convoy at a given time. ¶7. (C) Peduzzi said there is a second hasish trafficking route that goes from Morocco into the Western Sahara and then down through Nouadhibou and along the Route de L'Espoir (the road that heads east from Nouakchott to Nema). Large amounts of drugs have been seized in this area. This alternate route is a sign that the Malian route has become too expensive. The main characteristics of drug-trafficking, explained Peduzzi, are its adaptability and capacity to diversify. The amount of hashish trafficked through the Nouadhibou route versus the Malian desert route is unknown. ¶8. (C) Peduzzi has no idea how big the cocaine traffic is, but knows its profitability is on the rise. In November 2007, the price of one kilogram of cocaine in Europe was 12,000 Euros, whereas in November 2008 it increased to 18,000 Euros. According to Peduzzi, South American drugs dealers are turning to Europe and have discovered the advantages of Africa as an entry point. An under-trained, under-equipped and often corrupt police and customs, as well as porous borders, facilitate drug-trafficking. Cocaine comes from South America in Cessna aircraft called Kamikaze planes. According to Peduzzi, they leave Brazil and land in Guinea-Bissau, where the 90 small islands of the Bijago archipelago are highly suitable for illegal landings. The cocaine travels to Mauritania and enters Europe through Morocco and the Canary Islands. As the traffic of hashish towards Europe decreases, the traffic of cocaine increases. The reason is the high profitability of cocaine, which can be transported in small quantities and still yield a fair amount of profit. ¶9. (C) Mauritanians have a very specific role in the cocaine trafficking chain: they store the drug and organize its transport. Mauritanians do not have refining capabilities and the drug found in Nouakchott is very pure and of the highest quality. When enough cocaine is available, Mauritanians hide it in cars or boats and send it to the Canary Islands or Morocco. In Morocco, the traffic is controlled by French citizens of Senegalese or Moroccan origin and even by French citizens from Marseilles and the Parisian suburbs of Seine Saint Dennis. In Morocco, cruise ships and fishing boats smuggle drugs. Also, young Parisian women drive down to Morocco in rental vehicles to bring the drugs back to France. Each vehicle is loaded with up to 12 kilograms of cocaine. The French have not identified a linkage between the cocaine trafficking and terrorism. Cocaine is strictly a Mafia endeavor as the criminals are not interested in ideology. NOUAKCHOTT 00000386 003 OF 004 -------------- RECENT SEIZURES: THE TIP OF THE ICEBERG -------------- ¶10. (C) According to Alain Antil, Senior Research Associate at the Institut Francais des Relations Internationales (IFRI),drug-trafficking in Mauritania is far from being a new phenomenon. Drug-trafficking became an issue under the Ould Taya regime, and has only grown worse in the last three years. ¶11. (C) Only a small portion of the cocaine trafficked is seized; therefore, the large amounts seized in Mauritania in recent years are an indication of the extent of the problem. In May 2007, Nouadhibou police seized 629 kilograms of cocaine in a twin engined Cessna plane coming from Venezuela. In August 2007, police in Nouakchott seized 800 kilograms of cocaine in a minibus. In October 2007, the police stopped a vegetable truck near Banc d'Arguin that was carrying 5.7 tons of hashish resin. Fifty kilograms of cocaine and two tons of hashish were seized in Nouadhibou in April 2008. Most recently, in January 2009, maritime police in Nouadhibou arrested nine suspects after finding 9.5 kilograms of cocaine in a fishing boat bound for Spain. Finally, in March 2009 five kilograms of cocaine from Guinea-Bissau were seized in Nouakchott. -------------- GOVERNMENT COMPLICITY -------------- ¶12. (C) According to Antil, new trafficking networks generate new actors. He is convinced there is a degree of complicity between drug-traffickers and Mauritanian authorities. "In the best of cases, authorities are paid to close their eyes. In the worst of cases, they participate," he stressed. For Antil, trafficking cannot be done without ensuring the drugs will arrive safely to their destination. Rumor says that drug-trafficking in the region, from Guinea to Mauritania, has been controlled by the sons or family members of heads of state. The high profile case of Mini Ould Soudany-Sid'Ahmed Ould Taya shook Mauritanian public opinion in 2007. The scandal involved police officer Sid'Ahmed Ould Taya, a former Interpol agent in Mauritania and cousin to President Ould Taya. Other high-profile scandals include the arrest and sentencing of Sidi Mohamed Ould Haidalla, son of former Mauritanian President Mohamed Khouna Ould Haidalla, who is currently serving a long sentence in Morocco for drug-trafficking. ¶13. (C) Antil suggested that PolOff and PolAsst calculate the profitability of drug-trafficking by comparing the Mauritanian GDP with the market value of amounts seized in a given year. The considerable macroeconomic impact of the trafficking makes it impossible to believe that political and government leaders in Mauritania are not involved in the problem. For example, media reports stated that in 2007, at least 1500 kilograms of cocaine were seized in Mauritania. (Note: The majority of this amount came in two massive seizures. More than 600 kilograms were seized from a Cessna in Nouadhibou in May 2007. In August 2007, more than 800 kilograms were seized from a minibus. End note.) Antil maintained that about only 1 out of every 10 trafficked drug shipment was interdicted. Using his rule, 1500 kilograms would become 15000 kilograms of cocaine trafficked through Mauritania in 2007. Using Peduzzi's "street value" figures (one kilogram of cocaine in November 2007 equaled 12,000 Euros, or approximately $15,600 USD),15,000 kilograms would equal $234 million USD. The estimated GDP for Mauritania in 2007, according to the CIA World Factbook, was $2.756 billion USD. $234 million USD of the GDP equals 8.49% percent. Comment: Such figures are notoriously hard to confirm, but even by conservative estimates, the drug trafficking trade in Mauritania appears to be a significant portion of GDP. End NOUAKCHOTT 00000386 004 OF 004 comment. -------------- THE FIGHT AGAINST DRUG TRAFFICKING -------------- ¶14. (C) Assessing Mauritanian capacity to fight drug-trafficking is difficult due to the current political situation. Requests for meetings with Mauritanian authorities were turned down or referred to high level High State Council representatives, with whom EmbOffs cannot meet due to the coup d'etat and policy of minimizing contacts with the junta. However, Peduzzi highlighted that the French have been working on building Mauritanian capacity to fight drug-trafficking. They have provided $100,000 to the Central Office to Fight the Illegal Traffic of Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances, an organization composed of 19 Mauritanian officers in charge of gathering and centralizing information as well as coordinating drug-trafficking activities among gendarmerie, customs and police. The French also plan to engage Mauritanians further through the European Union's Sahel Plan for Security and Justice, a French initiative to help create a legal framework and build capacity in Mauritania, Mali and Niger. The French are also interested in the linkages between vehicle trafficking, which has become a big problem in Mauritania, and drug-trafficking. The French Embassy will soon bring in an expert to focus on vehicle trafficking issues. -------------- DRUG USAGE -------------- ¶15. (C) Both Peduzzi and Antil fear that the cocaine trafficking may not be without consequences to Mauritania. South American traffickers pay the Africans with merchandise and not with money. Cocaine is not consumed in Africa because it is too expensive. The Africans do not necessarily have the means to transport the cocaine into Europe and commercialize it there. Therefore, these experts fear they will transform cocaine into crack to make it accessible (and affordable) to the African market. This could have a considerable social impact in the way of increased violent crime. ¶16. (C) In Nouakchott, people are addicted to traditional drugs like "Zum Zum," a drink used by Pulaar warriors to increase their fearlessness in battle. Other drugs used are glue, solvents and "chanvre indien." The arrival in Nouakchott of migrants from the interior of Mauritania and other West African countries and these people's adaptation problems as well as high unemployment rates among the youth could make these populations vulnerable to drug use. -------------- COMMENT -------------- ¶17. (C) Mauritania harbors many kinds of trafficking, and drug-trafficking seems to be the newest addition. In a country where corruption and poor governance are rampant, adding drug-trafficking to the mixture will have potentially explosive consequences, particularly when it can have such a significant economic impact. If drug trafficking gets out of hand, the impact will be felt locally - in politics and society - as well as regionally. BOULWARE