Identifier | Created | Classification | Origin |
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09TASHKENT147 | 2009-02-06 10:12:00 | CONFIDENTIAL | Embassy Tashkent |
VZCZCXRO4690 RR RUEHBI RUEHCI RUEHLH RUEHPW DE RUEHNT #0147/01 0371011 ZNY CCCCC ZZH R 061012Z FEB 09 FM AMEMBASSY TASHKENT TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0414 INFO ALL SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA COLLECTIVE CIS COLLECTIVE RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC RHEHAAA/NSC WASHINGTON DC RHMFISS/HQ USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL RUEABND/DEA HQS WASHINGTON DC RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC RUEHHE/AMEMBASSY HELSINKI RUEHNT/AMEMBASSY TASHKENT RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC |
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TASHKENT 000147 |
1. (C) On January 21, Poloff and Export Control and Related Border Security (EXBS) Program Assistant visited Ferghana Province's Department of Internal Affairs of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD). Emboffs conducted end-use monitoring of counternarcotics equipment that the International Narcotics and Law Enforcement (INL) Program provided to Uzbekistan in 2004. (Note: This equipment includes a video camera, six tape recorders, three digital cameras, a TV, and a VCR. End note.) Deputy Head of the Counternarcotics Section Ikhtiyor Mulajanov greeted Emboffs and escorted them around the Department's facilities. On the way to the Counternarcotics Section, Emboffs observed a masked, blue-uniformed man armed with a sniper rifle standing atop one of the buildings--Mulajanov refused to comment on this, however. How Counternarcotics Equipment is Used -------------------------- -------------------------- 2. (C) At the Counternarcotics Section, Mulajanov showed Emboffs the equipment provided under the auspices of INL. He noted apologetically that some of the equipment had been lost since 2004, but noted that the officers responsible for this had purchased new replacements themselves. He presented this for Emboffs' inspection. Mulajanov said that the MVD uses this equipment on almost a daily basis, and that it was useful for undercover counternarcotics work. He explained that the MVD conducts "controlled purchase" operations, and an undercover drug buyer will carry a hidden recorder on his body during the operation. Another MVD official will use the video camera from a distance to monitor the controlled purchase. MVD officials also will use the video camera to monitor fields where drugs are planted--while Uzbekistan does not produce heroin or hashish, poppy is grown in the country, he continued. Roughly 20-25 MVD officers use the equipment. He remarked that they had received equipment only from the U.S. Embassy and from MVD Headquarters in Tashkent--no other countries or organizations had provided them with this. Coordination and Results of Counternarcotics Efforts -------------------------- -------------------------- -------------------------- 3. (C) The Ferghana Department for Internal Affairs cooperates actively with the National Security Service, which has officials with counternarcotics responsibilities. Mulajanov also noted that MVD officers work with Customs at the border as well as the Ministry of Health. By weight, Ferghana MVD officials seize primarily marijuana and hashish. Heroin has a larger market, and officials have had a greater number of heroin seizures, but in smaller amounts than marijuana or hashish. The Ferghana Department for Internal Affairs sends seized heroin, opium, and hashish to the National Security Service, and sends marijuana to investigators and courts, who later dispose of it. Mulajanov noted that representatives from the department also work to prevent young people from using drugs by giving lectures at universities, colleges, and schools. He also said that MVD officials have changed how they go about investigating narcotics-related crimes; before, they could check anyone they suspected of using drugs, but now evidence, such as a formal complaint from somone, is necessary before they conduct such searches. Training for MVD Officers -------------------------- 4. (C) MVD officers in Ferghana generally undergo four years of training at the MVD Academy in Tashkent. About 95 percent of those serving at the Ferghana Department for Internal Affairs had done this, Mulajanov estimated. Uzbekistan has additional training courses in Samarkand and Tashkent of up to one month at a time for its personnel. Russia from time to time also sponsors two-week training courses for Ferghana MVD officials in Moscow, he continued. TASHKENT 00000147 002 OF 002 Comment: -------------------------- 5. (C) Mulajanov's relatively open discussion of MVD's activities in Ferghana contrasts with the more tight-lipped Border Guards in Andijon that Emboffs interacted with the previous day (reftel). The Ferghana Department for Internal Affairs appears to be maintaining and effectively using INL-supplied equipment in support of its counternarcotics efforts. NORLAND To view the entire SMART message, go to URL http://repository.state.sgov.gov/_layouts/OSS SearchResults.aspx?k=messageid:6e233b49-ae64- 4fd4-a0f5-bab3f0efdf79 |