UZBEKISTAN: COUNTERNARCOTICS MEETINGS INDICATE ENGAGEMENT

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 TASHKENT 000765

SIPDIS
ANKARA FOR DEA CHRIS MELINK
DEPARTMENT FOR INL ANDREW BUHLER
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E.O. 12958: DECL: 2019/05/14
TAGS: PGOV PREL SNAR KCRM PINR AF UZ
SUBJECT: UZBEKISTAN: COUNTERNARCOTICS MEETINGS INDICATE ENGAGEMENT
WITH DEA IS STILL POSSIBLE

REF: TASHKENT 479

CLASSIFIED BY: Timothy P. Buckley, Second Secretary, Department of
State, Political and Economic Section; REASON: 1.4(B),(D)


1. (C) Summary: On May 7, the Ankara-based Drug Enforcement
Administration (DEA) Country Attache and poloff accepted an
invitation to tour the National Canine Center, which is operated by
the State Customs Committee. On May 8 meetings were held with
representatives of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD) and the
National Center for Drug Control. The tone of the meetings was
positive, and the DEA Country Attache delivered a convincing
presentation about how resuming cooperation would benefit
Uzbekistan in terms of intelligence-sharing - particularly
regarding Afghanistan - and training opportunities. These working
level officials are clearly interested in resuming cooperation with
DEA, especially now that there is a greater potential for sorely
needed information on Afghanistan, but they are reluctant to
converse without an elusive green light about DEA from the highest
political level. End Summary.



Invitation to Canine Center

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2. (SBU) On May 7, visiting DEA Country Attache (still based
offshore) and poloff followed up on an invitation to visit the
National Canine Center on the outskirts of Tashkent, which is
operated by the State Customs Committee. The Director, Sobirjan
Minovarov, had extended the invitation as a goodwill gesture after
three of his officers, including the Deputy Director, participated
in a regional conference in Almaty with support of INL funds
(reftel). Minovarov comes across as a no-nonsense cop who demands
high performance and earns respect from his officers. He took
particular pride that the World Customs Organization accredited his
center last year, the culmination of a three-year inspection
process by five certifying experts. It is an impressive facility,
indeed, with a 75-bed on-site hotel for participants, 100 dog
kennels with warm and cold weather compartments, a puppy
nursery/breeding facility, and training grounds complete with an
aircraft, bus, and other vehicles for conducting realistic
scenarios.




3. (SBU) Minovarov noted that the center offers specific training
programs for dogs and handlers in narcotics, explosives, person
identification, anti-terrorism tactics, and rescue operations. The
facility has hosted seven regional programs under the auspices of
the UN and on August 1 a program via the EU-funded Border
Management in Central Asia (BOMCA) will train 25 regional
participants. In addition to Central Asian states, the facility
has trained Afghan officers (with UN and EU funding),and Iran and
Mongolia requested and paid for training for its law enforcement
officers directly. In addition to Uzbek Customs officers, the
center provides training for approximately 75-80 Uzbek officers
from other law enforcement agencies each year who operate their own
canine units.




4. (SBU) Minovarov stressed the importance of trainees staying
overnight on the premises, which ensures that they are up early to
take proper care of their dogs. The Director himself says he is up
and on duty every day at 5 AM. "The relationship between the
handler and the dog," he stated, "is absolutely critical."
Whenever possible the center tries to make a personality match and
also find a suitable breed for the proposed work location. New
officers are nominated from their own province and then come to
Tashkent for the challenging training, and the Director does not
hesitate to dismiss any officers not up to snuff.

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5. (C) There are currently 205 Customs officers deployed with
canines in Uzbekistan, but at any given time there are 13 back in
Tashkent for additional training or refresher courses, which all
must undergo on at least an annual basis for two weeks. The
initial course of training is four months, and their field
performance is closely monitored. The first time officers return
from the field with their dogs for assessment is vital, according
to the Director, as staff often identify crucial problems such as
officers who share table food with their dogs, thereby hurting
fitness levels and diminishing their keen sense of smell.
Minovarov also described extensive use of metrics, as the center
analyzes seizures by region and with peer groups. "For example, if
I see an officer posted in Surkhandarya near the Tajik border who
finds only negligible amounts of narcotics, then I know he is not
properly doing his job...especially if his peers are finding
substantially more."




6. (SBU) The center has successfully expanded its breeding program
after receiving five German shepherd puppies from Europe a few
years ago. To date, 83 puppies have been born at the facility and
many have met the selection criteria to be put through the training
regimen. The puppies are housed in a separate kennel area and are
well-cared for by attendants and veterinarians. Minovarov capped
off the tour with live demonstrations of narcotics detection
techniques and an impressive anti-terror scenario in which padded
actors fired blank rounds and the dogs were unleashed to neutralize
the suspects.



Meeting with Counternarcotics Officials

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7. (C) On May 8, DEA Country Attache and poloff met with Shokirjon
Inogamov, Chief of the Counter-Drug Department of the Ministry of
Internal Affairs (MVD),Shohruh Ulugkhodjaev from the MVD's
Sensitive Investigative Unit (SIU),Djamol Kholmirzaev, Deputy
Chief of the Counter-Drug Department, and a representative from the
National Center for Drug Control. A formal request had been
submitted weeks in advance, but the meeting was confirmed only the
day before, and the National Security Service declined a request to
meet with the DEA representative. MVD is always reticent to meet
without permission, but once the MFA provides the green light they
express goodwill and eagerness to cooperate. Inogamov described
Uzbek concern over the northern route from Afghanistan,
particularly the border area towns of Bekobod in Tashkent Province,
Urgut in Samarkand Province, and numerous points on the rugged
areas of Surkhandarya Province bordering Tajikistan. He was proud
that more than two tons of narcotics were seized in 2008, and he
added "without close cooperation, it is difficult to achieve
results." Inogamov then noted that Uzbekistan has lots of
questions about Afghanistan, including the harvest, production
statistics, and information about laboratories. "Of course, we
have our own channels, but we'd like to hear from you."




8. (C) Inogamov's remarks were a perfect segue into the DEA Country
Attache's presentation, during which he delivered convincing
reasons for why a DEA presence would benefit Uzbekistan. A key
selling point is the prospect of greater intel-sharing on
Afghanistan, especially as DEA ramps up the number of agents on the
ground who are gathering information and building relationships.
DEA also is in a position, as before, to offer Uzbek counterparts

TASHKENT 00000765 003 OF 004


training programs and networking opportunities, such as the recent
participation of an NSS officer at a regional International Drug
Enforcement Conference (IDEC) in St. Petersburg, Russia, which
generated positive feedback. (Note: Disappointingly, the
Government of Uzbekistan then turned down a follow up offer to send
officers to a global IDEC in Cancun, although the Country Attache
reiterated the invitation. End note.) DEA also proposed study
tours to the southern U.S. border region and even to Kabul to
network with counterparts. DEA is also expanding its presence
elsewhere in Central Asia, and the Country Attache explained that
it makes sense for Uzbekistan to be engaged in the middle when DEA
is expanding operations in Ashgabat, Dushanbe, Almaty, and Russia.
Finally, the Uzbeks were given an overview of the U.S. 960 law,
which allows for possible prosecution in the United States of
foreign nationals who provide material support to designated
terrorist organizations. Thus, a lot of tangible benefits were put
on the table, including a detailed presentation about narcotics
trafficking trends and an offer of immediate sharing of intel
involving Uzbek citizens.



"Very Interesting New Direction"

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9. (C) The MVD participants were certainly intrigued, and Inogamov
commented that this was "a very interesting new direction" in a
possible relationship with DEA. He welcomed the chance to receive
operational intel from DEA, even right away, and said Uzbekistan
would "initiate the appropriate processes." However, he then cited
the need to channel any such information through the MFA, which is
bureaucratic, unrealistic, and hampers efforts to develop direct
working relationships among law enforcement officers. "Please,
understand that we are eager to work together, and don't think we
are hung up on bureaucracy," Inogamov explained. Yet it always
comes down to fear, even among high-ranking police officials, of
having unauthorized contact with foreigners. The Country Attache
cited the existence of the 2002 Strategic Partnership Agreement
between the U.S. and Uzbekistan, a valid but long forgotten legal
framework, which stipulates that counternarcotics is an area for
mutual cooperation. The Uzbek officials had not seen the document
and promised to pursue this is as a legal basis for establishing
communication on their end, so long as the U.S. side - as usual -
initiates the process with another diplomatic note.




10. (C) Inogamov stated that "MVD is voting for DEA to return," but
for the first time we heard an official concede that, although they
always appreciated getting equipment and training via DEA during
its prior era of cooperation with Uzbekistan, he said they were
disappointed about the lack of information flowing from the
American side. This message was different from previous visits.
The DEA Country Attache explained that at that time Uzbekistan had
been its only outpost in the region and information networks in
Afghanistan were not fully developed; hence, this is a major
selling point about why Uzbekistan would gain from renewed
cooperation now. Furthermore, the DEA Country Attache was
approached by third-country law enforcement officers at a regional
event in Tashkent about facilitating operational exchange of
information with the Uzbeks, which demonstrates the liaison role
that DEA can also play in Uzbekistan.



Hesitation to Get Too Close

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11. (C) Subsequent attempts to engage these MVD officials over the
next week were not fruitful, which again illustrates that fear
keeps these law enforcement officials from having unauthorized
contact with Americans, even when it is in their professional
interest to develop networks and regularly communicate. The
officials did not follow up as promised to organize a subsequent
meeting while the DEA Country Attache was in town. The Embassy
contacted the MVD repeatedly and on May 13 was told that Inogamov
was out of town. His subordinates confided to our LES on the phone
about apparent excuse-making that "look, we just cannot meet
without official authorization" and mentioned their fear of
disciplinary action or even prosecution. Nonetheless, the DEA
Country Attache was able to pass operational information to Uzbek
law enforcement officials who attended a UNODC-organized precursor
event.



Comment:

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12. (C) We are continuing our patient efforts to engage the
Government of Uzbekistan on counternarcotics issues, although we
are at a loss to explain its reluctance to get too close given its
genuine concern about narcotics trafficking through its territory.
The invitation to the Customs Canine Center demonstrates that
INL-organized trips - even modest ones to send three people to
neighboring Kazakhstan for a few days - generate goodwill and open
doors to us. DEA has done all it can to lay out convincing reasons
for why a resumption of cooperation is in our mutual interests, and
we will have to see if these fresh presentations filter the message
to the top. First Deputy Foreign Minister Karamatov - if the
Uzbeks accept the schedule - will have a high-level meeting in
Washington next week at DEA Headquarters, which will be an
opportunity to assess where the Government of Uzbekistan stands on
accrediting the DEA Country Attache.




13. (U) Visiting DEA Country Attache Chris Melink has cleared this
telegram.
NORLAND