Source: 2000
Released by the Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs
Despite some progress in improving law enforcement and limiting corruption in 2000, Cambodia remained a weak link in the region's efforts to combat the narcotics trade. Through 1998, chronic political instability hindered Cambodia's ability to mount a sustained effort against the narcotics trade. The Cambodian government recognizes that its counternarcotics performance to date has been spotty and often ineffective, and there is widespread recognition that the country must be more aggressive in tackling drug-related issues. However, because of poor institutional capacity, Cambodia needs substantial support in virtually every key area. Cambodia's lead antinarcotics agency, the National Authority for Combating Drugs (NACD), cooperates closely with DEA, regional counterparts, and the UNDCP. Cambodia is a party to the 1993 Regional Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Drug Control, and is also a party to the six MOU countries' Subregional Action Plan for Drug Control. In mid-2000, the U.S. Government permitted mid-level Cambodian officials to participate in courses at the International Law Enforcement Academy (ILEA) in Bangkok, an initial step toward fulfilling critical training shortcomings. Cambodia is not a party to the 1961 UN Single Convention and its 1972 Protocol, or the 1988 UN Drug Convention, but the NACD has urged the adoption and ratification of the latter convention.
Cambodia is not a major producer of opiates or coca-based drugs. It is the only country in Southeast Asia that does not have a significant domestic drug abuse problem. Recently, however, Cambodian authorities have becoming increasingly concerned at the growth in amphetamine-type stimulant (ATS) use, particularly among youths who frequent the nightclub scene in Phnom Penh and other urban areas, commercial sex workers, and Cambodian migrant laborers. There is also a growing incidence of glue-sniffing and other inhalant abuse by street children and some disadvantaged youths.
Marijuana is cultivated for export as well as for some domestic consumption. Reliable figures about acreage are difficult to come by. Marijuana production tends to be concentrated in the provinces of Koh Kong, Banteay Meanchey, Kandal, Kampong Cham, Kratie, Stung Treng, Preah Vihear, and Kampot. Much of the production is reported to be "contract cultivation" under the control of foreign criminal syndicates. Analysis of seizures in recent years indicates that Europe is the major destination for Cambodian cannabis.
In addition to marijuana, Cambodia's principal involvement in the international narcotics trade is as a transit route for Southeast Asian heroin to overseas markets, including China, Europe, Australia, and the United States. There is little hard information available on the scale of heroin trafficked through Cambodia, but the amount of heroin seized in the United States in recent years traceable to or through Cambodia is small.
In the past year or two, Cambodian authorities have become increasingly concerned over what appears to be a substantial increase in the amount of chemically based synthetic drugs coming into the country from Thailand and elsewhere in the region. Cambodian authorities believe that foreign crime syndicates, working in concert with Cambodian nationals, have set up some highly mobile clandestine laboratories in Koh Kong, Banteay Meanchey and Battambang provinces (all along the Thai-Cambodia border) that are producing ATS, both for distribution locally and for export. Although ATS use in Cambodian society has not reached crisis levels, Cambodian officials are very concerned about the potential for a rapid increase in metamphetamine abuse and are anxious to avoid an epidemic of the proportions experienced in neighboring countries.
There is some concern that precursor chemicals imported for industrial use in Cambodia, including methanol, sulfuric acid, toulene and ephedrine, are being diverted for drug production, although the magnitude of this diversion is not known.
Policy Initiatives. Cambodian law enforcement agencies have very few resources and generally lack even the most basic training in law enforcement techniques and drug enforcement measures. Three decades of warfare and factional fighting have severely hampered a sustained effort against illegal drugs. In late 1998, the cessation of factional fighting and final demise of the Khmer Rouge along with the formation of a new coalition government provided a measure of stability that allowed the government to begin the process of devoting more attention to combating crime and illegal narcotics. But better coordination is needed among various government agencies and ministries, with the NACD playing a central role, to provide more effective measures against drug production, abuse, and trafficking.
The NACD, which was reorganized two years ago, has the potential to become an effective policy and coordination unit for the government. With the enthusiastic backing of the Cambodian government, UNDCP is trying to implement a four-year, USD 2.3 million "NACD Support Project" that would strengthen the NACD Secretariat. This project seeks to establish the NACD as an independent functional government body able to undertake drug control planning, coordination and operations. Over two, two-year phases, the project seeks to provide procedures for planning, operations and administration and to provide staff training, technical advice, basic transportation, communications and office equipment.
Accomplishments. NACD hosted a national seminar April 27-28, and also a Senior Officials Meeting (SOM) of the six greater Mekong sub-region countries and UNDCP May 18-19 to discuss joint actions to fight drug production, trafficking and abuse. The six governments and UNDCP hold annual meetings at the Senior Officials level and every other year at the Ministerial level to discuss drug control developments in the region, assess the measures being taken to deal with illicit drug problems, and to adopt recommendations on joint remedial actions. The meeting in Phnom Penh addressed progress made under thirteen Action Plan projects in the fields of drug abuse, reduction of illegal drug production and trafficking, and law enforcement cooperation. The six countries also discussed and endorsed the UNDCP support project to strengthen Cambodia's drug control capability.
A Phnom Penh Mini-Dublin Group was formed in 1999 under the leadership of Australia and Japan, a development that was warmly welcomed by the Cambodian authorities. This group, in which the United States participates actively, provides a forum for multilateral discussion of narcotics issues and aims to improve coordination of donor effort to Cambodia's drug control and antidrug trafficking efforts. The Mini-Dublin Group met twice in 2000.
Law Enforcement Efforts. Continuing a pattern that began in 1999, government authorities recorded a number of seizures of cannabis and torched a number of marijuana fields and plants in 2000. In May, a truck carrying 262 kilograms of marijuana was stopped on National Route 5 just outside the capital; police arrested the driver and truck owners. In May, antinarcotics police in Phnom Penh seized several boxes of compressed marijuana weighing 115 kilograms plus a number of weapons. According to preliminary figures from the Anti-Drug Department of the National Police, authorities seized 1,108 kilograms of cannabis in 2000. One hundred twenty-four people were arrested for various drug-related offenses in 2000, up from seventy-eight in 1999. Of the one hundred twenty-four arrests in 2000, eighty-one were foreigners and forty-three were Cambodians.
Corruption. As a consequence of chronic political turmoil spanning three decades, corruption remains widespread and pervasive. This makes Cambodia highly vulnerable to penetration by drug traffickers and foreign crime syndicates and effective law enforcement a daunting challenge. Senior Cambodian government officials proclaim their intention to fight illegal narcotics trafficking and production, and officials at all levels regularly call for U.S. assistance in training antinarcotics police. However, several factors constrain sustained advances in effective law enforcement of illegal drugs by the government, not the least of which is an acute shortage of trained personnel and high levels of official corruption, aggravated by abysmally low salaries for Cambodian civil servants. The judicial system is weak, and there have been numerous cases of defendants in important narcotics and other criminal cases having charges dropped inexplicably or being set free after paying very small fines.
Perhaps the biggest reported controversy in 2000 occurred in February in connection with the destruction by police of a 60-acre marijuana plantation in the province of Kampot. Subsequent to the torching of the plantation, which was highlighted by authorities and reported widely in the press, villagers in the area told reporters they had seen "foreigners" on the plantation, a helicopter landing on the grounds on a half dozen occasions, and men in military uniform controlling access to the site. Prime Minister Hun Sen castigated local authorities for permitting these "irregularities" to take place under their watch, and the deputy provincial police commissioner and one other police officer were placed under arrest for suspected involvement. Several weeks later, the deputy police commissioner alleged that four senior Cambodian government officials--including the former and current heads of the NACD and a deputy commander-in-chief of the Cambodian military--had accepted bribes totaling USD 80,000 to protect the plantation owners. The four officials vehemently denied the accusations.
Agreements and Treaties. Cambodia is not a party to the 1961 Convention on Narcotic Drugs and its 1972 Protocol, the 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances, or the 1988 UN Drug Convention. However, the comprehensive antidrug legislation passed by the National Assembly in December 1996 would enable Cambodia to become a party to the above Conventions and to implement the provisions of the Conventions. Some believe that Cambodia will make a concerted effort to ratify the international drug control treaties once the NACD gains the increased drug control capacity within the bureaucracy that would make such action meaningful. Although it is not yet a party to the UN drug conventions, Cambodia voluntarily submits the UNDCP annual report questionnaire required of parties to the conventions.
Cambodia has no extradition or mutual legal assistance treaty with the United States, but the Cambodian government has cooperated with U.S. law enforcement agencies regularly in the past by rendering or deporting persons wanted in the United States for crimes, including narcotics, upon request and presentation of an appropriate warrant. The U.S. Embassy in Phnom Penh has been assured that such cooperation will continue. The Cambodian government concluded an extradition treaty with Thailand in 1998 and is in the process of negotiating an agreement with Laos. The Cambodian government views bilateral and regional cooperation with neighboring states to be essential in its efforts to combat narcotics trafficking.
Cultivation/Production. Accurate estimates of the level of drug cultivation and production are difficult to come by. Cambodian authorities had some success in combating illicit cultivation during 2000. A number of cannabis plantations and fields of varying sizes were destroyed. As in the previous year, provincial governors were instructed to make sure that farmers understood that cannabis cultivation would not be tolerated and that they would be held accountable.
Drug Flow/Transit. Cambodia shares porous borders with Thailand, Laos, and Vietnam and lies near the major trafficking routes for Southeast Asian heroin. Some heroin and marijuana are believed to enter and exit Cambodia via the deep water port of Sihanoukville (also known as Kampong Saom), locations along the coastline of Koh Kong (near the Thai border) and Kampot (near the Vietnamese border) provinces, and the river port of Phnom Penh. The country's main international airport, Pochentong International Airport in Phnom Penh, suffers from lax customs and immigration controls, and some heroin and ATS destined for United States, Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Australia and Europe is believed to transit there. Under the Cambodian government's "Open Skies" policy, direct flights from major Asian gateways, including Bangkok and Singapore, began serving the regional airport in Siem Reap (location of Angkor Wat) in 2000. Customs and immigration controls in Siem Reap are rudimentary.
Domestic Programs (Demand Reduction). The NACD is attempting to boost awareness about drug abuse among the populace, especially Cambodian youth, primarily through the use of pamphlets and posters. Cambodia does not have separate rehabilitation centers for recovering drug addicts, but the government has sought outside assistance for programs on drug treatment and rehabilitation centers for drug addicts and vocational training centers for severe addicts. Several national and international NGOs operate in Cambodia with mandates that are directly or indirectly related to drug control issues. Some of these NGOs work in the area of demand reduction, and an NGO Substance Abuse Task Force was established in early 1999 in collaboration with UNDCP.
Policy Initiatives. Cambodia is a fragile, flawed democracy. There has been relative political stability since the formation of a democratically elected coalition government in 1998, but Cambodia is still plagued by the institutional weaknesses common to the world's poorest developing countries. The challenge for the United States is to: nurture the growth of democratic institutions in Cambodia, including greater respect for human rights; provide humanitarian assistance and promote sound economic growth policies to alleviate the debilitating poverty that engenders corruption; and build capacity in law enforcement to enable Cambodia to deal more effectively with narcotics traffickers.
Bilateral Cooperation. U.S.-Cambodia bilateral counternarcotics cooperation is hampered by restrictions on official U.S. assistance to the central government that have remained in place since the political disturbances of 1997. No bilateral treaties for law enforcement exist between the U.S. and Cambodia. Some counternarcotics assistance is provided by the U.S. indirectly to Cambodia via multilateral contributions, such as through the UNDCP.
Despite the fact that direct U.S. Government non-humanitarian assistance to the Cambodian government, including antinarcotics assistance, remained suspended in 2000, the Cambodian government continued to openly welcome bilateral cooperation with DEA and other U.S. law enforcement agencies. Cambodian law enforcement authorities often make drug suspects under arrest available for interview by DEA. DEA personnel from the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok visited Cambodia regularly in 2000 and received excellent cooperation from their Cambodian counterparts. In 1999, the Cambodian government accepted a U.S. proposal to conduct quarterly high-level consultations on counternarcotics cooperation. One such consultation was held in February 2000, but scheduling difficulties precluded additional meetings during the year. The next consultation is scheduled for February 2001.
U.S. officials routinely raise narcotics-related issues with Cambodian counterparts at all levels, up to and including the Prime Minister. Cambodian officials freely admit their shortcomings in the area of enforcement due to corruption and the lack of resources, and regularly appeal for U.S. Government assistance, especially training.
The Road Ahead. Funding is needed to encourage greater bilateral and multilateral counternarcotics cooperation involving Cambodia. At every meeting and at every level, Cambodian law enforcement authorities uniformly describe the need for outside training and assistance as their top priority. The decision by the U.S. Government in mid-2000 to permit mid-level Cambodian law enforcement officers to attend training courses at the International Law Enforcement Academy in Bangkok (ILEA) was a highly positive step. Cambodian officials will especially benefit from advanced police courses covering issues such as drug identification, investigations, coordination of operations and intelligence gathering techniques.
Funding assistance is needed to allow working level Cambodian officials to participate in regional counterdrug conferences, such as the yearly meetings of the six greater Mekong subregion countries that are signatories to the 1993 Memorandum of Understanding on Drug Control with the UNDCP.
In mid-1999, the DEA Country Attache from Bangkok and the U.S. Ambassador presented the NACD with an INL-funded drug-testing laboratory, but there has been no follow-up U.S. assistance to the laboratory since that time. The laboratory is currently operating at minimal capacity and is functioning off the original chemicals, standards, and supplies during its setup eighteen months ago. Many of these items are running out, and there is no money available from the Cambodian government to continue laboratory operations, a concern that has been echoed by the Deputy Prime Minister and the Secretary-General of the NACD. A DEA chemist visited the laboratory in late September and early October 2000 and prepared a thorough report in which he documented safety concerns and equipment needs and suggested sources of funding and training for laboratory personnel. The DEA Country Office in Bangkok has initiated discussions with UNDCP regarding possible funding of a portion of this initiative. Assistance is needed to make the INL-funded drug laboratory operational.
DEA currently has a presence in Bangkok, Rangoon and Vientiane. The Cambodian government would welcome a DEA presence in Phnom Penh, and the U.S. Embassy in Phnom Penh strongly supports this as well.
In sum, Cambodia is making progress toward more effective institutional law enforcement against illegal narcotics trafficking, and is intent on doing more. However, Cambodia's institutional capacity to transform this attitude into efficient drug control operations is low.
Cambodia is not a major financial center, and does not have an offshore sector. Cambodia is vulnerable to money laundering because it is a transit country for heroin trafficking from the Golden Triangle. Crime, corruption, and money laundering reportedly are on the increase in Cambodia.
Cambodia in 1996 criminalized money laundering related to narcotics trafficking through the Law on Drug Control. The law includes provisions for customer identification, suspicious transaction reporting, and the creation of the Anti-Money Laundering Commission (AMLC) under the Prime Minister's Office. The composition and functions of the AMLC were to be promulgated through a separate decree. The provisions of this law have yet to be fully implemented and enforced.
In December 1999, Cambodia passed legislation, "The Law on Banking and Financial Institutions," that imposed capital and prudential requirements on financial institutions. Capital requirements for commercial banks will increase from US $5 million to US $13.5 million. Commercial banks also must maintain 20 percent of their capital on deposit with the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) as reserves. The law required the NBC to review all banking licenses within one year. Only four banks-all foreign-owned-have received licenses under the new law. An additional 15 banks will have a one-year grace period to meet licensing requirements.
Money laundering offenses are investigated by the same entities that have jurisdiction over the underlying predicate crimes. However, these entities are not trained to detect, investigate, and prosecute money laundering cases.
Cambodia has assisted neighboring countries with money laundering investigations. Cambodia is not a party to the 1988 UN Drug Convention.
The Government of Cambodia (GOC) should fully implement and enforce its anti-money laundering legislation. Moreover, the GOC should better educate officials and financial institutions about anti-money laundering methods.