Source: 2000
Released by the Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs
Kazakhstan is not a major producer of narcotics, but is an important transit route in Central Asia for opium and heroin from Afghanistan going to Russia and Europe and precursor chemicals going to Afghanistan. Kazakhstan legally produces acetic anhydride for export to Russia and other countries in the region; however, the chemical is a heroin precursor and is illegally diverted to Afghanistan. While highly motivated to move against the narcotics industry, the Government of Kazakhstan (GOK) is hampered by numerous resource and coordination problems. Drug abuse continues to increase, with a drop in the average age of abusers. With the assistance of the UN Office of Drug Control and Crime Prevention (UNODCCP), foreign countries and non-government organizations (NGOs), some positive steps have been made, including creation of a Drug Information Center. Seizures appear to be on the rise based upon information from that center. Kazakhstan is a party to the 1988 UN Drug Convention.
Trains through Kazakhstan continue to be the most popular means of smuggling drugs to Russia and from other Central Asian countries. Law enforcement officials are arresting more under-aged traffickers than in the past. The official number of drug abusers is approximately 37,408, but authorities estimate the real number to be 7-8 times higher. Increasing numbers of children (1,946) and women (3,488) were arrested during 2000 for drug abuse. Marijuana and heroin are the drugs most often abused. The increase in heroin trafficking has led to an increase in heroin abuse and addiction. Intravenous drug abuse is still on the rise, adding to the problem of HIV positive tested citizens. UNODCCP has started needle exchange programs in an attempt to decrease shared needle usage. Local law enforcement officials note that synthetic drugs are still a growing problem, especially in nightclubs.
Policy Initiatives. President Nazarbaeyev issued a decree in April implementing measures to improve anticrime and corruption efforts. He disbanded the State Commission on the Fight Against Corruption, and placed its responsibilities directly under the Presidential Administration. In August, the GOK approved a unified chemical control list, including dual use precursors, to be used to control all exports and imports.
Accomplishments. With the assistance of the UNODCCP, the Prosecutor General's office created the Drug Information Center (DIC) and required all agencies involved with narcotics to report to it monthly. The GOK signed an agreement with the Government of Germany to provide dog narcotics detector training.
Law Enforcement Efforts. During the first nine months of 2000, 20,062 drug related criminal cases were opened, according to official reports from the DICfive times more than last years approximately 4,000 cases. Seizures of 7.9 tons of drugs included 134 kilograms of heroin, 74 kilograms of opium, 7.4 tons of marijuana and 154 kilograms of hashish. Also seized were 4,991 kilograms of precursor materials. The police, under the Ministry of Interior, carried out most of the seizures, with the National Security Committee, Customs Committee and Tax Police together accounting for about 2 percent of the seizures. Law enforcement operations continue to suffer from lack of equipment, resources and technical expertise. Progress on improving interagency cooperation has been slow. The lack of interagency communication and coordination has hampered controlled deliveries within Kazakhstan. However, the DIC reported that Kazakhstani authorities had cooperated with Russian counterparts on controlled deliveries in 60 cases, permitting the shipment across the Russian border to expose the recipient.
Corruption. Corruption remains a problem, which the GOK has acknowledged and taken steps to combat. The president issued a decree implementing measures to improve anticorruption efforts and placed responsibility for fighting corruption under the direct supervision of the Presidential Administration. Disciplinary actions for those guilty of corruption were developed by the end of the year.
Agreements and Treaties. Since 1998, the GOK has been a party to the 1988 UN Drug Control Convention, the 1961 UN Single Convention and its 1972 protocol and the 1971 UN Convention on Psychotropic Drugs. It has signed bilateral agreements with South Korea, Russia, and Pakistan on counternarcotics cooperation and renewed cooperation agreements with neighboring Central Asian countries. Kazakhstan signed the UN Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime in December 2000.
Cultivation and Production. Opium poppies and cannabis are grown more for personal use than illicit sale. Traffickers still find opium and heroin smuggled from Afghanistan cheaper, purer and more potent than locally produced opiates. While Kazakhstan is an important cannabis producer, this production does not significantly affect the U.S. However, it remains a country of concern to the USG. Ephedra grows wild in mountainous areas of southern and western Kazakhstan. Legal ephedra products are very profitable. The Drug Control Agency plans to combat the illegal use of ephedra with the licensing of the manufacturers of ephedra products and to treat ephedra, from a legal standpoint, as a dual use substance.
Drug Flow/Transit. Kazakhstan continues to be used for the transshipment of precursor chemicals, mainly acidic anhydride, from Russia, China and other countries for the illicit production of heroin in Afghanistan. Drug traffickers continue to use adolescents or the elderly to smuggle drugs, primarily opium and heroin, in and out Kazakhstan.
Domestic Programs/Demand Reduction. The GOK initiated a public awareness campaign in 2000 via radio and television against the use and trafficking of narcotics. Training of local schoolteachers in an antidrug education curriculum continued. The GOK and UNODCCP continued to work with drug treatment programs. Insufficient funding limited program services. Support from local officials for non-profit treatment programs helped fill the void
Bilateral Cooperation. In 2000, the USG provided 18 counternarcotics and law enforcement training courses to over 250 Kazakhstani law enforcement officials, prosecutors and judicial officials. In addition, a regional FBI Legal Attache Office was opened in Kazakhstan and a resident legal advisor was assigned to Almaty.
The Road Ahead. The USG will continue to support and cooperate with UNODCCP to encourage full implementation of the GOK's plan for the control of illicit drugs and organized crime and encourage increased support from the European Union and individual European countries. Pending signing of a bilateral assistance agreement, the USG will continue to provide training and other assistance for law enforcement officials, including judicial and prosecutorial officials.
Kazakhstan's relatively advanced financial infrastructure, combined with a significant organized crime presence, puts it at risk for money laundering. More than 200 organized crime groups with ties to similar groups in the United States and Europe are believed to exist in the country.
Kazakhstan has criminalized money laundering for narcotics and other serious crimes. However, inadequate financial controls make detection of money laundering difficult. Bank examiners are not trained to look for evidence of money laundering, but rather focus on traditional safety and soundness concerns. Furthermore, new banking laws went into effect in 2000 that require tax police and investigators to go through local prosecutors in order to obtain bank records. Records may be released only if the prosecutor deems an investigation is warranted.
The United States intends to continue to work closely with local authorities to provide Kazakhstani financial institutions with money laundering and fraud related training and assistance. The US will also continue to consider the government's request for a memorandum of cooperation in fighting economic crimes and fiscal offenses.
Kazakhstan is a party to the 1988 UN Drug Convention and in December 2000, it signed the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime.