Source: 2000
Released by the Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs
Kyrgyzstan is not a major producer of illicit narcotics, although it is an important transit avenue for drugs from Afghanistan to Russia and Western Europe. The technology and ability to produce opium, as was done during the Soviet era in Kyrgyzstan, remains in place but is not used. A potent strain of marijuana grows wild in Kyrgyzstan. The Government of Kyrgyzstan expresses a willingness to combat illegal drugs transiting Kyrgyzstan but its law enforcement entities have not made any significant seizures or arrests in the last year. Drug abuse is rising among all ethnic groups within Kyrgyzstan. In 1994, Kyrgyzstan became a party to the 1988 UN Drug Convention.
Tajikistans internal chaos has helped make Kyrgyzstan an attractive onward route for illegal narcotics because of their shared unprotected border. The southern provincial city of Osh continues to be a hub for the passing of illegal narcotics through Kyrgyzstan.
Policy Initiatives. Kyrgyzstan is making efforts to increase control over its borders with Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Law enforcement agencies continue to make narcotics trafficking a priority, with a major focus on border control. The primary goal of border control for Kyrgyzstan is to prevent future incursions by the insurgents from Tajikistan from destabilizing southern Kyrgyzstan.
Law Enforcement Efforts. In the first ten months of 2000, seizures of heroin, opium, hashish, marijuana, and opium straw totaled 1,517,756 kilograms, as reported by the Kyrgyz State Drug Control Commission, as compared to a 1999 total of 1,895,211 kilograms of heroin, opium, and cannabis. Antidrug units of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD) continue to be undermanned and underfunded. The arrests made by the police are always couriers, but never suppliers.
Corruption. Corruption is a widely acknowledged problem in Kyrgyzstan and there is no reason to believe that those agencies involved in counternarcotics enforcement or other government officials are immune to it.
Agreements and Treaties. Kyrgyzstan is a party to the 1988 UN Drug Convention, the 1961 UN Single Convention and its 1972 Protocol and the 1971 UN Convention on Psychotropic Substances. It is also a party to the Central Asian Counternarcotics Protocol with the UN. Kyrgyzstan has extant extradition statutes; however, there is no known instance of extradition relating to drug charges. Kyrgyzstan and the U.S. do not have a bilateral extradition or mutual legal assistance treaty. Kyrgyzstan signed the UN Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime and its protocols in December 2000.
Cultivation and Production. There are indications that opium poppies continue to grow wild and are cultivated in insignificant amounts for illicit purposes. Government officials estimate that as much as 40,000 hectares of land might be under cannabis cultivation. This cannabis is either consumed locally or exported to neighboring countries and does not significantly affect the U.S. Nevertheless, Kyrgyzstan remains a country of concern to the USG.
Drug Flow/Transit. Because of its border with Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan has become an important transit route for opium and heroin from Afghanistan to Russian and Western European markets.
Demand Reduction. In the first half of the year, the Kyrgyz State Drug Control Commission produced a series of infomercials about drug addiction and aired them on the local television stations. This was a coordinated effort with the MVD. Drug use has increased, but there are no official estimates of drug use. There are also no hospitals that offer drug treatment.
Bilateral Cooperation. Kyrgyzstan received U.S. training assistance in counternarcotics and law enforcement. It has also cooperated with UNDCP, especially in the area of improving the Customs Service ability to detect illegal narcotics shipments. The U.S. and other countries are contributing materiel and training to the Government of Kyrgyzstan for border control. While the Kyrgyz authorities expressed a desire to work with U.S. law enforcement agencies in an operational basis on the drug problem, this past year saw no involvement by American law enforcement agencies working with their counterparts in Kyrgyzstan aside from participating in training.
The Road Ahead. The U.S. will continue to support counternarcotics and law enforcement training and equipment through a bilateral agreement. Regional efforts are a major part of cooperation and will continue to be supported by U.S. contributions to UNODCCP projects that include Kyrgyzstan.
Kyrgyzstan is not a financial center, and money laundering is not considered a major problem. However, Kyrgyzstan has not criminalized money laundering and has no anti-money laundering legislation. The central bank has provisions that require customer identification procedures and make an exception to bank secrecy rules for suspicious transaction reporting, but these provisions are believed to be generally ignored by the commercial banks. Oversight of the banking sector remains weak and Kyrgyzstan's law enforcement agencies do not have the resources to conduct effective financial investigations.
The major sources of illegal proceeds remain narcotics trafficking, embezzlement of foreign aid by government officials, smuggling of consumer goods, official corruption and tax evasion.
Kyrgyzstan is a party to the 1988 UN Drug Convention and in December 2000, it signed the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime.