Source: 2002
Released by the Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs
The Kyrgyz Republic produces almost no illicit narcotics or precursor chemicals, but is a major transit country for drugs originating in Afghanistan and destined for Russian, Western European and American markets. During the calendar year 2002, the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic (GOKG) attempted, with limited resources, to combat drug trafficking and locate and prosecute offenders. The GOKG has been supportive of international and regional efforts to limit drug trafficking and has begun major initiatives to address its own domestic drug use problems. The GOKG recognizes that the drug trade is a serious threat to its own stability and is continuing efforts to focus on secondary and tertiary drug-related issues such as money laundering, drug-related street crime, and corruption within its own government ranks. Drug abuse is a continuing and escalating problem that has placed a burden on law enforcement and the health care industry. The Ministry of Health reports that over ninety percent of known HIV and AIDS cases are related to intravenous drug use.
Public confidence is eroding concerning the GOKG's capability to address important concerns of its citizens such as unemployment, unpaid salaries, inadequate health care, and rising crime. The result has been public apathy towards government initiatives such as counternarcotics programs, toleration of government corruption, and a growing dependency on a shadow economy that includes drug trafficking, street sales, and usage. While the GOKG has been a supporter of counternarcotics programs, it is still struggling to deliver a clear and consistent counternarcotics strategy to either the Kyrgyz people or the international community. The State Commission for Drug Control has been fighting a losing battle against drug trafficking, particularly in the city of Osh, where drug trafficking has become a growing source of income and employment. The GOKG hopes that a proposed Drug Control Agency, a counternarcotics agency sponsored by the USG and managed by UNODC, will be a new beginning in the Kyrgyz Republic's efforts to minimize drug trafficking. In 1994, the GOKG became a party to the 1988 UN Drug Convention.
The Kyrgyz Republic shares a common border with China, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan. Mountainous terrain, poor road conditions, and an inhospitable climate for much of the year make detection and apprehension of drug traffickers difficult. Border stations located on mountain passes on the Chinese and Tajik borders are snow covered and uninhabited for up to four months per year. These isolated passes are some of the most heavily used routes for drug traffickers. Government outpost and interdiction forces rarely have electricity, running water, or modern amenities to support their counternarcotics efforts.
The Kyrgyz Republic is one of the poorest successor states of the former Soviet Union, relying on a crumbling infrastructure and suffering from a lack of natural resources or significant industry. Unlike some of its Central Asian neighbors, the Kyrgyz Republic does not have a productive oil industry or significant energy reserves. The south and southwest regions--the Osh and Batken districts--are primary trafficking routes used for drug shipments from Afghanistan. The city of Osh, in particular, is the main passage point for road and air traffic and primary transfer point for narcotics into Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan and on to markets in Russia, Western Europe and the United States. The Kyrgyz Republic is not a producer of narcotics. However, cannabis, ephedra, and poppy grow wild in many areas.
Agreements and Treaties. The Kyrgyz Republic is a party to the 1988 UN Drug Convention, the 1961 UN Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, as amended by the 1972 Protocol, and the 1971 UN Convention on Psychotropic Substances. It is also a party to the Central-Asian Counter Narcotics Protocol, a regional cooperation agreement encouraged by the UN.
The Kyrgyz Republic has signed bilateral and multilateral agreements concerning narcotics control with all CIS countries as well as Pakistan, Germany, Austria, China, Iran, Bulgaria, and the Czech Republic.
Policy Initiatives. The GOKG has instituted various national programs and legislation to combat drug trafficking and drug abuse. Article 309, passed on July 12, 1993, created a national program to combat drug abuse and illicit drug trafficking. Other programs passed into Kyrgyz law include Article 293, passed on June 2001, "for a national program on combating drug abuse and illicit drug trafficking for 2001-2003." As a part of President Akayev's counternarcotics abuse education initiative, the GOKG, with financial assistance from the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and other international donors, has produced a number of counternarcotics public announcements broadcast over local television. The most comprehensive was a program entitled "Drugs, Truth, and Lies." In addition, last year's publicized slogan, "Into the 21st Century Without Drugs," was seen on billboards and in other media. A privately funded association named "Kyrgyzstan Without Drugs" also focuses on demand reduction initiatives.
On June 25, 2001, the GOKG adopted a new state program on combating drug abuse and illicit drug trafficking. While this move did not result in any substantive policy changes, it created an open forum for communication on drug-related issues including crime prevention, health care, legal affairs, and financial concerns. This comprehensive program includes the efforts of the Ministries of the Interior, Education, Agriculture, Justice, the State Drug Control Agency, National Security Service, State Customs, and the General Procurator's Office.
Drug Flow/Transit. The GOKG and the State Commission for Drug Control (SCDC) have identified four separate routes for drug trafficking: the Kyzyl-Art route across the southernmost part of the Kyrgyz Republic and onward to Osh and the Ferghana valley and Uzbekistan; the Batken Route stretching to the far western and most remote areas bordering Tajikistan and Uzbekistan; the Altyn-Mazar route that follows a similar path into the Ferghana; and a fourth route overlapping some of these routes and beginning in the city of Khojand on the Tajik border. All of these routes originate somewhere on the 1000-kilometer Tajik border and consist of footpaths, minor roads, and only a few major thoroughfares. The GOKG estimates that there may be over 100 different paths smugglers use to move narcotics and contraband across Kyrgyz borders.
Street values of heroin and opium domestically have remained relatively stable over the last year, according to SCDC statistics. In January 2002, a kilogram of heroin could be purchased in Bishkek for approximately U.S. $5,000. A July report by the MVD (Interior Ministry Police) claims that similar prices existed in July 2002. However, a SCDC official also claimed that street prices in Osh have shown a steady decline over the last five years indicating a burgeoning market. In 1997, a kilogram of heroin cost U.S. $10,000, twice that of today's prices. According to MVD data, a single dose of heroin is available for 40-50 Som (U.S. $1). Street prices reportedly do not vary significantly among the major cities in the Kyrgyz Republic.
Law Enforcement Efforts. The GOKG's State Commission for Drug Control has existed since 1993, but has only 16 staff members. The SCDC estimates that, based on its own internal reporting and seizures, nearly 3000 kilograms of heroin, and 5000 of opium, pass through the Kyrgyz Republic, only 5-6 percent of which is ever seized. In 2000, the SCDC claimed that nearly ten percent of narcotics were seized. The difference, according to SCDC and MVD, can be attributed to drug traffickers ability to change tactics after a series of setbacks caused by Operation Enduring Freedom operations in Afghanistan. Drug traffickers have since refined their efforts to conceal and transport narcotics, reportedly using women and children as mules to pass through border stations known not to have female inspectors.
The SCDC has had difficulty gathering information and controlling resources in some of the remote regions, particularly in the Osh district. The SCDC openly admits that some Kyrgyz officials are involved in the drug trade, including members of the MVD, and SNB (National Security Service--successor to the Soviet-era KGB). In January 2001, a SNB officer was tried and convicted, along with his associates, after being arrested for heroin possession with the intent of sale. The Osh region remains an unwieldy and volatile drug trafficking region that the SCDC has declared a high priority target of its counternarcotics efforts.
The GOKG, citing a lack of financial and personnel resources, is attempting to address these issues by authorizing a new drug control agency, a US-funded, UNODC-sponsored agency that would mirror a similar agency in Tajikistan. During 2002 the SCDC was in the midst of negotiations to create this drug control agency modeled after the USG Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA). The chief of the current SCDC, Kurmanbek Kubatbekov, will oversee this project. This new 297-man agency will draw upon other Kyrgyz law enforcement agencies for personnel and leadership. The DCA will also support two special units, one in Bishkek and the other in Osh, designed as a quick-reaction squad to respond to cross-border activities and emergency situations. The Drug Control Agency will have a direct advisory role to President Akayev.
Domestic Demand. The Kyrgyz Republic's National Narcological Center lists 5043 registered drug abusers but estimates the actual number of drug abusers is likely to be 10-15 times that amount. The Ministry of the Interior (MVD) has reported that heroin smuggling has increased ten-fold in the last five years. Arrests and prosecutions related to drug trafficking have increased in the first six months of 2002 in comparison the same time period in 2001. In the first half of 2002, 1480 drug-related crimes were reported, a 10 percent increase from 2001.
In December 2001, the GOKG and the U.S. Embassy in Bishkek, on behalf of the State Department's Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement (INL), signed a Letter of Agreement (LOA) to construct a Model Customs Post in the village of Kyzyl-Art on the Tajik border. This U.S. $250,000 project will seek to serve as a model which can be replicated for efforts to counter the narcotics traffic on what has been identified as one of the busiest drug-trafficking routes. Construction will begin in the spring of 2003. When completed, this post will be equipped with modern detection equipment and manned on a 24-hour basis. U.S. anti-terrorism assistance clearly has some counternarcotics spin-offs. During 2002, U.S. Customs provided weapons of mass destruction (WMD) border interdiction, laboratory analysis and investigation seminars together with delivery of specialized detection equipment.
The Road Ahead. The USG will continue to work with the GOKG and UNODC to create the proposed drug control agency and work to reduce corruption and foster transparency in the GOKG's struggle against drug trafficking and its effects. Post will closely monitor the progress of the model customs post in Kyzyl-Art and work with other USG agencies to provide appropriate training opportunities for Kyrgyz law enforcement personnel.