Source: 2003
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 2003, 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 doing what it can against 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 90 percent of known HIV and AIDS cases are related to intravenous drug use.
Public confidence is eroding concerning the GOKG's ability 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 on counternarcotics programs, tolerance 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 verbal 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 (SCDC) 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 new Drug Control Agency, a counternarcotics unit sponsored by the USG and initially managed by UNODC, will be a new beginning in the Kyrgyz Republic's efforts to minimize drug trafficking. The Kyrgyz Republic is 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 major producer of narcotics. However, cannabis, ephedra, and poppy grow wild in many areas.
Policy Initiatives. The Kyrgyz Republic has developed a comprehensive plan to combat dug trafficking and abuse. There is an open forum for communication on drug-related issues including crime prevention, health care, legal affairs, and financial concerns. There have also been initiatives in the area of drug abuse education and treatment of drug dependent persons. Projects currently underway include Regional Precursor Control in Central Asia; Strengthening Drug Capacities in Data and Information Collection Project; Diversification of HIV Prevention and Drug Treatment Services for Intravenous Drug Users.
Law Enforcement Efforts. Nearly 3000 kilograms of heroin, and 5000 of opium, pass through the Kyrgyz Republic, only 5-6 percent of which is ever seized. Drug traffickers have 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 Osh region remains an unwieldy and volatile drug trafficking region that the State Commission for Drug Control (SCDC) has declared a high priority target of its counternarcotics efforts.
The GOKG is attempting to counter trafficking with a new U.S.-funded, UNODC-sponsored Drug Control Agency (DCA), modeled after the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA). This new 297-man agency will draw upon other Kyrgyz law enforcement agencies for its initial staff and leadership. It will have two special units, one in Bishkek and the other in Osh, designed as quick-reaction squads to respond to cross-border trafficking.
The Ministry of the Interior (MVD) reported that heroin smuggling has increased ten-fold in the last five years. The number of officially designated drug related crimes reported in 2003 is 2,569, a 2.1 percent increase over the same period in 2002. The number officially designated drug related crimes prosecuted in 2003 rose by less than one percent. The total amount of seized drugs in 2003 was up 12.7 percent from 2002, from 2,763.571 kilograms to 3,115.921 kilograms.
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 Kyrgz Republic is a party to the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime.
Corruption. 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. However, as a matter of government policy and practice, the Kryrgyz Republic does not encourage or facilitate the illicit production or distribution of drugs or the laundering of proceeds from illegal drug transactions.
Drug Flow/Transit. The GOKG previously 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. In August 2003, a kilogram of heroin could be purchased in Bishkek for approximately $5,000-$8,000 depending on purity. Other officials maintain that street prices in Osh have shown a steady decline over the last five years indicating a burgeoning supply. In 1997, in Kyrgyzstan a kilogram of heroin cost $10,000. According to MVD data, a single dose of heroin is currently available for 40-50 Som ($1).
Domestic Demand. In July 2003, the Kyrgyz Republic's National Narcological Center reported 5,591 registered drug addicts, including 12 people less than 18 years of age. While the number of official addicts has increased by more than 10 percent since the 2002 report, the actual number of drug abusers is likely to be 10-15 times the reported amount. The number of registered addicts in 2003 was 5,518 men and 73 women. Of the total number of addicts registered, 3,550 are heroin and opium addicts and 1,420 are cannabis addicts.
Bilateral Cooperation. 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 post will be equipped with modern detection equipment and manned on a 24-hour basis. It should be in operation by the summer of 2004. This $250,000 project will seek to serve as a model response to narcotics trafficking on one of the busiest drug-trafficking routes. If the model project succeeds it can be replicated to disrupt other trafficking routes. Additional drug assistance projects will provide the Kyrgyz enforcement authorities with drug detection equipment, communication, and mobility equipment with a value of almost $500,000.00. The Kyrgyz Republic also receives UNODC counter narcotics trafficking assistance and its national passport is being redesigned with an eye towards better security with the assistance of the International Agency for Migration.
The Road Ahead. The USG will continue to assist the GOKG in its counternarcotics efforts through prosecutorial, customs and advanced law enforcement training. The USG will also provide direct support and training to law enforcement and customs canine services.
Kyrgyzstan (the Kyrgyz Republic) is not a regional financial center. Money laundering is not a crime in the Kyrgyz Republic. Moreover, it has a comparatively underdeveloped banking system. And like other countries in the region, the Kyrgyz Republic is susceptible to alternative remittance systems to launder money or transfer value such as hawala and trade fraud. The major sources of illegal proceeds are domestic and include narcotics trafficking, smuggling of consumer goods, tax and tariff evasion, and official corruption.
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 reportedly ignored by the commercial banks. Oversight of the banking sector remains weak and Kyrgyzstan's law enforcement agencies lack the resources and expertise to conduct effective financial investigations.
In 2002, the Kyrgyz legislature began consideration of a draft law to criminalize money laundering, the law "On Opposition to Legalization (Laundering) of Incomes Obtained in Illegal Way in the Kyrgyz Republic." The bill has not yet been passed. The draft law defines predicate offenses or criminal conduct as income "obtained as a result of committed crime." Mandatory suspicious transaction reporting by Kyrgyzstan financial institutions is included in the draft law. The law does not address money laundering methodologies that by-pass financial institutions. Details and possible revisions of the draft legislation are as yet unclear.
The Kyrgyz Republic is a party to the 1988 UN Drug Convention, and has signed, but not yet ratified, the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime. Also in 2003, Kyrgyzstan signed the UN International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism.
The Kyrgyz Republic should approve comprehensive anti-money laundering and antiterrorism finance legislation that adheres to international standards. The Kyrgyz Government should also be aware that money laundering can easily by-pass financial institutions and take enforcement measures to address these vulnerabilities.