Source: 2008
Released by the Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs
I. Summary
In Kazakhstan, during the first nine months of 2007, there was an increase in the number of drug-related crimes, an increase in the volume of seized drugs, and a decrease in the number of registered female and underage drug addicts. Kazakhstan significantly increased counternarcotics operations. The Government of Kazakhstan (GOK) encouraged law enforcement agencies, NGOs, political parties and the media to join together to combat drugs. The number of people arrested for drug-related crimes in 2007 increased 13.4 percent. Cannabis-type drugs (hashish and marijuana) accounted for 95 percent of total seizures. Heroin seizures decreased by 1.7 percent. Kazakhstan continues implementation of two large-scale programs to combat corruption and drug trafficking announced by President Nazarbayev. Strengthening the borders, especially in the south, is a priority for the government. The GOK is devoting more attention and resources to interagency cooperation in the fight against drug supply and demand. Law enforcement services acknowledge that, without the assistance of civil society, NGOs, and the mass media, they will not be able to effectively combat the problem of narcotics. Kazakhstan is a party to the 1988 UN Drug Convention.
II. Status of Country
Kazakhstan’s geographic location, extensive development of its transportation infrastructure, the openness of borders with most neighboring countries, and the stability of the social and economic situation in the country have made Kazakhstan a major transit country for narcotics and psychotropic substances from Southwestern and Southeastern Asia to Russia and Europe. The main source of drugs is Afghanistan. Crimes related to the trafficking and sales of narcotics are taking on an increasingly dangerous transnational character. In response, law enforcement officers in Kazakhstan are developing relationships with their colleagues in Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Kyrgyzstan.
III. Country Actions Against Drugs in 2007
Policy Initiatives. In November 2005, President Nazarbayev signed a decree approving a strategy to combat drug addiction and trafficking for 2006-2014. The purpose of the strategy is to create a full-scale system in which both the government and civil society counteract the problems of drug addiction and narco-business. The most important segments of the strategy include the dissemination of counternarcotics information; the strengthening of interagency and international cooperation in the fight against drug addiction and narco-trafficking; the strengthening of state agencies, including medical treatment centers; the improvement of legislation; the improvement of personnel training; and the development of educational programs.
The 2006-2008 “Astana-Drug Free City” program, announced by President Nazarbayev in September 2006, focuses on demand reduction, treatment of drug addiction, and combating drug trafficking. The Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD), jointly with other law enforcement agencies, is charged with implementing this program. As a result of the program, law enforcements agencies in Astana reported 192 drug-related crimes this year, a figure 25.5 percent higher than last year. One hundred nineteen of the crimes related to the sale of drugs. Police closed 45 “drug markets” and two locations used by addicts to take pills, inject drugs, and smoke marijuana. As a result of special operations implemented in Astana 58.484 kg of drugs have been seized this year.
In order to avoid such incidents, the Ministry of Internal Affairs proposed legislation to allow for the destruction of drugs immediately after confiscation, leaving only small samples for evidentiary use. The MVD also submitted a draft law to improve criminal and criminal procedural legislation, and legislation on protection of witnesses and operative and investigative activity. In response to historic focus on quantity of seizures the MVD is working with the Procurator General’s Office to prevent the inflation of seizure statistics and to improve the efficiency of law enforcement agencies. The MVD also submitted a draft law to increase the penalties for drug possession, large volume sales, and sales to minors. The draft also foresees increasing penalties against the owners of bars and clubs allowing the illegal use of drugs in their establishments.
Law Enforcement Efforts. Kazakhstan’s law enforcement agencies seized 21,787 kg of drugs in the first nine months of 2007, compared with 22,549 kg during the same period last year. This figure includes 20,467 kg of marijuana (2.5 percent decrease), 378 kg of heroin (1.7 percent decrease), 197 kg of opium (47.2 percent decrease), and 187 kg of hashish (9.7 percent decrease). Cannabis-type drugs (hashish and marijuana) accounted for 95 percent of total seizures.
The GOK has also taken measures to deter narco-trafficking through its territory, including the establishment of internal checkpoints and strengthening border controls. These new measures, and the implementation of demand reduction programs, may have caused a decrease in narco-trafficking, also resulting in the decrease in total seizures. During the reporting period, all law enforcement agencies reported 8,271 drug-related crimes, up from 7,960 during the same period in 2006. Of these, MVD reported 7,807 crimes, the Committee for National Security (KNB) reported 258 and the Customs Control Committee (CCC) reported 192. Since the beginning of 2007, nine organized criminal groups were reportedly dismantled by law enforcement bodies. The Kazakhstani Supreme Court reported that in the January-September period, courts had 9,467 criminal cases related to illegal drug trafficking in process; 5915 cases were disposed of. Of these disposed cases, 6,112 people were convicted, 13 acquitted, and the cases against 54 people were dropped. The Committee on the Criminal Penitentiary System (CCPS) of the Ministry of Justice conducted programs to stop the flow of narcotics into correctional and pre-trial detention facilities. During the first nine months of this year, CCPS discovered 179 narcotics deliveries into correctional facilities. As a result, 26.516 kg of drugs, including 6.468 kg of heroin and 19.422 kg of cannabis-type drugs, were seized.
Uzbekistan President Islam Karimov proposed the idea of a Central Asia Regional Information Coordination Center (CARICC) during the visit of UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan to Uzbekistan in October 2002. CARICC, which will be based in Almaty, will be the focal point for communication, analysis and exchange of operational information on transnational crime and will assist in organizing and supporting the coordination of joint operations to combat narcotics among member countries (Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan). According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 50 specialists will work in CARICC. According to recent information, the agreement establishing CARICC has been signed by all member-countries except for Russia. In order to prepare for full operation of CARICC, a pilot phase was launched on November 1, 2007. During this phase, personnel will be selected and the premises provided by the Government of Kazakhstan will be renovated. CARICC will be officially opened when all countries have signed and their parliaments have ratified the agreement.
Corruption. While it is difficult to determine the extent to which narco-trafficking has corrupted law enforcement officials, it is certain that some instances of corruption have hampered the country’s efforts against drugs. All state agencies were mandated to take measures to combat corruption. One case illustrative of corruption, was a police official in the eastern Kazakhstan city of Semey sentenced to ten years in jail for his involvement in the sale of large amounts of narcotics. The official, who had worked in the police for 15 years, was arrested after attempting to force a young woman to sell 25 grams of heroin and pay him 35,000 KZT ($300). The young woman contacted the KNB, which organized an undercover operation. Police officers in the northern city of Pavlodar were found to have replaced 100 kg of heroin, stored as evidence, with baking soda and salt. Official representatives of the Procurator General’s Office announced that, throughout the country, approximately 500 kg of seized drugs, including 29 kg of heroin and around three kg of opium were lost or stolen, while in government custody. As a matter of policy, however, the Kazakhstan government does not encourage or facilitate illicit production or distribution of narcotic or psychotropic drugs or other controlled substances, or the laundering of proceeds from illegal drug transactions.
Agreements and Treaties. Kazakhstan is party to the 1988 UN Drug Convention and has signed the Central Asian counternarcotics Memorandum of Understanding with UNODC. The Kazakhstan national anti-narcotics law, passed in 1998, specifically gives provisions of international anti-narcotics agreements precedence over national law.
Cultivation/Production. In addition to drug transit through the territory of Kazakhstan, marijuana cultivation in the Chu Valley represents an indigenous source of drugs. Marijuana grows naturally on an estimated 138,000 hectares of the Chu Valley. Each year the MVD, jointly with other law enforcement bodies, conducts a country-wide operation, “Operation Mak” (Russian for “poppy”) aimed at stopping drug-related crimes and detecting and eliminating drug cultivation. This year the operation was conducted from May 25 through October 20 and reported 4,016 drug related crimes vice 3,621 last year. Of these crimes, 1,561 were related to the sale of narcotics. Operation Mak resulted in the detention of 2,428 offenders, including 50 citizens of foreign countries. Eighteen tons of drugs were seized (12.6 percent more than last year), including 49.414 kg of heroin and 17.967 tons of marijuana were up-rooted and destroyed. In an interview with “Liter” newspaper, the Head of the Division on Combating Drugs of Almaty city said that the cost of a kilo of marijuana is approximately 70,000 KZT ($578)—a significant price increase over the past, which he attributed to the success of Operation Mak in the Chu Valley.
Drug Flow/Transit. The main flow of drugs, including heroin and opium, enters Kazakhstan from Central Asia and Afghanistan. Drug couriers are mainly residents of Central Asian countries drawn into illicit activities by poverty and high unemployment rates. Couriers rely on vehicles and trains to smuggle the majority of the narcotics into Kazakhstan. During the past year, law enforcement agencies have reported an increase in the seizure of European-produced synthetic drugs, such as Ecstasy and LSD. Recently, Russia has also become a source of synthetic drugs.
Domestic Programs. According to official statistics for the first nine months of 2007, there are 54,902 registered drug addicts in Kazakhstan. This represents a 0.4 percent increase from last year. Of the total, 7,085 were using synthetic dugs. There were 34,534 opiate users and 11,329 consumers of cannabis-type drugs (hashish, marijuana). The number registered as drug addicts under the age of 18 has decreased by 13.5 percent (4,652 registered last year vice 4,029 registered this year). The number of registered drug addicts 14 years old and younger has decreased by 28 percent. The number of registered drug addicts between the ages of 18 and 30 decreased by 2.5 percent. To effectively implement the demand reduction program in Kazakhstan, educational institutions conduct roundtable meetings with representatives of the Procuracy, the MVD, employees of mental hospitals, and others to define interagency actions on prevention of drug addiction. To decrease drug demand among the population, the public affairs sections of various agencies, including MVD and the Ministry of Culture and Information, disseminate information to citizens on the dangers of narcotics and report drug seizures through the mass media on a regular basis. Video clips and interactive programs are shown on TV and interviews are published in the newspapers. The MVD has launched a new campaign which involves cellular phone companies, the mass media, and other parts of society to distribute information in the form of booklets and audio and video clips asking the population to assist police by reporting crimes. The MVD has instituted help-lines and special boxes for the collection of information in Astana. Anyone can now submit information on locations where drugs are sold and consumed. Moreover, the MVD has plans to pay rewards for information.
The MVD is working with the Ministry of Health to establish a system for the psychological rehabilitation and reintegration of drug addicts. The National Scientific and Practical Center of the Ministry of Health was established in 2001 within the framework of the Program on Combating Drug Addiction and Drug Trafficking. The Center develops, tests, and implements new methods of treatment, rehabilitation, and prevention. However, the number of doctors working with drug addicts has been decreasing over the past three years.
IV. U.S. Policy Initiatives and Programs
Policy Initiatives. A key USG goal is to develop a long-term cooperative relationship between law enforcement agencies of the United States and Kazakhstan. This relationship will enhance the professional skills Kazakh officers and improve the organization and management of Kazakhstani law enforcement services, thereby improving their ability to fight drug trafficking, drug consumption, and terrorism. A USG priority area in Kazakhstan is on border security programs. In 2007, a professional relationship was established between the Kazakhstani Military Institute of the Committee for National Security, which trains border guards, and the U.S. Border Patrol Academy. It is expected that a proposed student and faculty exchange program will further this relationship.
The Road Ahead. The USG will continue to provide technical assistance, equipment, and training to law enforcement and security services to improve the effectiveness of searches of trucks and trains. The USG will also work with training academies to improve curriculum and training methods.