Michele Leonhart

International Drug Enforcement Conference XXVI

Conrad Hotel

Istanbul, Turkey

July 8, 2008 9:00 a.m.

Good morning. Welcome to the 26th International Drug Enforcement
Conference.

First off I would like to thank our distinguished guests joining me on
stage. Your presence here demonstrates your commitment to law
enforcement cooperation and your dedication to the fight against drug
trafficking.

A special thanks to our co-President, Director Koksal, we are honored to
have you serve as president of the 26^th^ IDEC. Thank you for your warm
hospitality and for your leadership in the global fight against drugs.

Here in Turkey we see the drug threat clearly as traffickers use this
nation as a major transit route for Afghan opiates moving to worldwide
markets. But this nation is fighting back strongly. Last year, Turkish
law enforcement seized more than 13 tons of heroin due to their
proactive approach, using a full range of sophisticated investigative
techniques to effect seizures and arrests that result in conviction of
drug traffickers. I know DEA is proud to partner with Turkey and 18
other countries in Operation Containment as we work to reduce the flow
of Afghan heroin to Western Europe.

Every year, this conference grows. This year, we approach the 100
country mark, with 91 countries represented. We welcome 9 countries as
observers that are attending the conference for the first time: Brunei
Darussalam*,* Croatia, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Laos, Liberia, Lithuania,
Macedonia, and Togo. We also have 5 new member nations of this IDEC, who
I warmly welcome: Greece, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, United Arab
Emirates, and Vietnam.

We hope to continue this trend at IDEC 27 in Mexico. We are joined by
Mexico's Attorney General Eduardo Medina Mora again this year, not just
as a leader in his country's all-out fight against drugs, but also as
President of IDEC 27.

We are also joined by Colombian Defense Minister Juan Manual Santos
Calderon and Colombian National Police Director, General Oscar Naranjo.
We thank you for your leadership and courage in the fight against
narco-terrorism.

I must mention the Colombian Army's superb and flawless July 2^nd^
rescue mission of 15 FARC hostages, Colombian and American citizens;
some held by the FARC for over a decade. Not a shot was fired during the
mission, or a drop of blood shed-this may be recorded as the most
ambitious rescue operation in modern history. Please join me in
recognizing and congratulating Minister Santos and his heroic security
forces.

We are honored that our good friend, Deputy Director Scott Burns, of the
U.S. Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) has joined us and
will speak about the growing problem of pharmaceutical abuse. We will
also have the opportunity to learn from the broad expertise of Michael
Emmerman, and we're glad he could join us. And finally, we are honored
to have with us, Admiral James Stavridis, the Commander of the U.S.
Southern Command.

We clearly come to this conference from all corners of the world. And
what an appropriate place for us to come together in the city of
Istanbul, which for centuries has been the crossroads between travelers,
merchants, and diplomats from around the world. It was a key junction on
the ancient Silk Road-that economic and cultural thoroughfare that
crossed the mountains and deserts to connect Eurasia from China to the
Mediterranean.

This week we come together like so many before us also at this key
junction to exchange information, ideas, and forge stronger
partnerships. In this room we bring together our own cartel: a
counter-drug cartel with thousands of years of experience representing
hundreds of thousands of troops and forces who courageously wage war
against a brutal and unrelenting enemy. And we are a cartel of action.
This week, we will together plan the next round of operations that will
disrupt and dismantle our criminal adversaries.

We focus this week on drug law enforcement in a changing world. We all
admit that drug traffickers, if nothing else, are adaptable and creative
and use today's sophisticated monetary instruments, global markets, and
communication technology to their full advantage. To avoid us, they find
new routes, partners, methods, markets, and technologies to get their
product to the consumer.

-   We see traffickers' adaptability with their continued exploitation
    of African routes, using countries there as a key command and
    control platform to move cocaine to Europe. We also see the
    smuggling of Southwest Asian heroin through west African nations to
    the United States and Europe. We see the multi-ton shipments of
    methamphetamine precursor chemicals being trafficked through Africa
    en route to Mexico.

-   We see traffickers' adaptability with their increasing use of
    self-propelled semi-submersibles that can glide beneath the waves.
    Just 3 weeks ago, the Colombian and U.S. Coast Guards pursued one 75
    miles off the coast of Colombia---which was sunk as we
    approached---but was capable of transporting 8-10 metric tons of
    cocaine.

-   We see new partnerships among traffickers. In March, Malaysian
    authorities raided a clandestine lab and seized 215 kilograms of
    crystal and liquid methamphetamine. Thirteen people were arrested,
    including 6 Mexicans---which is believed to be the first time that
    Mexican traffickers have been arrested in a meth lab in that region.

-   We see new chemical networks forming, with the smuggling of bulk
    ephedrine from Argentina to Mexico and the trafficking of ephedrine
    within Argentina and neighboring countries. The Argentine drug
    czar's office reported that, during 2007, importations of ephedrine
    had risen from 5 metric tons to 26 metric tons.

-   We see more blurring of lines between source, transit, and consumer
    nations. As drug trafficking organizations from source countries pay
    the transportation groups in the transit zones with product, these
    transit countries evolve into consumer nations.

> In just the last couple of months, 3 super labs have been discovered
> in eastern Canada. And when I say super labs, you may be shocked to
> know that 1 of them involved the seizure of 4,000 kilos of meth and
> was using cement mixers to produce ton quantities! It's believed that
> most of the meth and Ecstasy made at these labs was destined not for
> the usual Pacific Rim countries, but for the United States.

-   We see continued growth in some drug markets. Methamphetamine in
    eastern Asia is growing at an alarming rate, and the Philippines'
    record-breaking seizure of more than 700 kilos of meth in late May
    showcases traffickers' high-volume capacity.

-   And we see all together new markets.  Methamphetamine was virtually
    unknown in Cape Town, South Africa as late as 2003---but it is now
    the city\'s main drug of abuse. Ephedrine and pseudoephedrine from
    India and China are now being seized in South Africa and the number
    of large meth labs is rising.

These are just some of the new challenges we all face as we fight a
nimble and global enemy. However, we have proven that we are an even
more innovative, skilled, and flexible global force. We've proven that
no agency or nation can succeed alone in this fight against
transnational criminals. In just the last year, we have succeeded beyond
what any of us probably hoped for when we met in Madrid.

We are making history against some of the most powerful
narco-terrorists, cartels, and global traffickers. None of these
successes could be possible without the international cooperation and
the leadership of the nations assembled.

We've proven that with:

-   The arrest last June of international arms dealer Monzer al Kassar
    by Spanish authorities for conspiring to sell millions of dollars
    worth of weapons to the FARC. His arrest---and recent
    extradition---shattered the myth that Kassar was untouchable and
    neutralized an international munitions empire that armed and funded
    insurgents and terrorists across the globe.

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-   And by the March arrest by Thai authorities of Victor Bout, an
    international arms dealer charged with conspiring to sell millions
    of dollars worth of weapons to the FARC. Like Kassar, Bout has been
    a ready source of weapons and military equipment for armed factions
    engaged in violent conflicts around the world.

We are making history, and we've proven that in:

-   Colombia, in the history of crime fighting against terrorism and
    drug trafficking there has probably never been more progress in one
    year by one country than by the Colombian authorities last year.
    What they've been able to accomplish against the FARC, AUC, and the
    North Valley Cartel is nothing short of incredible. Just since the
    last IDEC, 9 kingpins (CPOTs) were captured, killed, or extradited!

The retirement system for drug kingpins isn't so great these days. Those
who come to our collective attention are arrested, killed, or are living
life on the run.

We are all committed to destroying the drug trade that fuels and funds
terrorism across the globe. In just the last year:

-   In Peru, law enforcement arrested Shining Path member Hernan
    Cuba-Iglesis in January for his involvement in terrorist and drug
    trafficking activities.

-   The President of the United States designated the PKK here in Turkey
    a drug kingpin. This nation has had a long struggle against this
    terrorist organization which obtains funding from drug proceeds, and
    we know this designation will aid efforts to combat them.

-   And the arrest in April in Romania, of a member of the Zeiter
    family, a drug trafficking organization with members throughout
    South America, the Caribbean, Europe, and the Middle East. This
    crime family operates in the tri-border nations of Argentina,
    Brazil, and Paraguay and has links to Middle Eastern terrorist
    groups.

-   And in Afghanistan, our courageous counterparts are making headway
    against incredible odds fighting an entrenched drug trade and fierce
    enemy. We need look no further than their operation in the last
    month against a super-lab complex and other narcotics labs protected
    by the Taliban where they made world record hashish seizure totaling
    238 metric tons valued at upwards of \$600 million.

We are working across borders, jurisdictions, and geography to dismantle
global trafficking organizations. We've proven that with:

-   The October arrest of the head of a massive 4-continent drug
    trafficking and money laundering network: Ricardo Fanchini. 11
    countries worked together in a worldwide investigation to achieve
    what 1 alone could not.

We are being innovative in capturing criminals, and we've proven that
with:

-   The October arrest of Nasrullah Safiullah by Ghana authorities. He
    was the head of a major drug trafficking organization operating a
    heroin processing lab in Afghanistan that supplied groups in west
    Africa and Europe. This case was innovative because we used
    undercover operations in Ghana and Afghanistan, and it marks the
    first time DEA has used extraterritorial legal authorities to pursue
    criminals in west Africa who intended to distribute drugs in the
    U.S.

Our coordinated attacks on traffickers' assets and drug funds have
resulted in tremendous success. We've proved that with:

-   Last year's world record money seizure by Mexico of \$207 million in
    currency from Zhenli Ye Gon. Statistics point to this seizure as the
    point where the price of methamphetamine began to jump to record
    levels. The black market price of pseudoephedrine has gone through
    the roof, partly because of Mr. Ye Gon\'s organization being taken
    out, but more importantly by the steps taken by the Mexican
    government to prevent the importation of ephedrine and any
    derivative.

-   We look also to the seizures executed by the Colombian National
    Police on the financial holdings of Juan Carlos Ramirez Abadia,
    a.k.a, "Chupeta." So far, Colombia has seized about \$600 million in
    cash and assets. The attack on his assets put him on the run, and
    made him vulnerable to capture---which the Brazilian Federal Police
    affected in August.

> Regionally, we are achieving success through intelligence sharing and
> good police work. We've proven that in:

-   The Central Asian Republics, where in the first 4 months of this
    year, law enforcement made several large-scale heroin seizures,
    totaling just over 1,500 kilograms. A 568 kilo seizure was the
    largest heroin seizure ever made by Uzbek officials, and another of
    537 kilos was the largest ever recorded in Kazakhstan and greater
    than the total amount of heroin seized there last year.

We all stand tall with our partners in Mexico as they confront some of
the most ruthless and powerful drug cartels. Since President Calderon
took office, his government has arrested high-level drug traffickers and
last year alone, extradited an unprecedented 83 criminals. Mexico is
setting records for seizures of both drugs and currency including the
world's largest cocaine seizure of 23.5 metric tons in October 2007,
which brought their total to more than 48 metric tons just that month!

In the U.S., we feel the effects of Mexico's success. Combined with
other enforcement efforts, in the U.S. we're seeing a 15-month long
sustained trend where prices for meth soared 56 percent and cocaine 30
percent and purity for both dropped by double digits.

These victories in Mexico come at great cost. Mexico has endured an
unparalleled wave of violence including attacks against police and
military personnel, including:

-   Edgar Millán, interim National Police Chief and;

-   Field Commander, Omar Ramirez, who many of you fondly remember from
    last year's IDEC;

Please join me in a moment of silence to remember all of our brave
partners, worldwide, who have given the ultimate sacrifice in the global
drug fight, and the loss of our government leaders from Chile and
Guatemala, who died in helicopter accidents earlier this year...

Inevitably, with our coordinated, successful attacks on drug networks
and supply, drug traffickers become more frustrated and more violent. We
stand together, firm in our resolve to honor our fallen colleagues with
our unrelenting attack on the kingpins, their networks, their money,
drugs, chemicals, transportation systems, and communications.

We've proven that, when we take collective action---when we share
intelligence, make joint operational plans, and work across countries
and regions and even continents---we win. We make an impact on the drug
supply. We bring long-standing kingpins to justice. We keep money out of
terrorists' hands. We make a difference in the lives of the citizens
we're sworn to protect and keep all our countries safer.

And that is our noble purpose and calling: To replace the violence,
addiction, and devastation of drugs with the rule of law, justice, and
stability in our homelands. A stability that allows citizens to pursue
education, run businesses, and let their children play outside without
fear.

Let there be no doubt that combating this transnational threat to our
collective security is a shared obligation that is vital to the safety
and security, health and welfare, and indeed, the human dignity of all
people. Our challenge is to transform this spirit of cooperation into
tangible results, and I have every confidence that we will do so again
this year.

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*Acting Administrator, Michele Leonhart, often deviates from prepared
remarks.*