REPORTS OF THE COURSEGROUP 1PHASE 1ANALYSIS OF CURRENT SITUATION OF
ILLICIT DRUG TRAFFICKING
Chairperson

Ms. Gina Ramos(Honduras)

Co-Chairperson

Mr. Bechem Eyong-Eneke(Cameroon)

Rapporteur

Mr. Saad Imtiaz Ali(Pakistan)

Co-Rapporteur

Mr. Takahiro Satou(Japan)Members

Mr. Bulatov Timur(Kyrgyzstan)

Mr. Miguel Moran(Peru)

Ms. Mayumi Ichikawa(Japan)Ms. Reiko Ota(Japan)Mr. Masayuki Takeda(Japan)Prof. Toru Miura(UNAFEI)

Prof. Sue Takasu(UNAFEI)

Prof. Kei Someda(UNAFEI)

Advisers

I. INTRODUCTION
Ordinarily, drugs should be used totreat or control diseases. To this end, theuse of drugs is entirely lawful and poses
no problem. The problem, however, arises
when the drugs are used abusively, forexample, to intentionally activate such a
degree of ecstasy in the subconscious thatit leads to negative degeneration anddevastation of the social fabric.
Illicit drug trafficking is accelerating at
an unprecedented pace, spreading very
rapidly across the globe, as a result of
rapid globalization. The IT revolution has
reduced the world to a small village andhas made communication exceptionally
fast and easy. The drug trafficker has
f ound very usef ul to ols to re ach hisdesired destination with ease and with ah igh degree of secrecy, speed an dspecificity (three S).

608

Illicit drug trafficking is one, if not, thebiggest of all transnational organizedcrimes. A large variety of drugs are
invo lved , le ad ing am on gst w hich isca nna b is ( m a r iju a n a a nd ha shi sh) ,opiates (opium and heroin), stimulants
and cocaine. According to the United
Nations O ffice for Drug Control a nd
Crime Prevention, cannabis continues tobe widely cultivated and trafficked. Morethan 155 countries reported seizures ofcannabis in 1999. In the Central Asian
Republics, fields of cannabis cover several
thousands of hectares and these
constitute the major source of supply forthe illicit Russian drug market. Indoor
cultivation of ca nna bis continues todevelop especially in the Netherlands,
Canada and the U.S.A. Opium production
was, however, in decline in the year 2000
in some countries. It is mainly produced
in Afghanistan, Myanmar, Laos,
Thailand, Colombia and Mexico.

119TH INTERNATIONAL TRAINING COURSEREPORTS OF THE COURSE
In
spite
of
the
versatile
countermeasures taken by the various
countries of the world to fight illicit drugtrafficking, the trade continues to grow.
Several reasons have been advanced to
explain the survival of this heinous andillicit business. Corruption of governmento ff i cia l s a pa r t, t he d rug t ra ff i cke rs
employ a wide range of other means toestablish and expand their trade throughvarious trafficking modes which include
concealment in “double-bottom” bags;
hide-outs in sea vessels, trains, cargocontainers, aircraft, vehicle fuel tanks
and tyres; using children as innocent
carriers, the list is exhaustive. It is thus
difficult to stop this illicit drug trade. But
it is the view of this group that consumer
countries, in order to stop production,must take all necessary measures not toallow this material to reach theircountries and if it does reach it should not
be distributed. All this can be done bypersuasion through various media andgroups. This will not only discourage thetraffic in narcotics but also the
distribution and even the users of thesedrugs.
II. CURRENT SITUATION
A. Global Situation
T he re cen t in cre a se in the sc op e ,intensity and sophistication of crimearound the world threatens the safety of
citizens everywhere and hampers
countries in their social, economic andcultural development.
Drug abuse is a global phenomenon. It
effects almost every country, although its
extent and intensity differ from region toregion. Drug abuse trends around theworld, especia lly among youth, havestarted to rise over the last few decades.
Crimin al g roups h ave establish edinternational networks to carry out theira c tiv it ie s m o r e e f f e c tiv e ly th ro u gh
sophisticated technology and by
exploiting today’s open borders, in somecountries.
Illicit cultivation of opium and cocabush is now mostly concentrated in the
territories of two and three counties
respectively. The year 2000 recorded a
decline in global opium production and astabilization in cocoa production. The
total increase in cultivation in the year
2000 is due to a 19,200 ha increase incultivation in Myanmar, partly offset by a
8,400 ha decrease in Afghanistan and a
3,500 ha decrease in Laos.
In the year 2000, close to 50% of the
global illicit poppy cultivation areas werelocated in Myanmar, 36% in Afghanistan,and 10% in other Asian countries. The
Americas, Colombia and Mexico
ac counte d togethe r f or 4 % o f glob a lcultivation. Overall, the cultivation of
cocoa bush, the production of cocoa leaf
and the potential production of cocaine
remained more or less stable in the year
2000 due to (1) continued eradication in
Bolivia; (2) a decline of cultivation in
Peru; (3) some increase in Colombia. In
the absence of reliable information on
global cannabis cultivation, seizures seemto confirm that cannabis continues to be
widely cultivated and trafficked.
According to Interp ol, “the indoor
cultivation of cannabis continued todevelop during the year 2000, especiallyin the Netherla nds, Ca nada and the
U.S.A. An increasing amount of cannabis
from Colombia and Jamaica made its way
to Europe during the year. The Central
Asian Republics, where vast fields ofca nna b is cov er se ver a l hun dr ed s o fhectares, remain for the time being amajor source of supply for the illicit
Russian market.

609

RESOURCE MATERIAL SERIES No. 59
Cannabis ranked first, both in terms ofnumbers of seizure cases and amounts
se ize d. L ar ge sc ale se iz ure c ase s o f
cocaine, notably when it is trafficking bys ea , a r e m or e l i k ely t h a n h er oi n o ramphetamine-type stimulants.
The m ost significant incre ases ins e iz u re s in 1 9 9 9 w e r e r e p o r te d f o ramphetamine-type stimulants (ATS),
reflecting increasing levels of trafficking
and law enforcement activities in Eastand South-East Asia. Seizure of opiates,
expressed in heroin equivalents, grew by
14%, largely reflecting the 1999 bumper
harvest in Afghanistan.
The estimates show that worldwide themost widely consumed substances arecannabis (144 million people), followed byamphetamine-type stimulants (29 million
people), cocaine (14 million people) andopiates (13.5 million people of whom some
9 million are taking heroin). The total
number of drug users was estimated atsome 180 million people, equivalent to 3%of the global population or 4.2% of the
population age 15 and above.1
B. Country Specific Situation
1. Cameroon
Cameroon is in a region where drugtrafficking is expanding. It is more of atransit than a producing country. It
however produces a very insignificant
quantity of marijuana when comparedw ith the volume of production of theworld. Much of what is consumed in the
country is smuggled into it from theneighbouring countries, especially from
Nigeria. Cameroon does not grow cocaine.
The illicit drug traffickers employ awide range of modus operandi to go ahead
with their illegal business. These include,
1

Global Illicit Drug Trends 2001, UNODDCCP

610

inter alia, the concealment in doublebottom bags, hide-outs in sea vessels,cargo containers, aircraft and vehicles.
Wo men ma y ha ve it hid de n in the ir
plaited hair. In some cases, children may
be innoce nt carriers on theunderstanding that they are generally
less suspected. In extreme cases, thetraffickers take the risk to swallow small
water-proof balls of the drug. Some others
have had incisions in some parts of theirbodies on which the drug is placed andthe broken portion of the body stitched.
Here, medical people are involved in theillegal business.
For now, there are no known groups inthe illicit drug business in Cameroon.
2. Honduras
Drug tra fficking in Honduras ha sincreased in the last few years because it
has a very good geographical location, i.e,
it lies in the heart of Central America
and, adjacent to two oceans. That is anadvantage for the drug traffickers.
In the south of the country the drugs
are smuggled in by land, most of the timefrom Nicaragua and El Salvador, and in
the north of the country the trafficking ismore often carried out by sea, and drugs
from Colombia reach Honduras via speedboats.
Honduras is not only a transit country
but it also has a lot of consumers. The
trafficking is not only inside the country
but there is international trafficking
among the countries of South and Central
America. Traffickers use Honduras as atransit country to the final destination,that is, the U.S.A.
(i)Drugs more currently used
The d rugs more currently use d in
Honduras are:

119TH INTERNATIONAL TRAINING COURSEREPORTS OF THE COURSE
•
•
•
•
•

Marijuana (Cannabis)
Powder cocaine
Crack cocaine
HeroinAmphetamines(ii) Principal countries
Based on the experience and analyzing
the current situation of the countries in
the area we can say that the principal
countries related with drugs are:Producing: Colombia and Mexico
Transit:Central America
MarketU.S.A.
(iii) Modus operandi
The modus operandi more frequently
u sed is bring ing t he cocaine from
Colombia in speed boats or by plane. The
traffickers drop it in Honduras, either inthe water or on the land where there isusually someone waiting to collect it byboat or by car and take it to the borders in
Guatemala and then Mexico. From where
it goes into the U.S.A. Another way is bybringing the drugs in big containers from
Nicaragua, which go across Honduras tothe borders with Guatemala, and Mexicoand finally to the U.S.A.
(iv) Organized Groups
I n Honduras, there are manyorganized groups, inside the country andabroad. Police have identified three majororganized groups inside the country thatdeal only with Marijuana, and also two
big international organized groups thathave members from Colombia,
Nicaragua, El Salvador and Mexico.
3. JapanThe most frequently abused drugs in
J a p a n a r e s t i m u la n t d ru gs ( m o s t l ymetamphetamine) and the second iscannabis. In the year 2000, the seizure of
Stimulant drugs totaled 1,02 6.9 kg.
A rrests made in violations of the

Stimulant Drug Control Law totaled
18,942. The seizure of dried cannabis
amounted to as much as 306.4 kg.
The main sources of stimulant drugs
are traced to China and North Korea.
Most of the cannab is cam e from thePhilippine s, Thailand and theNetherlands.
E a ch sm uggling c ase h as com e to
involve a large amount of drugs. On abeach in K agosh ima prefecture in
O ct ob e r 1 9 9 9 , po lice a nd c onc erne dauthorities seized 564.6 kg, the largest
single seizure ever. While most of theillicit drugs in circulation in Japan havebeen sm uggled from abro ad byinternational drug and criminal
syndicates, visiting foreign nationals
have been found operating as consignees.
These illicit drugs have been smuggled
by vessels or cargo aircraft disguised asbona fide articles. Some arrivals were
found carrying parcels of illicit drugs
concealed about their persons or in theircarry-on luggage. Approximately 76% of
the total volume seized was in smuggling
in c id e nt s u s in g v e ss e l s i n 2 0 0 0 . I t
appeared that there were also criminal
acts that attempted to unload substancesfrom regional ports as well as coastal
area s o utside the p orts by me tho d s
including the tra nsfer of ca rgo frommother ship to small boats andconcealment in trading vessels.
Boryokudan, traditional organizedcriminal groups, were quick to realizethat the stim ulant d rug traff icking
yie ld ed hu ge p ro f its b e ca u se o f thesignificantly large margins between thewholesale coasts and retailing prices.
Moreover, a stab le dema nd could be
expected as abusers develop dependency
for the drug. Boryokuda n group s
sm u g gl e d in t he s ti m u la nt d r ug in

611

RESOURCE MATERIAL SERIES No. 59
p a rtn e r shi p w it h tr a n sb o r d e r d r ug
s ynd i ca te s a nd do m ina t e d d om e sti c
tra ffickers, thus contrib uting to the
spread of abuse.
In 2000, a quarter of arrested
Boryokudan members were Stimulant
Drug Control Law violations. And thisfigure accounts for 40.8% of the totals t i m u la n t d r u g o f f e n d e r ’ s a r r e s t s .
B oryokudan mem bers often use
sophisticated methods, for example, using
cellular phone s with a system ofprepaying charges for calls to be made inwhich the users can remain anonymousand conclude drug sales without meetingthe buyers.2
4. Kyrgyzstan
I n K y r g yz s ta n t h e m o s t c o m m o nabused drugs is o piate s (o pium andheroin). Cannabis is gradually increasing.
A small amount of stimulant drugs suchas ecstasy are also abused.
Opium is produced in Afghanistan.
M o st o f th e op iu m is tra nsfe rre d toEurope and the USA through Russia, andthe rest are consumed in Kyrgyzstan.
Cannabis is produced in Kyrgyzstan.
A p p r o x i m a t e ly 9 0 % o f c a n n a b i s i se x p o rte d to R u ssi a, an d th e r e st is
consum ed in Kyrgyzsta n. S timula nt
d ru g s l ik e e c s ta sy a re p ro d u ce d inEurope, and trafficked to Kyrgyzstan
through Russia and consumed in
Kyrgyzstan.
The world cen ter of illegal drug
production is shifting from the so-called
Golden C rescent (area of Iran,Afghanistan, Pakistan and northern partof India) to Afghanistan intensively. It
h a s re sulte d in a n in cre a se o f d rug
2

White Paper on Police 2001,National Police
Agency Government of Japan, and Japan Coast
Guard Annual Report 2001, Japan Coast Guard

612

trafficking in its neighboring countries,
mainly in Central Asia. The mass
production of illegal drugs in Afghanistan
has led to a decline of price in the world
drug market. It also has a great influence
on Kyrgyzstan, and drug abusers haveincreased more than before.
At present there are four major routes
to sm uggle drugs from Tajikistan to
Kyrgyzstan:Route 1:

Route 2:

Route 3:

Route 4:

Kyzyl-Art, covering OshKhorog highway andperipheral zones, bordering
Mt. Badakhshan.
Altyn-Mazar, which begins
at Raushan plateau of
Zaalay mountain range andsp rea ds to the Chon Ala ivalley.
Batken, including mountainroutes, used to cross throughJergital and Garm rayons to
Batken and Kadamjai
rayons of Osh Oblast.
Leninabad, including all of
the highways, starting with
Laylak rayon and adjoining
a re a s of Uz b e k is t a n a nd
oblast centers.

Automobiles can be used in route 1 androute 4. Therefore, drugs are hidden
inside the containers of vegetable andfuel tanks loaded on large size trailer
trucks. Route 2 and route 3 are located in
the high mountain areas, thus, drugs aretransferred by horses and people.
No stable organized groups arerecognized in the country.
5. Pakistan(i) Illicit Drug Trafficking
Drug trafficking is presently, in mostprobability, one of the biggest illegal
national and transnational activities

119TH INTERNATIONAL TRAINING COURSEREPORTS OF THE COURSE
earning titanic profits (and generatingother transnational crimes) andthr eate ning the p re sent and f utur eeconomies and generations.
The drugs situation in Pakistan has
improved almost miraculously so much so
tha t by 19 99 –2 000 only 16 .8 tons o fheroin yield was possible as compared to
800 tons in 1979–1980. Pakistan is thus
struck off the list of producer countries
and on the other hand has becom e a
victim and a transit country.
The increase in poppy cultivation in
Afghanistan since 1993 and growth in thesophistication of the Afghan drug trade isputting enormous pressure on the GOP’s(Government of Pakistan) border control
efforts and Pakistani society. Successfulinterdic tion operations occu r, buttraffickers have superior fire power andfaster vehicles, the territory is enormousand law enforcement is widely dispersed,
with little mobilization capacity. Thismeans more problems in fighting thiscrime.
B o t h A f gha n or i gi n ca nn a b i s a n d
opiates transit through Pakistan.
Afghanistan produced an estimated 3656
metric tons of opium in 2000. However
drug abuse escalated after the
introduction of heroin in 1980, (Soviet
invasion of Afghanistan). Since, it has
affected every class, every age group andevery income bracket all over Pakistan.
According to a rough survey there areabout 4 million addicts half of whom areheroin addicts as against only 5000 in
1 98 1. T he so cial i mpa ct i s of cours eimmeasurable.
Presently, Drug law enforcement isdone by a number of agencies. These
include the Anti-Narcotics Force,
Pakistan customs, Pak. Rangers, Frontier
constabulary, Pakistan Coast Guard,

Frontier corps NWFP and Balochistan,
Provincial Police Forces, and the Airport
S e cu rit y Fo r ce ( A S F ) . H o w e ve r t heprincipal agency is the Anti-Narcotics
Force (ANF), whose only mandate is tocoordinate and control drug trafficking.
Acet ic An hy dride, the ess enti al
chemical required for conversion of opium
into heroin, was previously on the “freelist” for purpose of import in the licit
industry. But it has been placed on the“Restricted list” and its import is allowed
to legitimate industrial consumers, afterdue verification.
Pakistan is a signatory to the major
instruments on international drug controlof 1961, 1972 and 1988, and to the UN
convention on TOC, December 2000.
Pakistan is a victim state in that it has
become a transit and a consumer country
for Afghan opiates and cannabis. GOP’s
cooperation with the world is viewed as
excell en t by t he U.S.A. and otherd e ve lo p e d c o un tr ie s. I nt e nsi ve la w
enforcement efforts by the ANF haveforced the narcotic traffickers to adopt a
low profile. Interdiction of heroinincre ased t o 8 5 % a nd s evera l m ajor
traffickers have been arrested. The GOP
has prevented the re-emergence of large
h e r o i n p r o c e ss i n g la b o r a t o r i e s . A s
apparent from the above, the main drugsof abuse in Pakistan are heroin, hashish(c ha rs) a nd o piu m. O the r co untrie s
involved in the region are Afghanistan,
India, Iran, China, Central Asean Statesand Myanmar.
(ii) Organized Groups
As per the latest reports released there
are no well known organized groups inPakistan involved in drug trafficking. In
Pakistan the scenario is a bit different,
being not a producing country, but being

613

RESOURCE MATERIAL SERIES No. 59
used mainly as a transit country and tosome extent a market country.
In Pakistan transit is being helped toreach its destination by individuals whoare called Narco-barons. They usuallybelong to the tribal areas of the NWFP
province. The infrastructure of theiractivities does not fit into the definition ofan organized group. Groups have equal
partners, a hierarchy, specializations
assigned and even research being done.
Then they have alliances with each other,
globally known organized groups like the
Boryokudan, Colombian cartels, Nigerian
criminal organization, Turkish drug
tra ff ick ing o rganiz ation, Ukra inia ncriminal syndicates, Polish criminalgroups,Dominican
criminalorganizations, etc. while individual drugor Narco-barons in Pakistan, e.g. Rehmat
Shah Afridi, has his own chain ofe m plo ye es w ho a ct a s h is a ge nts o r
subordinates and carry out orders of theboss through managers. It is not known,
neither could it be proved till now thatthese Narco-barons of Pakistan have verystrong bonds, partnerships, linkages, etc.
to the known organized groups in othercountries.
(iii) Modus Operandi
The common modes to transport drugs
used in Pakistan are through airports
and shipping camouflaged containers.
They use different airlines operating inPakistan. PIA has often been suspected ofbeing involved but it has never been
proved according to reports.
Other common methods used include
b o d y w ra ps , u se o f fa l s e b o t t o ms o f
lu ggage, con cealmen t in imported
e q u i p m e n t , c o n c e a lm e n t i n h id d e ncompartments of vehicles, ships andcontainers as mentioned above, delivery
by courier services, installing it in humanbody by operations or human babies.

614(iv) Due to usage of these Modes—the
Arrests, Extradition and Freezing ofAssets etc. carried out to date
So far, by using one or more of themodus operandi 21 Narco-barons or drugtraffickers (transit helpers) of Pakistan
have been extradited to the U.S.A. from1991–2000. Seven are yet to be arrested,
four cases are pending in court and two
are out of the country. The total amountof frozen assets of drug traffickers from1999 to April 2001 is Rs.4718.76 million,
and the total value of assets forfeited isRs.305.75 million and the total number ofcases registered during the above period
is 141. In addition, to foil any designs oftraffickers to take advantage of refuge inanother country by manipulating its laws
or due to an absence of specific law s
there, Pakistan has extradition treaties
with 27 countries to date and is a party to
several regional and bilateral agreements
pertaining to drug traffic controls.3
6. Peru
In Peru, the most frequently abused
dru gs are cocaine an d mariju ana.
Ho we ver late ly, he roin and ec stasy
appear in the drug scenario.
In South America, producers of cocaine
are from Colombia, Peru and Bolivia.
Peru produces marijuana for domestic
consumption.
The principal routes of exporting drugs
are Colombia, Panama , El Salvador,
Honduras, Mexico, the U.S.A., Europe
a nd A sia . A noth er rou te is Ch ile toEurope and Brazil to Europe.
The modus operandi most used is air
mail. Also drugs are transferred to the
U.S.A from Peru through Colombia and
Mexico. By sea, drugs are hidden inside3

Saad

ImtiazALI,

UNAFEI

Presentation, 21 September 2001

Individual

119TH INTERNATIONAL TRAINING COURSEREPORTS OF THE COURSE
containers on the ships sailing to the
U.S.A., Europe, Spain, Italy and Mexico.
Organized groups of drug trafficking
are Mexican cartels, Colombian cartels,
Peruvian groups and Bolivian groups.
The activities of the Mexican cartels andthe Colombian cartels extend throughout
the world. These cartels run plantations,process the drugs, package them, put
their original logos on the product andd eliver to m a ny co untries, just lik erunning big companies. The activities of
the Peruvian groups and Bolivian groups
are domestic.
III. CONCLUSION
After analyzing the current situation
with special reference to our respective
countries, we can say that drugtrafficking is a gigantic concern, speciallywhen we have such well organized groups
that really threaten the internal securityof the countries and the world.
T h e a n a ly s is f u r th e r s h o w s t h a tformerly transit countries are
p r o g r e s si ve l y b e c o m in g c o n s u m in gcoun tri es . The modu s operan di oftransporting these drugs is changing day
by day both in scope and complexity andit often requires devising new methods ofdetection and adequate controls.

fo r he ro in) . T he se n um b e rs a re no t
cumulative because of poly-drug use. The
strongest increases recorded in 1999 were
for cannabis and ATS consumption. At
the regional level, cocaine consumptionr e m a i n e d st a b l e i n N o r t h A m e r i c a(though significantly down compared tothe mid-1980s), but increased in West
Europe, as in a number of countries inSouth America in 1999.4
To reduce or eliminate drug abuse,
Governments and UNDCP need up-todate statistics on who is taking drugs andwhy. Drug abuse cuts across age, class,ethnic and gender lines. People with drug
abuse problems have different needs.
Women, the young, the poor, refuges andethnic and religious minorities needeasier access to early intervention andservices. Once in treatment, drug abusers
ma y ne ed job training a nd refe rra l,
assistance in finding hou sing andreintegrating into society. Drug abusers
who commit crimes require alternative
treatment in order to break the cycle ofdrug abuse and crime.

1999 seizures show that about one
third of all drugs were seized in North
America, a quarter in West Europe, af i f t h in A s i a a n d a t e n t h i n S o u t h
A merica. 1999 interception rates(quantities seized/quantities produced)
were 39% for cocaine and 15% for opiates.
UNDCP estimates 180 million people
consume illicit drugs (annual prevalencei n t he l a te 1 99 0 s ) t hi s include s 1 44
million for cannabis, 29 million for ATS,
14 million for opiates (of which 9 million

4

Global Illicit Drug Trends 2001, UNODDCCP

615