U.S. Department of State
KAZAKHSTAN
I. Summary
Drug trafficking, production and abuse continued to increase
in Kazakhstan during 1996. The Ministry of Interior (MVD)
recorded 12,298 drug-related crimes as of September 1996, up from
8,500 in 1995. The 1,320 cases of drug trafficking and seizures
of 18 metric tons of narcotics--a small fraction of the volume of
narcotics transiting Kazakhstan, according to GOK
officials--highlight efforts by major international drug
trafficking groups to accelerate drug smuggling through
Kazakhstan. The increase in heroin trafficking from Afghanistan
and Pakistan, through Kazakhstan and on to Western Europe, also
has to an increase in Kazakhstan's abuse and addiction rates. GOK
officials estimate that approximately 138,000 hectares of
cannabis (potentially 5,000 mt of marijuana a year) and also a
considerable amount of ephedra grow wild in Kazakhstan's southern
Chu Valley. Opium poppy is also grown in this and other areas of
southern Kazakhstan. Although cognizant of the growing drug
problem, the GOK is still grappling with developing and
implementing a national drug strategy. Kazakhstan is not a party
to the 1988 UN Convention, but plans to accede in 1997. Dublin
Group embassies recently set up a Mini-Dublin Group in Kazakhstan
to coordinate counternarcotics assistance programs.
II. Status of Country
Kazakhstan's is increasingly attractive to traffickers because
of its strategic location between major heroin-producing regions
of Southwest Asia and markets in the former Soviet Union and
Europe. The GOK's seizure of 18 mt of illicit drugs underscores
Kazakhstan's role as a conduit for smuggling. Most opiates and
cannabis products passing through Kazakhstan are destined for
markets in Russia and Western Europe.
In addition to the traditional smuggling route from
Afghanistan through Turkmenistan to the Kazakhstani port of Aktau
on the Caspian Sea, traffickers have developed new routes from
Afghanistan and Tajikistan through Kyrgyzstan, and then
Kazakhstan to Russia. Kazakhstan's membership in a customs union
with Russia, Ukraine and Belarus facilitates this traffic; once
cargo enters any of the customs union countries, customs
officials consider it to be "domestic cargo," and it is
not subject to inspection as long as it remains sealed.
The number of registered drug addicts in Kazakhstan tripled in
1996, from 6,000 to 18,000. However, unofficial estimates put the
number of addicts at about 50,000. Marijuana and heroin are the
drugs most often abused. Estimates place 65 percent of registered
addicts under the age of 30.
III. Country Action Against Drugs in 1996
Policy Initiatives/Law Enforcement. There are
major stumbling blocks to an effective, near-term
counternarcotics campaign, including poor coordination among GOK
law enforcement agencies, the absence of a national drug
strategy, inadequate funding, and the lack of equipment. In
January 1996, the GOK created a State Drug Enforcement Committee,
chaired by the Deputy Prime Minister, to establish a national
drug policy and coordinate law enforcement. Lacking both
independent funding and an adequate staff, the committee has not
fulfilled its mandate. In recognition of this deficiency, the
Deputy Prime Minister has proposed that the GOK establish and
fund a new agency for implementing a national drug policy.
In addition to the MVD, the State Customs Service, the State
Investigations Committee (modeled after the FBI) and the
Committee for State Security (KNB-- the State Intelligence and
Internal Security Agency) also have antinarcotics departments.
The MVD is the only law enforcement agency with a comprehensive
counternarcotics program. Although the MVD administers an annual
opium and cannabis eradication campaign, the program has had
little impact because of the lack of funds and widespread
corruption among police officials. Other MVD programs include
research and assessment in the areas of health, crime and
rehabilitation as they relate to drug addiction. The MVD plan
also recognizes the need to draft and introduce narcotics control
legislation to the Parliament.
In 1996, the Kazakhstani Parliament passed a law banning
anonymous bank accounts, a significant step against money
laundering. No statistics are available on money laundering. The
government has requested US assistance in this area as a
follow-on to recent FBI training on white collar and organized
crime.
Corruption. Corruption within the GOK in
general, and the law enforcement community in particular, is a
significant problem. Nevertheless, the USG does not have any
specific reports of official narcotics-related corruption in
Kazakhstan. The USG has offered to provide public corruption and
internal controls training for Kazakhstani law enforcement
officials in 1997, and has provided consultants to advise the
government on this issue.
Agreements and Treaties. In May, Kazakhstan
signed an interstate memorandum on drug control cooperation among
Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. Kazakhstan
has expressed interest in negotiating a mutual legal assistance
treaty with the US. Kazakhstan hopes to accede to the 1988 UN
Convention in 1997, once national legislation is amended to
conform to the Convention. Kazakhstan is a member of the Customs
Cooperation Council (CCC) and Interpol, and has observer status
at UN Commission on Narcotic Drug
Cultivation and Production. Cultivation of
opium poppy, cannabis, and ephedra is illegal in Kazakhstan, but
cultivation of all three continues. MVD officials report that
seventy percent of all illicit opium poppy is grown in southern
Kazakhstan, though the extent of the total growth is unknown. The
MVD's "Operation Poppy" does not include the use of
herbicides to eradicate drug crops out of concern that their use
would erode the soil, damage the environment and pose a health
risk to local inhabitants. In any case, only modest amounts of
poppy and cannabis are eradicated.
Domestic production of illicit drugs in Kazakhstan consists
primarily of cannabis products from the Chu Valley. Chu valley
marijuana and hashish is regarded in Russian markets as a high
quality product. In addition to the Chu Valley, GOK officials
estimate that approximately 30,000 hectares of cannabis are
cultivated in the Taldy-Korgan region. Lesser amounts are grown
in the Almaty city region, Kyzl-Orda and south Kazakhstan
districts. Ephedra plants, from which the illegal drug ephedrine
is derived, grow wild in the Chu Valley, the Zailyiski and
Junggar mountain ranges and the Taldy-Korgan and Dzhambyl
regions.
The Chymkent pharmaceutical factory, the only such plant in
the NIS, has the capability to produce five to eight types of
opiates for legal use, including morphine, codeine, promedol,
thebaine, and ethyl-morphine. Between 1973 and 1992, the
pharmaceutical plant in Chymkent legally processed 150 mt of
Indian opium annually. After a temporary shut down from 1991 to
1992, production resumed in 1993, with the purchase of 50 mt of
raw opium from India. According to information from GOK officials
in 1995, the factory is again shut down due to financial
constraints.
Domestic Programs/Demand Reduction. The
Kazakhstani Ministry of Education is developing the country's
first antinarcotics educational materials and textbooks for use
in Kazakhstani schools. The UNDCP also has begun work on a drug
awareness program. The Soros Foundation is beginning a pilot
program with the Ministry of Health that includes drug, alcohol
and tobacco awareness education for high school students.
IV. US Policy Initiatives and Programs.
Policy Initiatives and Bilateral Cooperation.
The USG continued a counternarcotics dialogue with the GOK and
urged the government to give increased priority to the drug
issue. USG goals and objectives for Kazakhstan include support
for GOK efforts to reform the law enforcement and criminal
justice systems, including (1) the drafting of internationally
acceptable legislation; (2) technical assistance to law
enforcement organizations, including the development of an
effective customs control regime; (3) support in identifying the
nature and scope of illegal narcotics trafficking, cultivation,
production, and abuse in Kazakhstan; and (4) promoting
cooperation with international organizations on narcotics-related
activities in Kazakhstan. Against this backdrop, the USG provided
counternarcotics training programs for Kazakhstani law
enforcement officers. INL allocated $100,000 for counternarcotics
assistance for Kazakhstan in 1996; the US Embassy is working with
the resident UNDCP office to coordinate all USG anti-narcotics
efforts. The recent activation of the Mini-Dublin Group in
Kazakhstan will facilitate future coordination among donor
countries.
The Road Ahead. The US will urge Kazakhstan
to expand its counternarcotics activities and to implement
effective antidrug institutional and legislative changes. At the
policy level, US law enforcement and narcotics control assistance
programs will assist the GOK to assess the threat posed by
narcotics production and trafficking and to understand the need
for a national drug strategy. At the working level, US programs
have helped develop a core of law enforcement officials through
narcotics training. The US hopes to provide continued training
emphasizing improved interagency coordination and addressing the
issues of internal controls and public corruption.