U.S. Government Reports
2009 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report (INCSR) on Kazakhstan
Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs
February 27, 2009
Kazakhstan
I. Summary
Kazakhstan is still affected by the expansion of international drug trafficking and continues to fight drug trafficking, focusing on improvements to legislation, prevention, and supply reduction. Law-enforcement agencies in Kazakhstan have focused their efforts on disruption of the trafficking route from Afghanistan, which is the main source of narcotics in Kazakhstan. Afghan heroin transported along the northern route supplies Kazakhstan's domestic market and transits Kazakhstan to Russia and onward to Europe. Kazakhstan continues implementation of two, large-scale programs to combat corruption and drug trafficking mandated by President NazarbayeV. Strengthening the borders, especially in the south, is a priority for the government. Kazakhstan has acceded to the 1988 UN Drug.
II. Status of Country
Its geographic location, relatively developed transportation infrastructure, the openness of its borders with neighboring countries, and its social and economic stability have made Kazakhstan a major transit zone for narcotics and psychotropic substances. In 2008, the drug situation in Kazakhstan has been characterized by a decrease in the total number of registered drug-related crimes and a significant increase in the volume of seized drugs, including heroin.
The main factors influencing illegal drug use and sales in Kazakhstan are the expansion of Afghan production, the importation of synthetic drugs from Russia and Europe, and the presence of naturally-growing marijuana in Southern Kazakhstan. The main types of drugs illegally crossing into and through the country are Afghan opiates, synthetic drugs, and cannabis. During the first nine months of 2008, there was a significant increase in the volume of seized heroin (from 379 kilos to 1.5 metric tons, a 300% increase compared to the same period last year).
III. Country Actions against Drugs in 2008
Policy Initiatives. A law signed on June 26, 2008 by President Nazarbayev that amends the Criminal, Criminal Procedural, and Administrative Codes introduced tougher punishments for drug-related crimes, which is consistent with article 24 of the Narcotics Convention stipulating application of stricter measures than those required by the Convention. The new law increases the most serious penalty for drug-related crimes to life imprisonment. Because of the threat to Kazakhstani national security posed by narco-trafficking, the new law defines certain drug-related crimes as “especially grave” and, thus, life imprisonment is now available to sentencing judges in cases of trafficking in large quantities; participation in drug-related crimes as part of a criminal organization; drug sales in an educational institution and/or to minors; and sale or distribution of drugs resulting in death.
Article 319-1 of the Administrative Code penalizes entrepreneurs of entertainment facilities who do not take measures to stop the sale and/or consumption of drugs, psychotropic substances, and precursors on their business premises.
The amended counter-narcotics legislation is believed to have been a factor in the recent increase in apprehensions of narcotics abusers, including among heroin and opium abusers. The average price of heroin nearly doubled in the northern regions of the country and increased an average of 130% in the southern regions perhaps as a result of increased enforcement success.
The serious problem of seized drugs being resold by corrupt police was dealt with by introducing amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code allowing for the destruction of seized drugs more than the minimum amount necessary for evidence as soon as forensic testing is completed.
Law Enforcement Efforts. Kazakhstan actively fights narco-trafficking to and throughout the country. For example, special services share information with their colleagues from neighboring countries. The Border Guard Service has jurisdiction over trafficking across the border, while counter-narcotics operations in country are conducted by Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD) units and the Committee for National Security (KNB), with the goal of ultimately arresting the leaders of trafficking rings.
All law-enforcement agencies combined reported 7,883 drug-related crimes, including 295 cases of trafficking during the first nine months of the year. A total of 23 tons of various drugs, including 200 kilos of synthetic drugs and psychotropic substances, were seized during that period, which is a 6.5% increase over the same period last year (21 tons, 787 kilos were seized during the same period in 2007). The total includes 1,514 kilos of heroin (nearly a 300% increase over last year's seizures of 378 kilos), 14 kilos of opium (a decrease of 92.9% from last year's 197 kilos), 327 kilos of hashish (a 74.7% increase), and 21,196 kilos of marijuana (a 3.6% increase over last year’s 20,467 kilos).
Kazakhstani law-enforcement agencies have focused on conducting quality operations against entire cartels and not just the arrest of small couriers to increase seizure statistics. Over nine months, the MVD broke-up eight organized criminal groups, whose members committed 51 drug-related crimes. As a result of these operations, the police seized 48.763 kilos of drugs, including 37 kilos of marijuana, over 10 kilos of heroin, and one kilo of cannabis resin.
Two record seizures occurred during 2008. In March, the Customs Service seized 537 kilos of heroin at the Kairak border checkpoint on the Kazakhstani-Russian border utilizing a stationary X-ray machine. Two Russian citizens were sentenced to 13 years in prison as a result. The cargo was en route from Uzbekistan to Saint Petersburg. The drug couriers reportedly were paid $8,000 to transport the heroin to Russia. The year’s second large seizure was of 120 kilos of heroin by the MVD's Committee on Combating Drugs, in cooperation with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and Turkish law enforcement.
The law enforcement agencies of Kazakhstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, with the assistance of Afghanistan, broke up one of the largest Central Asian trafficking organizations, which transported heroin and opium through Central Asia to Russia. As a result of the multi-stage, three-year Operation "Typhoon,” law-enforcement agencies opened 24 criminal cases and arrested 42 members of an international drug ring, including 14 Kazakhstan citizens. A total of 800 kilos of heroin and 100 kilos of opium were seized in four countries during the operation. As a result of the operation, all branches of the trafficking group were disrupted in participating countries. Traffickers working for the cartel transported drugs via two routes: from Shymkent (on the Kazakhstani-Uzbek border) through Taraz, Karaganda, Astana, and Petropavlovsk and from Shymkent through Taraz, Almaty, Taldy Korgan, and Ust-Kamenogorsk.
Law-enforcement agencies target nightclubs and other areas where drugs are sold. As a result of this strategy, law enforcement agencies in Astana reported 198 drug-related crimes during the first nine months of 2008. One hundred thirty-six of these crimes involved sales. The volume of seizures in Astana increased by 62.7% and the total amount of heroin seized in Astana has increased by more than 600%.
In accordance with Article 11 of the Narcotics Convention, Kazakhstan participates in controlled deliveries. During the first nine months of 2008, Kazakhstani law-enforcement bodies conducted 27 controlled deliveries, including 12 cross-border operations. Kazakhstan conducted five controlled deliveries jointly with colleagues from the Kyrgyz Republic and the Russian Federation and two operations with Tajikistan. These operations resulted in the seizures of 600 kilos of illicit drugs, including over 88 kilos of heroin.
As a result of the successful operations, drug prices have increased throughout the country. In Astana, prices have doubled to $600 for a kilo of marijuana, $5,000 for hashish, and $10,000 for heroin. In Almaty, a kilo of marijuana is up to $400 from last year's $250. In Pavlodar, a kilo of heroin ranges from $10,000 to $15,000, an increase over last year's $8,000.
In 2008, 5,756 people were detained for drug-related crimes (A decrease of 6.6% from last year). The number of women, minors, and repeat offenders committing drug-related crimes has decreased by 4.2% for women (from 684 to 655), 36.5% for minors (from 52 to 33), and 4.9% for repeat offenders (from 288 to 274). Convictions for drug-related crimes have also decreased from 5,850 to 5,326. Of those convicted, 575 were women and 31 were minors.
The Kanal-2008 (Channel) interstate operation was on September 15-23. The purpose of the operation was the detection and disruption of trafficking from Central Asia and Afghanistan and the dismantling of transnational organized criminal groups involved in trafficking. In Kazakhstan, the operation resulted in the discovery of 274 drug-related crimes, including 97 cases of sales and nine cases of trafficking, with the seizure of 1.4 metric tons of drugs, including 133 kilos of heroin.
Corruption. As a matter of government policy, Kazakhstan 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 trafficking. There were no cases of senior government officials engaged in the illicit production or distribution of drugs. However, there were several reported cases of corrupt police officers.
Two officers of the Criminal Police Unit and two officers of the Counter-Narcotics Unit in Southern Kazakhstan were sentenced to 10 to 12 years after having been convicted of the storage and sale of drugs and the abuse of their official position. As a result of an undercover KNB operation in January, the four officers were arrested for attempting to force a recently-released convict to sell drugs that had been previously seized for their benefit. The 2003 UN Convention on Corruption was ratified in May 2008.
In November, President Nazerbayev proposed that the fight against government corruption should be concentrated in one body. Currently, all state agencies are mandated to take measures to combat corruption internally.
Agreements and Treaties. Kazakhstan is a party to the 1998 UN Drug Convention, the 1961 UN Single Convention and its 1972 Protocol, and the 1971 UN Convention on Psychotropic Substances. Kazakhstan is also a party to the UN Convention against Corruption, and the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, and its three protocols. The United States and Kazakhstan signed the seventh Supplementary Protocol to the Memorandum of Understanding on Narcotics Control and Law Enforcement on August 29, 2008 to support demand reduction programs and the sixth Supplementary Protocol on September 29 to support border security, counter-narcotics and anti-trafficking in persons programs.
The law-enforcement bodies of Kazakhstan closely cooperate with the Agency of the Kyrgyz Republic on Drug Control, the Agency on Drug Control of the Republic of Tajikistan, the Federal Service of the Russian Federation on Drug Control, and the National Center on Drug Control of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan. The intergovernmental interagency agreements on cooperation in the area of combating drugs are the legal basis for this cooperation. These countries conduct joint operations and investigations, demand reduction events, special operations, exchange of operative information and methodological literature, working meetings, and other activities.
The pilot phase of the Central Asian Regional Information Coordination Center (CARICC) was launched on November 1, 2007, in Almaty. UNODC recruited the core staff for the pilot phase. CARICC has already arranged controlled delivery operations. Kazakhstan believes that CARICC will become an effective organization which will collect operational information and analyze it. Kazakhstan ratified the CARICC agreement on November 6, 2007 and, with the ratification of Tajikistan six days later, CARICC has the required ratifications for the agreement to enter into force. Turkmenistan and Kyrgyzstan had previously ratified the agreement. According to the terms of the CARICC agreement, signed by all of the countries of Central Asia, Russia, and Azerbaijan, the agreement officially enters into force 30 days after Kazakhstan receives the fourth ratification instrument.
CARICC has established professional relationships with Europol, Interpol, the World Customs Organization, and other professional agencies. DEA is opening an office in Almaty to allow for closer contact with both Kazakhstan and CARICC.
Cultivation/Production. A favorable climate in Kazakhstan contributes to the growth of wild marijuana, equisetum ephedra, and opium poppies. Such plants grow on over 1.2 million hectares in Almaty, Zhambyl, South Kazakhstan, Kyzylorda, and East Kazakhstan regions. The largest source of marijuana in Kazakhstan is the Chu Valley in the Zhambyl region. Marijuana with a high THC content grows naturally on an estimated 138,000 hectares in the Chu Valley. The approximate annual harvest is estimated to be as high as 145 thousand tons of marijuana, with an estimated 6,000 ton yield of hashish.
The government has considered various proposals to fight marijuana cultivation in the Chu Valley, including introduction of a quarantine zone in the region or establishing legally controlled industrial processing of wild marijuana.
Operation “Mak” (Poppy) is an annual operation conducted from May 25 to October 25 to combat the harvesting of illicit crops and disrupt drug cartels in the Chu Valley. During the operation, the Committee on Combating Drugs closely cooperates with the Border Guard Service of the Committee for National Security (BGS) and creates a security zone around the valley to prevent the movement of the crop out of the valley. Inter-agency mobile units also conduct patrols throughout the valley. As a result of the operation, law-enforcement agencies found 230 separate illicit crop cultivations, including 24 areas growing poppies and 206 areas growing marijuana over a total area of 11,079 square meters. Over 20 tons of drugs, including those being trafficked through the area, were seized during this year’s operation, including 50 kilos of heroin, 20 tons of marijuana, over two kilos of opium, and 74 kilos of hashish. The MVD registered 3,754 drug–related crimes, including 1,476 cases of sales and 107 cases of trafficking. The operation also resulted in the detention of 3,170 offenders. Despite the discovery of poppy cultivation, law-enforcement agencies have not yet discovered heroin labs in Kazakhstan. It is believed that the majority of the raw opium from the Kazakhstani poppies is smoked, chewed, or eaten in Kazakhstan. An average user chews or eats 5-10 grams of raw opium, per day.
On July 28, police closed a lab producing pervitine (methamphetamine hydrochloride) in Pavlodar (Northern Kazakhstan). Methamphetamine is included in the list of drugs, psychotropic substances, and precursors that are subject to control under Kazakhstani legislation. The lab was operated by a Russian citizen who learned to build and operate the lab from a fellow prisoner in Tolyatti, Russia while serving a two-year term for a drug-related crime.
Drug Flow/Transit. Despite the large amount of domestic production, Kazakhstan faces a much more serious threat from the transit of narcotics. As a result of the transit, the country faces an increasing problem with addiction. International experts estimate that 10%-15% of drugs trafficked through Kazakhstan remain in the domestic market.
The main types of drugs trafficked through Kazakhstan are Afghan opiates (heroin and opium), synthetic drugs (LSD and Ecstasy), marijuana, and hashish. Police discovered no labs producing heroin, LSD, or Ecstasy during 2008. The delivery and sale of synthetic drugs was disrupted by the KNB in the North Kazakhstan region, where 500 doses of Ecstasy from the Netherlands were seized. The price of one pill was estimated at approximately 15 Euro. In the Jamaika night club in Astana, the MVD detained a distributor of 50 Ecstasy pills, who was later convicted and sentenced to ten years in prison. Though the majority of Ecstasy seized in Kazakhstan came from Europe in past years, this year the MVD seized some Ecstasy that had been imported from Istanbul.
According to officers working at internal narcotics checkpoints, trucks traveling under the International Road Transport Convention (TIR) are being used to traffic narcotics through the country. Recent seizures in TIR vehicles have confirmed these suspicions. The TIR Convention was drafted to facilitate the international shipment of goods and was meant to simplify and harmonize administrative formalities. Article 5 of the TIR Convention stipulates that goods carried in previously inspected and customs sealed vehicles or containers shall not be subjected to examination by customs officials en route. However, to prevent abuses, customs authorities may, in exceptional cases and particularly when trafficking is suspected, examine the goods.
Though there are definite economic advantages for countries from the Convention, such as avoiding long delays at the borders and physical inspection of goods in transit, it is clear that traffickers are exploiting the TIR Convention. Law-enforcement agencies on the border and inside the country have said that more truck scanners are needed to detect contraband in sealed trucks. However many enforcement officials are also clamoring for reconsideration of the rules of the TIR Convention, to allow for inspection of vehicles.
Domestic Programs/Demand Reduction. In order to address the serious issue of drug addiction in Kazakhstan, the MVD is working closely with the Ministry of Culture and Information, the Ministry of Health, and the Ministry of Education and Science to conduct demand reduction and prevention campaigns. The Ministries implemented a pilot project in September to detect drug consumption among university students. Law enforcement and medical personnel conduct drug tests at a university in Astana and forward the results to parents. They also conduct statistical analysis on the test results. The aim of the project is to raise awareness among the public, parents, teachers, and members of Parliament about the necessity for obligatory drug tests in educational institutions, including universities and secondary schools.
In the demand reduction area, interested agencies conducted over 4,500 events, including large-scale demonstrations, seminars, round tables, conferences, lectures, and sport competitions. A total of 270,000 people participated in these events. With the help of state agencies and the local administration, 2,600 clubs were established to encourage youth to lead a healthy life-style. An estimated 688,000 people have visited these clubs. Approximately 6,400 anti-narcotics pamphlets, TV commercials, and other events were sponsored during 2008 up until November.
Secondary schools in Kazakshtan include discussions of the dangers of drug use with students in their curricula, encourage students to seek help from social and psychological services, and work directly with parents when necessary. The Ministry of Education and Science also introduced special demand-reduction courses in the academic curricula at schools. As part of this program, experts in drugs, psychologists, and police deliver lectures to students.
Kazakhstan also conducts harm-reduction programs and needle exchanges. In accordance with the 2006-2010 program, those with AIDS from vulnerable populations receive contraceptives, educational materials, needle exchanges, and treatment of infections on a free confidential basis. Clinics and government and NGO hotlines deliver these services.
IV. USG Policy Initiatives and Programs
Bilateral Cooperation. The International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Section (INL) of the U.S. Embassy worked with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) to strength the Rubezh-Narkotiki (internal narcotics) checkpoints. UNODC provides communications equipment to six posts throughout the country. Based on the results of an assessment of the Rubezh checkpoints, INL arranged a series of training events for personnel working at the checkpoints. To support the future sustainability of counter-narcotics training capacity, INL equipped a computer lab and provided conference and interpretation equipment to the Interagency Scientific and Analytical Counter-Narcotics Training Center in Almaty.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) is the implementing partner in the project to strengthen the Kazakhstani side of the Kazakhstani-Russian border. IOM recently established a second Border Guard Training Center in Uralsk, Western Kazakhstan.
One of the major programs initiated in 2008 was a drug detection dog program with all law-enforcement agencies. INL funded the purchase of three dogs and sponsored the attendance of three Kazakhstani officers at a two-month course at the Canine Center in Bad Kreuzen, Austria. The training of the first three dogs was meant to acquaint Kazakhstanis with the Austrian method of training dogs for the search of drugs and allow Kazakhstani and Austrian officials to exchange experience in this area. The Austrian method uses training approaches that minimize stress and conflict and maximize training work with the dogs. The training of instructors on site in Austria was followed by a series of interagency training programs in Kazakhstan. Through its grant to IOM, INL is renovating sections of the canine facility at the Military Institute of the Committee for National Security.
To increase border security capacity, INL continues its close cooperation with the Border Guard Service and the Military Institute of the Committee for National Security. The U.S. Embassy also provided drug detection equipment and training in its use to border posts. Two instructors of the Military Institute attended basic training at the U.S. Border Patrol Academy in Artesia, New Mexico. The USCG sent two teams to assist in the area of container inspection.
The Road Ahead. The United States will continue its cooperation with the Government of Kazakhstan to increase counter-narcotics capacity. INL will continue providing training in drug courier profiling, the use of newly provided equipment, and new operations techniques. In 2009, the focus will be on information exchange in the area of intelligence gathering.
The United States will also continue its cooperation with the Border Guard Service and provide technical assistance to checkpoints on the Kazakhstani-Russian border and will open an additional training center on the northern part of the Kazakhstani-Russian border.
In cooperation with the Military Institute, INL plans to send one instructor from the Institute to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Academy and one canine instructor to a canine academy in the United States. The same program will work with the Military Institute to strengthen its canine capacity by providing equipment and technical assistance. INL plans to continue to support for the relationship between the Austrian Ministry of Interior's Canine Center and Kazakhstani canine centers.
Currently, law enforcement officers lack requisite English-language skills and are unable to communicate directly with specialized units in other countries. To solve this problem, INL will provide English-language training to cadets of the Military Institute and staff of specialized counter-narcotics units.