US embassy cable - 04HANOI1584

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 HANOI 001584 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP/BCLTV; INL/AAE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SNAR, KCRM, PREL, EAID, VM, CNARC 
SUBJECT:  ESTABLISHMENT OF DRUG INTERDICTION TASK FORCE UNITS 
 
REFS: A. 3/10/04 email Gatz/Moeling; B. Hanoi 920 
 
1.  (U) This is an action request -- see para 8. 
 
2.  (U)  SUMMARY.  A key element of a UN-led, U.S.-funded 
anti-drug project setting up drug interdiction task force 
units in six Vietnamese provinces bordering China, Cambodia, 
and Laos is underway.  The three-year project focuses on 
generating interagency agreement to create six "joint 
interdiction task force units" and provide training and 
equipment for task force officers to strengthen their law 
enforcement capacity.  This project has high-level support 
in Vietnam and will make a direct impact on Vietnam's 
overall counterdrug capacity.  END SUMMARY. 
 
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PROJECT BACKGROUND 
------------------ 
 
3.  (U) The project, titled "Interdiction and Seizure 
Capacity Building with Special Emphasis on ATS and 
Precursors," began with a launching ceremony on May 25 in 
Hanoi.  (United Nations Office for Drugs and Crime (UNODC) 
Resident Representative Dr. Doris Budddenberg and Vietnamese 
Vice Minister of Public Security Lieutenant General Le The 
Tiem had signed the project document in December 2003.) 
According to Colonel Vu Hung Vuong, Director of the 
Counternarcotics Department (C-17) of the Ministry of Public 
Security (MPS), the UNODC project is to run for three years 
with funding of USD 736,800.  (Note:  so far the U.S. has 
provided USD 500,000.  End note)  The top goals of the 
project are to strengthen drug law enforcement capacity by 
establishing six interdiction task force units at the 
provincial level, then move towards reducing the 
availability of illicit drugs in domestic and overseas 
markets, Colonel Vuong said.  The project sites will be in 
"hotspot" border provinces -- Lang Son, Lao Cai, Son La, 
Thanh Hoa, Long An, and An Giang, Colonel Vuong confirmed. 
 
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ESTABLISHMENT OF TASK FORCE UNITS 
--------------------------------- 
 
4.  (U)  According to Colonel Vuong, the implementing 
agencies include: the MPS' C-17; the Anti-smuggling 
Department of the  General Department of Customs; and the 
Surveillance Department of the Vietnam Border Army.  Each 
task force unit has ten officers, who started work on June 
1, the Colonel said.  Out of that number, six will be from 
the police, two from Customs, and two from the Border Army. 
The police, however, will take the lead in running the 
program and will keep these units working after the project 
ends, Colonel Vuong promised.  Colonel Vuong said separately 
that Vietnam and UNODC chose these six provinces because 
they are areas where drug trafficking has escalated and 
where there is a high flow of ATS trafficked across the 
border. 
 
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2004 CHECKLIST 
-------------- 
 
5.  (U)  Following the establishment of the inter-agency 
task force units, there will be training for the units on 
advanced professional investigative techniques, gathering 
and sharing of intelligence, international cooperation, 
reporting measures, and testing methods, confirmed Troels 
Vester of UNODC in a June 1 meeting with emboffs.  Vehicles 
and equipment will also be provided, Colonel Vuong said at 
the launching ceremony.  In addition to the assistance for 
the task force units, UNODC will also provide equipment to 
three drug-testing laboratories in Hanoi, Da Nang, and Ho 
Chi Minh City.  During the launching ceremony, Colonel Vuong 
provided a 15-item checklist for the joint task force units' 
first year, including: 
 
--  Employment of a national technical officer and an 
administrative assistant for the national project office; 
--  Establishment of the project office and the steering 
board; 
--  Equipment needs assessment; 
--  Seminar on the establishment of six task force units, 
procedures and policy for the implementing agencies; 
--  Building of a mechanism to give instructions by C-17, 
Anti-smuggling Department, and the Surveillance Department; 
--  Setting up a reporting system for the units; 
--  Seminar on procedures/cooperation mechanism between the 
units and the drug testing laboratories; 
--  Building up contact and coordination between the units 
and the drug testing laboratories; 
--  Procurement of equipment for the units; 
--  Training on the use of equipment; 
--  Training and equipment needs assessment for the testing 
laboratories; 
--  Procurement of equipment for the laboratories; 
--  Training on the use of equipment; 
--  Setting up an information gathering system for the 
units; and, 
--  Preparation of training materials. 
 
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INTERAGENCY COOPERATION 
----------------------- 
 
6. (U) According to UNODC's Vester, the launching ceremony 
for the project was followed by a two-day internal seminar 
in which the Border Army, the General Department of Customs, 
and the Counternarcotics Police hashed out the 
jurisdictional and operational issues surrounding the new 
task force units.  Vester, the only non-GVN participant in 
the seminar, called the exchanges "frank and productive" and 
said that they resulted in a signed "cooperation plan" 
providing for a detailed implementation framework for the 
interdiction units to operate.  This includes: information 
and intelligence sharing; coordination of operations and 
designation of leadership; investigation and handling of 
specific cases; and conflict resolution. 
 
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U.S. CONTRIBUTION 
----------------- 
 
7. (U) As previewed in ref A, in addition to the USD 500,000 
that the USG has already committed to this project, UNODC 
Hanoi is anxious for a commitment of the additional USD 
236,000 to allow planning for activities beyond March 2005, 
when the current funding would run out.  Embassy also hopes 
to improve the project's quality by taking advantage of 
JIATF-WEST's stated intention to support the deployment of 
JIATF or DEA trainers to Vietnam in November 2004 and 
February 2005 to meet the Interdiction Task Force Units' 
training needs (ref B). 
 
8.  (U)  ACTION REQUEST: Please advise on the status of the 
remaining USD 236,000 identified for UNODC Hanoi project 
AD/VIE/03/G55. 
 
9.  (U) Comment:  Given Vietnam's proximity to the Golden 
Triangle and its long land border and coastline, the 
establishment of the task force units promises a more 
effective law enforcement effort, especially in border 
areas.  Currently, there are only about 50 poorly equipped 
drug law enforcement officers in the Border Army and Sea 
Police forces, who are responsible for the 8,000-kilometer 
land border and 1 million square kilometers of territorial 
waters.  Thus, the task force units represent a major 
augmentation of Vietnam's drug enforcement capacity.  The 
high-level seminar with its tangible results is an 
exceptional outcome of a U.S. assistance project, and the 
establishment of the joint task forces represents a concrete 
accomplishment beyond the usual training and exchange 
activities the U.S. has funded in the past.  Embassy 
strongly supports continued funding of this initiative. 
BURGHARDT