US embassy cable - 04COLOMBO2032

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 COLOMBO 002032 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR SA/INS, INL 
JUSTICE FOR OIA, AFMLS, AND NDDS 
TREASURY FOR FINCEN 
DEA FOR OILS AND OFFICE OF DIVERSION CONTROL 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SNAR, PGOV, PREL, CE 
SUBJECT: 2004 INTERNATIONAL NARCOTICS CONTROL STRATEGY 
REPORT (INCSR) FOR THE MALDIVES 
 
REF: SECSTATE 248987 
 
1.  Please find attached Mission's 2004 International 
Narcotics Control Strategy Report (INCSR). 
 
The Maldives 
------------ 
 
The Maldives is not a producer of narcotics or precursor 
chemicals.  Officials believe that all narcotics trafficked 
into Maldives is for local use, not for transshipment. 
 
Consisting of approximately 1,100 islands set in the Indian 
Ocean, and with a population of approximately 270,000, the 
Republic of the Maldives has a comparatively small drug 
problem.  Maldivian authorities believe, however, that the 
drug problem is at the root of most crime in the society. 
 
The Maldivian government and the U.S. maintain a good 
working relationship on counternarcotics issues. 
 
The Maldivian government is very sensitive to the illicit 
drug issue and is taking steps to address the problem.  The 
government conducted a Rapid Situation Assessment, published 
in 2004, of drug abuse in Maldives during 2003.  The study 
was possible due to changes to the narcotics law in 2002 
which enabled officials to speak with drug abusers without 
being required to report them.  In line with government 
officials' assumptions, the study found that the majority of 
drug abusers are in the 18-35 year old category.  Officials 
also estimate that five to ten percent of the population 
abuses drugs.  The late-teen onset of drug abuse coincides 
with completion of secondary education and the lack of 
sufficient employment opportunities for the growing 
population of young adults.  Drug abuse has shifted from 
cannabis to "brown sugar" heroin in recent years. 
 
In September 2004, the Police Department split from the 
National Security Service and is responsible for narcotics 
law enforcement.  The Department now has a Narcotics Control 
Unit staffed by approximately one dozen officers.  With its 
newly defined responsibilities, the Police Department plans 
to increase efforts to apprehending drug traffickers and 
users.  Officials state that the large number of foreign 
workers, mainly South Asians, is one source of drug 
trafficking.  Police estimate that between three to four 
kilograms of heroin are trafficked into Maldives annually. 
Given the relatively small scale of the abuse problem, only 
small quantities are generally trafficked, which are more 
difficult to detect.  There is no evidence at this time 
suggesting that the Maldives is a transshipment point for 
narcotics.  As the country has a large amount of commerce 
and traffic via the sea, officials believe, however, that 
most drugs enter the country via small commercial vessels. 
Police plan to engage vessel operators in deterrence 
efforts. 
 
The U.S. has assisted the Maldives in counternarcotics 
activities, including via direct training and through the 
Colombo Plan.  In 2004, the Colombo Plan conducted U.S.- 
funded regional narcotics officer training in the Maldives. 
Previous U.S. government funding to the Maldivian government 
in 1993 created a computerized immigration record-keeping 
system, in part to track the movements of alleged drug 
traffickers.  This was followed by additional U.S. funding 
in 1996 to enhance the system. 
 
In November 1997, the Maldivian government established a 
Narcotics Control Board under the Executive Office of the 
President, now renamed the National Narcotics Control Bureau 
(NNCB).  The NNCB principally oversees rehabilitation of 
addicts and conducts awareness campaigns throughout the 
islands.  At present, Maldives only has a 150-bed treatment 
center, on both a voluntary and involuntary basis.  To 
address the chronic shortage of space, the government is 
building an additional 200-bed treatment center, which will 
only be available to those convicted of a drug offense. 
Officials expect the center to open in January 2005.  The 
NNCB has also begun employing expatriate healthcare 
professionals, such as child psychologists, to work with 
population in the treatment centers. 
 
The Republic of the Maldives has no extradition treaty with 
the United States.  In 1994, however, the Maldives 
cooperated with the U.S. in rendering a Nigerian national to 
the United States to face narcotics trafficking charges. 
The Maldivian government is a party to the 1988 UN Drug 
Convention. 
 
LUNSTEAD