US embassy cable - 05HARARE172

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 HARARE 000172 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR AF/S 
 
JUSCTICE FOR OIA, AFMLS, NDDS 
TREASURY FOR FINCEN 
DEA FOR OILS AND OFFICE OF DIVERSION CONTROL 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SNAR, Other Mandatory Reports 
SUBJECT: ZIMBABWE: 2005 INTERNATIONAL NARCOTICS CONTROL 
STRATEGY REPORT (INSCR), DRUGS AND CHEMICAL CONTROL 
DIVERSION 
 
REF: STATE: 248987 
 
I. Summary 
 
1.  Zimbabwe is not a major producer, supplier, or exporter 
of drugs or precursor chemicals.  Cannabis remains the 
biggest drug problem in Zimbabwe.  The majority (80 percent) 
is imported, largely from Mozambique, Malawi, and Zambia. 
The remaining 20 percent is raised domestically.  Cocaine 
remains the second most popular illicit drug in Zimbabwe. 
For many of the drugs being tracked (cannabis, cocaine and 
heroin), Zimbabwe is a transshipment point en route to other 
countries. 
 
2.  Although Zimbabwe is a party to the 1988 UN Drug 
Convention and ratified the Southern African Development 
Community (SADC) Drug Control Protocol, a unified government 
program of prevention and enforcement remains underfunded and 
largely inactive. 
 
 
II. Status of country 
 
3.  Production, cultivation, and trafficking in illicit drugs 
in Zimbabwe are limited, as is the production of precursor 
chemicals.  A "traditional" drug in Zimbabwean culture, 
cannabis is cultivated in the rural areas on a small scale 
for local use.  It remains the drug most widely abused in 
Zimbabwe.  The majority of cannabis (80 percent) used 
domestically is imported from Mozambique, Malawi, and Zambia. 
 However, most of the cannabis imported into Zimbabwe 
transits the country  to Botswana and South Africa, which 
serve as regional springboards for shipments to Europe. 
Cocaine is now the second most popular drug in Zimbabwe, 
overtaking Ecstasy.  Cocaine in Zimbabwe originates 
predominantly from Brazil and other Latin American countries. 
 Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) report that Zimbabwe is also 
a transit point for &the bulk8 of the cocaine that enters 
Zimbabwe,s borders, primarily due to the country,s central 
location in southern Africa. 
 
4.  Ecstasy, the third most widely used narcotic, is 
predominantly consumed in the urban rave/night club party 
scene and is imported from the Netherlands, Britain, and 
South Africa.  Hashish, heroin, and LSD have also been noted 
in very limited quantities in larger urban areas such as 
Harare, Bulawayo, and Gweru.  Unaffordable to the mainstream 
population, these drugs are generally limited to affluent 
suburban youths.  Due to its location along established 
routes, Zimbabwe has also been identified as a transshipment 
point for mandrax (methaqualone), a synthetic drug produced 
in India and Pakistan for distribution primarily in South 
Africa. 
 
5.  Law enforcement authorities are not presently engaged in 
large-scale programs to combat drug use, 
production, or transshipment and view the narcotics problem 
as minor in comparison with other law enforcement challenges 
that they routinely face. 
 
 
III. Country actions against drugs in 2004 
 
Policy initiatives 
 
6.  While a five-year Zimbabwe Drug Control Master Plan was 
formulated in 2000, it has yet to be fully implemented by the 
Government of Zimbabwe (GOZ). 
 
Law Enforcement Efforts/Accomplishments 
 
7.  The GOZ's counternarcotics efforts are hampered by 
political turmoil and deteriorating economic and social 
conditions.  That said, Zimbabwe's overall problems with 
illicit drugs are relatively small, certainly in comparison 
with many neighboring countries and traffickers and consumers 
 are routinely prosecuted in the courts.  Police officials 
report, however, that in their view judges often do not 
impose sufficient punishment for narcotics-related 
convictions. 
 
8.  The following sets out GOZ counternarcotics arrests in 
2003, the most recent year for which statistics are available. 
 
Drug Type         Cannabis Herbal         Cannabis Plants 
Ecstasy 
Quantity Seized   462,036 KG              154 plants 
15 tablets 
 
Value (1)         $92 407 200             - 
$750 000 
 
Arrested  Zimbabweans  1072                     26 
4 
 
Others Arrested      4 
 
Medicinal Drugs 
 
Drug Type         Cotrimoxazole 
 
Quantity Seized   11 000 Tablets 
 
Value (1)         $22 000 
 
Arrested  Zimbabweans   1 
 
(1) z$5800 = US$1 as of 12/31/2003 
 
Corruption 
 
9.  There are no known indicators to demonstrate or suggest 
that government officials are engaged in or encourage illicit 
drug production or distribution.  Narco-money laundering does 
not appear to be a problem. 
 
Agreements and Treaties 
 
10.  Zimbabwe is a party to the 1988 UN Drug Convention, as 
well as the SADC Drug Control Protocol.  Zimbabwe has signed, 
but not yet ratified, the UN Convention against Transnational 
Organized Crime. 
 
Drug Flow/Transit 
 
11.  In part because of its central location in the region, 
Zimbabwe is a transit point for most illicit drugs brought 
into the country.  Most marijuana in Zimbabwe originates 
principally from Mozambique, Malawi and Zambia, and is 
re-exported to South Africa, Botswana and Europe.  Cocaine 
imported into Zimbabwe originates from Brazil and other 
sources in Latin America.  Heroin and mandrax entering the 
country generally originates in India or Pakistan, often for 
re-export to South Africa. 
 
Domestic Programs 
 
12.  Public education campaigns and official GOZ rhetoric 
discourage activities involving illicit narcotics.  The GOZ 
maintains programs for the treatment of narcotics abusers but 
the quality of such programs has declined in recent years due 
to increasingly severe budget constraints precipitated by the 
nation's economic crisis. 
 
IV. U.S. Policy Initiatives and Programs 
 
13.  The U.S. Government neither conducted nor proposed any 
counternarcotics policy initiatives in 
Zimbabwe during the past year. 
 
The Road Ahead 
 
14.  Internal political difficulties dominate events in 
Zimbabwe and have isolated the country.  Involvement in 
international cooperation against narcotics trafficking 
awaits resolution of Zimbabwe's political difficulties and 
re-integration into the region. 
 
 
 
DELL