US embassy cable - 05ANKARA7239

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 007239 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR INL, EUR/SE 
JUSTICE FOR OIA, AFMLS, AND NDDS 
TREASURY FOR FINCEN 
DEA FOR OILS AND OFFICE OF DIVERSION CONTROL 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SNAR, TU 
SUBJECT: TURKEY 2005-2006 INTERNATIONAL NARCOTICS 
CONTROL STRATEGY REPORT, VOLUME I 
 
REF: STATE 209561 
 
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Summary 
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1. (U) Turkey is a major transit route for Southwest 
Asian opiates to Europe, and serves as a base for major 
narcotics traffickers and brokers. Turkish law 
enforcement organizations focus their efforts on 
stemming the traffic of drugs and intercepting 
precursor chemicals. Turkish law enforcement forces 
cooperate closely with European and U.S. agencies. 
While most of the heroin trafficked via Turkey is 
marketed in Western Europe, an increasing amount of 
heroin and opium also is smuggled from Turkey to the 
U.S. There is no appreciable cultivation of illicit 
narcotics in Turkey other than marijuana grown 
primarily for domestic consumption. There is no 
diversion from Turkey's licit opium poppy cultivation 
and pharmaceutical morphine production program. Turkey 
is a party to the 1988 UN Drug Convention. 
 
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Status of Country 
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2. (U) Turkey is a major transshipment point. Turkey is 
also a base of operations for international narcotics 
traffickers and associates trafficking in opium, 
morphine base, heroin, precursor chemicals and other 
drugs. The majority of these opiates originate in 
Afghanistan, and are ultimately trafficked to Western 
Europe. A smaller but still not insignificant amount of 
heroin is trafficked to the U.S. via Turkey. Turkish 
law enforcement forces are strongly committed to 
disrupting narcotics trafficking. The Turkish National 
Police (TNP) remains Turkey's most sophisticated 
counternarcotics force, with the Jandarma and Customs 
continuing to play a significant role. Turkish 
authorities continue to seize large amounts of heroin 
and precursor chemicals, such as acetic anhydride. It 
is estimated that multi-ton amounts of heroin are 
smuggled through Turkey each month.  A small amount of 
heroin is still being refined in Turkey. 
3. (U) Turkey is one of the two traditional licit opium- 
growing countries recognized by the USG and the 
International Narcotics Control Board. Opium for 
pharmaceutical is cultivated and refined in Turkey 
under strict domestic controls, and in accordance with 
all international treaty obligations. There is no 
appreciable illicit drug cultivation in Turkey other 
than cannabis grown primarily for domestic consumption. 
4. (U) Turkish law enforcement authorities continue to 
seize large quantities of synthetic drugs that have 
been manufactured in Northern and Eastern European 
countries. The majority of the synthetic drug seizures 
have occurred as the drugs were being shipped through 
Turkey to other countries in the Middle East. 
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Country Actions Against Drugs in 2005 
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5. (U) Policy Initiatives: The GOT devotes significant 
financial and human resources to counternarcotics 
activities. Turkey continues to play a key role in 
Operation Containment (a DEA regional program to reduce 
the flow of Afghan heroin to Western Europe) as well as 
in other regional efforts. 
6. (U) The Turkish International Academy against Drugs 
and Organized Crime (TADOC), established under the 
Turkish National Police (TNP), continues to be a key 
agency leading the fight against drug abuse in Turkey. 
In 2004, TNP increased the number of drug training and 
prevention units it previously established in various 
provinces, to cover most parts of Turkey. These units 
conducted intensive training programs for parents, 
teachers and students in these provinces, making a 
major contribution to the GOT's drug prevention 
efforts. 
7. (U) Accomplishments: TADOC organized 44 training 
programs for local and regional law enforcement 
officers in 2005.  A total of 287 foreign officers were 
trained at TADOC this year, including officers from the 
Balkans, Central Asia, Syria, and Afghanistan. The 
training programs focused on drug trafficking, 
corruption, counterfeiting, illegal immigration, money 
laundering, and demand reduction.  TADOC also hosted an 
FBI training program on criminal interrogation 
techniques for 35 law enforcement officers from the 
region.  A 2004 UN drug survey indicated that while 
there was no major increase in drug abuse in Turkey in 
the last couple of years, the use of synthetic drugs is 
on the rise.  TNP conducted distance training programs 
in nine large cities in 2005.  TADOC believes that 
these seminars, along with the rural TNP units' 
training and prevention efforts, made a significant 
contribution in limiting the increase of drug abuse in 
Turkey. 
8. (U) Law Enforcement Efforts: Through 05 December 
2005, Turkish law enforcement agencies seized 7760 
kilograms of heroin, 409 kilograms of morphine base, 
7.6 million dosage units of synthetic drugs, 10,671 
kilograms of hashish and 25 kilograms of cocaine. In 
addition, the GOT law enforcement authorities have made 
more than 12,749 drug-related arrests.  (The Jandarma 
and Customs have only reported statistics through 
October 2005.) 
9. (U) Corruption:  In December 2005, the General 
Assembly's Foreign Affairs Committee adopted a draft 
law ratifying the UN Convention Against Corruption. 
Transparency International noted that Turkey improved 
its fight against corruption this year, moving from 
77th to 65th in the transparency ranking of 159 
countries. A World Bank business survey prepared this 
year also suggested a drop in corruption in Turkey 
between 2002 and 2005.  There is still no government 
agency specifically tasked with the fight against 
corruption. 
10. (U) Agreements and Treaties: Turkey is a party to 
the 1988 UN Drug Convention, the 1971 UN Convention on 
Psychotropic Substances, and the 1961 UN Single 
Convention, as amended by the 1972 Protocol. Turkey 
also is a party to the UN Convention Against 
Transnational Organized Crime and its three protocols. 
The U.S. and Turkey cooperate in law enforcement 
matters under a 1981 treaty on extradition and mutual 
assistance in legal matters. 
11. (U) Cultivation/Production: Illicit drug 
cultivation, primarily cannabis, is minor and has no 
impact on the United States. The Turkish Grain Board 
strictly controls licit opium poppy cultivation quite 
successfully, with no apparent diversion into the 
illicit market. 
12. (U) Drug Flow/Transit: Turkey remains a major 
route, and storage, production and staging area, for 
the flow of heroin to Europe. Turkish-based traffickers 
and brokers operate in conjunction with narcotics 
smugglers, laboratory operators, and money launderers 
in and outside Turkey. They finance and control the 
smuggling of opiates to and from Turkey. Afghanistan is 
the source of most of the opiates reaching Turkey. 
Morphine and heroin base are smuggled overland from 
Afghanistan and Pakistan via Iran. Opiates and hashish 
also are smuggled to Turkey overland from Afghanistan 
via Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, and Georgia. Traffickers 
in Turkey illegally acquire the heroin precursor 
chemical, acetic anhydride, from sources in Western 
Europe, the Balkans and Russia. For fiscal year 2004, 
2304 liters of acetic anhydride was seized in, or 
destined for, Turkey. Some of them reportedly have 
interests in heroin laboratories operating near the 
Iranian-Turkish border in Iran. Turkish-based 
traffickers control much of the heroin marketed to 
Western Europe. 
13. (U) In 2005, Turkish authorities reported an 
increase in synthetic drug seizures throughout Turkey. 
Although Turkish law enforcement has not seen a large 
increase in synthetic drug manufacturing in Turkey, 
Turkish National Police did report one synthetic drug 
laboratory seizure in Usak, Turkey in December 2004. 
For calendar year 2005, a total of 7.5 million dosage 
units of synthetic drugs, predominantly captagon and 
Ecstasy, were seized in Turkey. 
14. (U) Demand Reduction: While drug abuse remains low 
in Turkey compared to other countries, the number of 
addicts reportedly is increasing. Although the Turkish 
Government is increasingly aware of the need to combat 
drug abuse, the agencies responsible for drug awareness 
and treatment remain under-funded. As of 2005, seven 
Alcohol and Substance Abuse Treatment and Education 
Clinics (AMATEM) have been established, which serve as 
regional drug treatment centers. Due to lack of funds, 
only one of the centers focuses on drug prevention as 
well as treatment. The most recent clinic was opened in 
Ankara in 2004 and will serve as the countrywide 
coordinating center for drug and alcohol treatment and 
education. TADOC's Monitoring Center for Drugs and Drug 
Addiction is increasing its ability to coordinate the 
drug prevention effort at a national level.  In this 
effort, TADOC hired new personnel in 2005 to support 
its data gathering, evaluation, and demand reduction 
activities.  The Health Ministry has not conducted a 
drug abuse survey since 1995 due to lack of resources. 
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U.S. Policy Initiatives and Programs 
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15. (U) Policy Initiatives and Programs: Through fiscal 
year 1999, the U.S. Government extended $500,000 
annually in assistance. While that program has now 
terminated, during 2005-06 the U.S. Government 
anticipates spending approximately $60,000 in 
previously-obligated funds on counternarcotics 
programs. 
16. (U) Bilateral Cooperation: DEA reports excellent 
cooperation with Turkish officials. Turkish 
counternarcotics forces have developed technically, 
becoming increasingly professional, in part based on 
the training and equipment they received from the U.S. 
and other international law enforcement agencies. 
17. (U) Road Ahead: U.S. policy remains to strengthen 
Turkey's ability to combat narcotics trafficking, money 
laundering and financial crimes. 
 
WILSON