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Customs and Drugs 2003 WORLD CUSTOMS ORGANIZATION

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Customs and Drugs 2003WORLD CUSTOMS ORGANIZATIONThe interdiction of illicit narcotics remains one of the key areas for Customs administrations worldwide. The World Customs Organization and its Member administrations still regard the fight against the illicit trafficking of drugs to be one of their foremost priorities.

TRANSCRIPT

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Customs and Drugs2003

WORLD CUSTOMS ORGANIZATION

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ContentFOREWORD 2

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 2003 4

THE WCO, CEN TEAM AND THE RILO NETWORK 6

INTRODUCTION 10

GLOBAL OVERVIEW OF MAJOR DRUG TYPES 11

REGIONAL OVERVIEWS - EUROPE 16

REGIONAL OVERVIEWS - ASIA/PACIFIC 28

REGIONAL OVERVIEWS - THE AMERICAS 31

REGIONAL OVERVIEWS - AFRICA 36

REGIONAL OVERVIEWS - MIDDLE EAST 38

SPECIAL ITEMS 40RISK MANAGEMENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

AFRICAN SEAPORTS PROJECT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

PRECURSOR CHEMICALS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

UNODC'S "PARIS PACT". . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

DRUGS IN AFRICAN MAIL. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

LARGE COCAINE SHIPMENTS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

HEROIN IN WALNUTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

METHOD OF CIRCUMVENTING EMIT TEST . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

COCAINE CONCEALED ON BOARD AIRCRAFT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

COCAINE IN NATURAL GRANITE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

STATISTICAL APPENDIXES 48

WCO RILO NETWORK 55

WCO MISSION STATEMENT 56

WCO VISION STATEMENT 56

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 56

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It is my very great pleasure to introduce the

la tes t ed i t ion of the World Customs

Organization’s “Customs and Drugs” Report

for the year 2003.

The interdiction of illicit narcotics remains

one of the key areas for Customs adminis-

trations worldwide. The World Customs

Organization and its Member administra-

tions still regard the fight against the illicit

trafficking of drugs to be one of their fore-

most priorities.

This Report contains many facts and figures.

While most of them show that the problem

of drug trafficking is increasing, these statis-

tics tell only half the story. There is also the

personal contribution of individual Customs

officers, which leads to the seizures of drugs

at international frontiers, often in very diffi-

cult circumstances. Every success in the fight

against trafficking in illicit drugs is due to

the professionalism of those officers. I

would like to offer all these officers my sin-

cere thanks for their excellent work and

great dedication.

2003 was a record year for Customs seizures

of cocaine. The number of cocaine detec-

tions rose significantly. The volume seized

peaked at 64 tonnes, representing a 35% in-

crease over the previous year. This increase

was reflected throughout all regions as re-

po r t ed by ou r ne twork o f Reg iona l

Intelligence Liaison Offices (RILOs). The

amount seized in the Western European re-

gion indicates that this region continues to

be one of the largest markets in the world.

Almost 87% of the cocaine was seized in

Western Europe.

The situation in Afghanistan has changed

significantly over the last few years. Opium

production almost vanished in 2001, due to

the Taliban ban on opium poppy cultiva-

tion. In the meantime opium poppy cultiva-

tion has resumed. Afghanistan was again the

world’s largest supplier of opium in the year

2003. Studies of the European seizures indi-

cate that the traditional “Northern Balkan

Route” overland via Turkey, Bulgaria,

Romania, Hungary and Austria is playing a

more dominant role than it did in 2002. The

“Southern Balkan Route” to Italy via Greece,

Albania or FYR Macedonia decreased in im-

portance. Seizure reports from the Russian

Federation indicate that the “Silk Road

Route” is playing an increasing role.

The volume of amphetamines seized rose by

45% to 4.8 tonnes compared to 2002. The

main market is to be found in the Middle

East, where the majority of seizures were re-

ported by Saudi Arabia. Turkey and Syria

were reported as the main destination coun-

t r i e s f o r B u l g a r i a n a m p h e t a m i n e s .

Foreword

Foreword

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According to reports f rom Bulgar ian

Customs Bulgaria has become a production

country over the past few years. In Western

Europe, where the United Kingdom and to a

lesser extent Scandinavia, appear to be the

main markets, the Netherlands remains the

main source of amphetamines seized.

Concealments of amphetamine in freight

were more significant than in 2002.

Those readers conducting research into

drug trafficking will find detailed analyses

for each WCO region outlining various

methods, means of transport and trends

which have been identified. I believe that

this approach will greatly assist Customs ad-

ministrations and other professionals in

their daily work.

The interdiction of illicit drugs cannot be

achieved in isolation. Governments are in-

creasingly calling for joint efforts on the part

of all law enforcement agencies. Close co-

operation and the exchange of information

with other international organizations is

being continuously developed. In this re-

gard, we highly value our partnership with

t h e I n t e r n a t i o n a l C r i m i n a l P o l i c e

Organization (INTERPOL), the International

Narcotics Control Board (INCB) and the

United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime

(UNODC) and other international bodies in

the fight against illicit trafficking in drugs

and precursor chemicals.

I would like to extend my sincere thanks to

Member administrations for their contribu-

tions and assistance in preparing this annual

Report, and I strongly encourage everybody

involved to make even greater efforts to re-

port all drug interceptions, trends and

methods in respect of trafficking in illicit

drugs to the World Customs Organization,

by using the WCO Customs Enforcement

Network (CEN) database. These increasedefforts will help us to improve our overallunderstanding of the illicit drug problemand, more specifically, to adjust and refinethe enforcement strategies that are so impor-tant in tackling drug trafficking.

Yours sincerely,

Michel DanetSecretary General

World Customs Organization

Foreword

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Member States in 91 different countries provided data. More than 11,000 seizureswere reported by Customs or joint Customs & Police Units. We received almost 700cases from the Canadian Customs this year.

Afghanistan remains the largest source ofopium in the world. The use of the tradi-tional “Northern Balkan Route” increased inimportance, while that of the “SouthernBalkan Route” decreased. Heroin seized inthe Russian Federation mainly arrives fromKazakhstan via the Si lk Road Route.Unfortunately, no seizures were reported byTurkmenistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan,Kazakhstan or Uzbekistan. This situationmay even more heavily underline the in-creased use of the Silk Road Route.

Opium being trafficked from Iran to Kuwaitwas detected in air traffic, and all cases referto couriers who had swallowed drugs,while Iranian opium detected in the UnitedArab Emirates was detected in the of-fenders’ clothing.

The quantity of cocaine seized rose to 64tonnes worldwide, while the quantity seized

in Western Europe is the highest quantityever. It is interesting to note that cocaineshipments departing Haiti are solely de-tected in Canada, and Guyana plays an in-creasing role as a transshipment country forthe Canadian market.

Spain seized 31 out of the 64 tonnes seizedworldwide. Secondary distribution of co-caine is taking place from Spain and, to alesser extent, the Netherlands.

Morocco remains the main source countryfor cannabis resin, especial ly for theWestern European market. The quantity ofcannabis resin seized was the highest forthree years, and the highest ever reported inWestern Europe. The drug is transportedfrom Morocco to Spain in freight vehicles orin cars by ferry, or by small boats. The drugis then transported overland to France, theUnited Kingdom, the Netherlands and toother European countries.

The volume of herbal cannabis is the lowestreported in the last three years and comes toa total of 74 tonnes. African countries used

Executive Summary 2003

Executive Summary 2003

� Crystal methamphetamine – also called« shabu » or « Ice »

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to be main source countries for herbalcannabis in the mid-1990s, and especiallylarge quantities were leaving South Africa.This has changed over the last few years,and South Africa was reported as the sourcecountry for only 1 tonne in 2003 comparedto 18 and 13 tonnes in 2001 and 2002 re-spectively.

Jamaica is the source country for the UnitedKingdom, while Morocco and Albania arethe source countries for continental Europe.

A 45% rise in amphetamine seized tookplace in 2003 in comparison with 2002.The main market is to be found in theMiddle East, namely Saudi Arabia. WesternEurope, and especially the United Kingdom,is another large market. Bulgaria has be-come a production country for ampheta-mine during the last few years, and thequantities reported by Eastern and CentralEurope rose significantly from 31 kg in2002 to 319 kg in 2003.

The reported volume of MDMA rose to itshighest level ever due to the seizures reported

from Canada, where the quantity seized rosefrom almost 1.9 to 5.6 million tablets. Themain source country is the Netherlands, whileGermany and Belgium are increasing in im-portance. It is interesting to note that thenumber of MDMA seizures made in the mar-itime sector rose from six to ten cases. OnlyCanada and Australia reported seizures above100 kg t r anspor t ed by ve s s e l s . TheNetherlands and Belgium can be seen as themain centre for global ecstasy production.

Illicit production of methamphetamine ismainly taking place in China and Myanmar,but more recently also in the Philippines.The volume of methamphetamine seizeddecreased slightly to 732 kg worldwide. TheAsia/Pacific region accounts for 98% of thequantities seized, which were seized mainlyin Japan, Australia and Myanmar. Less thanone kilogram was seized in Eastern andCentral Europe and in Canada, while eightkilos were seized in Western Europe. In par-ticular, Italy reported nine cases of four kilo-grams, and all seizures were of the typecrystal methamphetamine or so-called“shabu” or “ice”.

Khat is mainly produced in Eastern Africaand legally transshipped to the Netherlandsand the United Kingdom, from where sec-ondary distribution takes place and wherekhat is a legal substance. Khat is then trans-ported mainly to Canada, Germany and tothe Nordic States, either by air or overlandv i a G e r m a n y t o D e n m a r k a n d t h eScandinavian countries.

The Norwegian Customs reported a newtrend, namely dried khat. The active cathinis kept intact during the drying process,making the khat possibly five times strongerthan fresh khat. After being harvested, khatrapidly loses its freshness and has to bemoved to its users within 48 hours. Thisnew trend might show a change in traf-ficking patterns in 2004.

Executive Summary 2003

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03 The WCO, CEN Team and the RILO Network

The WCO, CEN Team and the RILO Network

To ensure the implementation of the WCO Global Information and IntelligenceStrategy and consistency of the Global RILO Network, the RILOs operate ac-cording to common guidelines specifying the role of the WCO Secretariat, theRILOs and National Contact Points (NCPs). Further information can be obtainedin the WCO document EC0134E2.

a. Role of the Secretariat

The WCO Secretariat, as the responsiblefocal co-ordination point for the RILO net-work, monitors the consistency of RILO ac-tivities with the “Recommendation of theCustoms Co-operation Council on theOperat ion of the Global Network ofRegional Intel l igence Liaison Offices(RILOs)” as adopted by the Council andthese guidelines. The Secretariat shall:

1. Ensure the central management of theCustoms Enforcement Network (CEN)by using, operating and maintaining thesystem as the global Information andIntelligence tool for the RILO network.

2. Ensure that the CEN is further im-proved taking into account new devel-opments and requirements.

3. Use, administer and monitor the infor-mation being kept within the CEN on aglobal level.

4. Carry out periodical global strategic andtactical analyses based on the informa-tion in the CEN.

5. Keep RILOs informed about projects,measures and developments relevant fortheir region.

6. Organize a global RILO meeting on aregular basis.

7. Outsource special tasks to RILOs inorder to receive their assistance in car-rying out matters of priority identifiedby the Secretariat or WCO bodies.

8. Task RILOs to represent the Secretariat,where appropriate.

9. Provide training and technical assistanceto the RILOs and their Members withinthe limits of financial and human re-sources.

10 Co-operate with other international lawenforcement agencies on a strategic level.

� Iranian Customs seized 6.4 kg of opiumin a parcel destined for the UnitedKingdom. The opium was concealedinside the 12 flower vases.

(Photos courtesy of Iranian Customs)

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b. Tasks of the RILOs

The RILOs, as the responsible regional focalpoint for the RILO network, monitor theconsistency of their Members activitieswi th in the ru les o f the WCO Globa lInformation and Intelligence Strategy, thisRILO Recommendation and these guide-lines. By using information provided to them,they should:

1. A r r a n g e f o r t h e n o m i n a t i o n s o fNational Contact Points (NCPs) withintheir region.

2. Organize and send invitations to annualNCP meetings.

3. Provide technical and other assistance toNCPs.

4. Check that regional seizure informationis being entered into the CEN on a reg-ular and timely basis.

5. Validate regional seizure informationbeing entered into the CEN.

6. Produce regional tactical analyses tosupport Customs law enforcement au-thorities.

7. Collect, evaluate and disseminate infor-mation on Customs offences through theCEN.

8. Produce a periodic intelligence bulletincontaining : • Seizures of global and regional

relevance; • Regional trend analyses; • Regional analytical reports.

9. Provide the Secretariat with an annualreport on their activities.

10. Produce and disseminate intelligencealerts and intelligence profiles.

11. Design and implement target-orientedintelligence analysis projects.

12. Design and support regional intelli-gence-led operations.

13. Facilitate mutual administrative as-sistance.

The WCO, CEN Team and the RILO Network

14. Promote and maintain regional co-oper-ation with other law enforcement agen-cies and organizations, in accordancewith any rules or provisions being estab-lished by the Enforcement Committee orthe Council.

15. Assist Customs administrations withtheir analyses in specific cases, and facil-itate the exchange of case-related opera-tional information in accordance withrelevant legal provisions and in agree-ment with the responsible national or re-gional authorities.

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Chile

St. Lucia

WCO CEN Team BelgiumRILO Eastern and Central Europe PolandRILO Western Europe GermanyRILO CIS countries Russian FederationRILO Asia and the Pacific ChinaRILO South America ChileRILO North Africa MoroccoRILO West Africa SenegalRILO Central Africa CameroonRILO East and Southern Africa KenyaRILO Middle East Saudi ArabiaCCLEC Caribbean St. Lucia

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c. Tasks of the National ContactPoint (NCP)

In order to secure the information exchange ata regional level and the quality of the informa-tion captured within CEN, the NCPs should:

1. Collect seizure data, including all re-quired details relating to Customs of-fences, from all possible sources atnational level.

2. Enter seizure data electronically into theCEN, or submit the data to the RILO byfax or mail.

3. Obtain photographs of significantseizures or of new/interesting conceal-ment methods for incorporation intothe CEN concealment database and forthe production of alerts.

4. Analyse national seizure information toidentify new or unusual smugglingmethods, consistent patterns, smugglingtrends and other information of interest,and enter results into the CEN or for-ward this information to the RILO.

5. Obtain national alerts and forward themto the RILO for regional dissemination.

6. Distribute at national level intelligencereports, alerts and other relevant publi-cations received from the WCO andRILOs.

7. Initiate and participate in special re-gional projects conducted by RILOs toidentify new transborder smugglingthreats and trends.

8. Promote and maintain national co-oper-ation with other law enforcement agen-cies or organizations.

9. Task the RILO with specific analyticalstudies and participate in the process ofevaluating effectiveness.

The WCO, CEN Team and the RILO Network

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Kenya

Senegal

Saudi Arabia

Belgium

Russian Federation

China

Poland

Germany

Cameroun

Morocco

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The Annual “Customs and Drugs” Report is prepared by the World CustomsOrganization (WCO) and is intended for the use of WCO Members and other lawenforcement agencies. This year’s Report again considers the analysis of seizureson a regional basis and includes a brief global overview on each of the main drugcategories in order to provide information on the current production and traffickingtrends not identified by regional analysis.

The seizure data have been compiled fromthe WCO Customs Enforcement Network(CEN) database, which has been operationalsince July 2000. Today, 137 countries, in-volving more than 1,000 users, have accessto CEN. More than 70,000 cases of Customsfraud have been entered by Member Statesor by their respective RILO. WCO MemberStates and the RILOs have contributed tothis Report by entering cases and by vali-dating seizure data.

All figures and conclusions have been com-piled from the CEN as reported by 19 March2004. Data which have been provided laterthan this date will have arrived too late to beincluded in this Report. We are aware thatthere are significant gaps in the informationavailable.

This Report includes only seizures made byCustoms, joint Customs & Police Units orby other law enforcement agencies havingCustoms powers. As the reporting limits arenot the same in all regions, the highestcommon limits have been used, enablingcomparisons to be made. The limits areshown in the table below.

To permit compar i sons between theseizures, we have converted all amounts oftablets into kilograms by using the conver-sion rate of one tablet to one third of a gram.Seizures reported in ampoule, capsule, unit,etc. are considered as being reported intablet form and are therefore also convertedinto kilograms using the conversion ratementioned above.

This Report and the analysis and trends thatemerge from it are only as credible as the in-formation from which it has been drawn. Itis stressed that considerable care is neededwhen drawing conclusions from the statis-tics in the drugs field. For example, a suc-cessful drug enforcement operation whichresults in the dismantling of a major traf-ficking syndicate may not necessarily resultin a significant seizure of drugs, although itsimpact may be important in terms of dis-rupting critical supply lines.

Exceptionally large seizures might boost theanalysis, and therefore the statistical appen-dices give an overview of the largest seizuresmade in the main drug categories.

Introduction

Introduction

Drug type Minimum limits

Cocaine 100 gramsOpiates 100 gramsCannabis 1 kgKhat 10 kgPsychotropicsubstances 50 grams

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This section gives an overview of theworldwide situation in respect of themain drug categories. More specificdetail regarding regional seizure statis-tics, patterns and trends can be foundin the regional breakdowns in later sec-tions of this Report. A breakdown of thenumber and quantity seized can befound in the “Statistical Appendices”section of this Report.

As has already been stated in the introduc-tion, the analysis has been carried out bytaking into consideration the common min-imum limits in the regions, and only seizuresrelated to Customs or joint Customs/Policeseizures have been analysed. A total of11,027 cases were analysed and comparedwith figures from 2002.

Opiates

United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime(UNODC) report in their “Global IllicitDrug Trends 2003” that Afghanistan is againthe world’s largest supplier of opium.Opium production in Afghanistan almost

disappeared in 2001 because the Talibanregime imposed a total and highly effectiveban on it. Whereas it was believed that pro-duction would switch to Afghanistan’sneighbouring countries, this did not turnout to be the case. A decrease in productionin Myanmar is estimated to have continued.Little production is taking place in Lao PDR,Colombia, Mexico or Pakistan.

The total quantity of opium produced illic-itly would be sufficient to manufacture 360tonnes of heroin. Actual figures would al-most certainly be lower than these estimates.

The Asia/Pacific region reported an increaseof over 1 tonne to 2.3 tonnes of heroin in2003, and Pakistan has seized 87% of thequantities seized in this region.

Examination of the European seizures indi-cates that the traditional “Northern BalkanRoute” overland via Turkey, Bulgaria,Romania, Hungary and Austria is playing amore dominant role than it did in 2002. Theso-called “Southern Balkan Route” to Italyvia Greece, Albania or FYR Macedonia(FYROM) decreased in importance in 2003.

The African continent, especially Nigeria,was targeted by Pakistani heroin shipments,but also Ethiopia and the Côte d’Ivoire werementioned as destination countries. Most ofthe couriers en route to the African conti-nent had swallowed the heroin.

Global overview of major drug types

Global overviewof major drug types

RILO region 2002 2003

Asia and Pacific 694 781Caribbean 174 87CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States region) 341 298Eastern and Central Europe 211 168Middle East 113 118North Africa 235 204North America 2 697South America 583 568Eastern and Southern Africa 13 38West Africa 4 5Western Europe 7,332 8,063Total 9,702 11,027

Afghanistan opium production 1996-2003 (in metric tonnes)

2,248

2,804 2,693

4,565

3,276 3,4003,600

185

1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003

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Bulgaria, Venezuela, Ghana, Aruba andMexico are the main source/transshipmentcountries for the Canadian market.

Even though the number of opium seizuresrose by nine to 151 cases in 2003, the quan-tity decreased from 780 to 494 kg in 2003.Unsurprisingly, the main departure coun-tries are Iran and Pakistan, while the drug ismainly destined for Canada (81 kg) andTurkmenistan (54 kg). The destinationcountry was reported as unknown for140 kg. In 2002, only 100 grams of opiumwere intended for Turkmenistan, while thisfigure rose to 54 kg in 2003. Again, thedrugs arrived via the Silk Route.

Cocaine

UNODC states in the “Global Illicit DrugTrends 2003” that Colombia has become thesource of almost three-quarters of theworld’s illicit cocaine. A reduction in pro-duction has been seen for the second year ina row, and if this trend persists, there couldbe a major change in the dynamics of theworld cocaine supply.

Peru and Bolivia have decreased their produc-tion significantly, and Bolivia now producesless than one-tenth of the world’s cocaine.

The total quantity of cocaine seized in 2003was 64 tonnes, a rise of over 35% in com-parison with 2002. Almost 87% of the co-caine seized was made in Western Europe,followed by almost 8% in the Caribbean and3.2% in South America.

South America again remained the only sig-nificant source of cocaine. It can be seenthat the quantities departing Venezuela aredouble the amount of 2002, while the levelof Colombian cocaine remained almoststable at 6 tonnes. Unfortunately, in almost30% of the total quantity seized, the countryof origin is not known or not reported.

Countries such as Trinidad and Tobago,Cuba, Dutch Antilles, Jamaica and Grenadain the Caribbean are becoming more impor-tant as transshipment countries.

Western Europe is the main market for co-caine and more than half of the cocaineseized by weight worldwide was intended forSpain, followed by 18% for the Netherlandsand almost 7% for Belgium. The quantities

Global overview of major drug types

No. of seizures Quantity in kgDeparture 2002 2003 2002 2003 Unknown 127 149 7,459 19,854Venezuela 257 363 5,008 10,536Colombia 124 82 6,310 6,098Brazil 496 657 5,104 3,879Suriname 509 758 2,412 2,812Peru 465 406 8,099 2,541Curacao 1,369 1,324 3,211 2,386Trinidad and Tobago 32 71 174 2,051Cuba 4 8 8 1,910Spain 61 105 571 1,776

Main departure countries for cocaine shipments – 2002-2003

No. of seizures Quantity in kgMeans of transport 2002 2003 2002 2003 Vessel 96 83 23,933 42,008Air 4,163 3,842 13,982 15,323Vehicle 326 410 8,331 2,800Unknown 14 30 690 2,236Mail 521 1,054 479 1,688Rail 190 223 235 283Pedestrian 13 12 23 46Other 7 4 297 2Grand total 5,330 5,658 47,971 64,386

Number and quantity in terms of means of transportation – 2002-2003

No. of seizures Quantity in kgConcealment 2002 2003 2002 2003 In transport 266 336 17,492 34,730In luggage 2,066 2,156 10,646 9,965In freight 311 621 14,684 9,433Recovered from sea/beach 4 14 1848 4,295Other 43 56 318 2,733On the person 2,078 1,877 2,311 2,249In mail 524 545 522 549Not concealed 4 199In premises 32 32 109 188Unknown 6 17 40 45Grand total 5,330 5,658 47,971 64,386

Number and quantity in terms of means of concealment – 2002-2003

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intended for the United Kingdom also roseby 1 tonne to 3.6 tonnes in 2003.

More than 1 tonne of cocaine was intendedfor the Canadian market, and the mainsources by quantity are Haiti, Guyana,Ecuador and Saint Lucia. It is interesting tonote that only Canada reported seizures ar-riving from Haiti.

Quantities destined for Eastern and CentralEurope also more than doubled to 482 kg in2003. The same is true for the Asia/Pacificregion, where the quantity rose from 37 to78 kg in 2003. In Eastern and SouthernAfrica, the quantity quadrupled to almost100 kg and all, except for one case fromKenya, were reported by South Africa.

Ships or boats are the main means of trans-portation and increased significantly in im-portance during 2003. The use of aircraftrose in terms of quantity even though thenumber of cases decreased slightly. The av-erage quantity transported by vehicles de-creased from 25 kg to 7 kg.

Drugs were mainly concealed in the struc-ture of the means of transport. All tenseizures above 1,000 kg detected in 2003were found on board ships or boats. Eightseizures were carried out in Spain, one inBelgium and one in Martinique. Spain andthe Dutch Antilles mainly reported largerquantities which were recovered from eitherthe sea or the beach.

CannabisCannabis resin

In 2003, 355 tonnes of cannabis resin wereseized worldwide, the highest quantity inthree years. The chart shows the quantitiesseized over the years.

Morocco remains the main source countryparticularly for the Western European re-gion. The resin is transported from Moroccoto Spain in freight vehicles or in cars byferry, or by small boats. The drug is thentransported overland to France, the UnitedKingdom, the Netherlands and the otherEuropean countries. Secondary distributiontakes place from Spain, the Netherlands,France and Belgium.

UNODC states in their “Cannabis Survey2003 – Morocco” that potential cannabisresin production was estimated at 3,080metric tonnes.

The volume seized in Pakistan remainedvery high, even though the quantities fellfrom 18 to 15 tonnes in 2003. Many of theseizures in Pakistan were reported as in-ternal seizures, and no intended destinationwas given. One large seizure of 1,514 kg ofdrugs was detected in a maritime freightconsignment of paint in Kuwait, while an-other seizure of 662 kg was also made in amaritime freight consignment, the seizuretaking place in Saudi Arabia.

Herbal cannabis

The volume of herbal cannabis seizedworldwide came to a total of 74 tonnes. Thisis the lowest quantity reported in the lastthree years.

Thailand was reported as the main sourcecountry for herbal cannabis. The quantitydecreased by 5 tonnes to 11.5 tonnes in2003 compared to only 320 kg in 2001.Belgium detected 6.4 tonnes in a container,whi l e the quant i t i e s s e i zed in 2002amounted to 10 tonnes. Japan seized

Global overview of major drug types

� In September, 250 kg of cocaine wasdetected at Bologna airport.The drugs were concealed in anairfreight consignment of two largeaugers arriving from Sao Paulo/Brazilvia Frankfurt/Germany.

(Photos courtesy of Italian Guardia di Finanza)

Cannabis resin and Herbal cannabis seized in tonnes – worldwide

337

196

361

210

61

12299

74

419

292269

355

1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003

Cannabis resin

Herbal cannabis

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smaller quantities of herbal cannabis fromair passengers, while the United Kingdomseized smaller quantities sent by mail.

The quantity of herbal cannabis arrivingfrom Jamaica decreased from 11.7 to 8.6tonnes in 2003. One large seizure exceedingfour tonnes was detected in the course ofexport controls in Jamaica. The maritimefreight consignment was bound for the US,and the drugs were among a consignment ofyam. The United Kingdom remains themain dest inat ion country for herbalcannabis originating in Jamaica.

In recent years, it is possible to note an in-crease in herbal cannabis originating inMorocco. While only 557 kg were reportedin 2002, the quantity for 2003 rose to 7,413kg even though the number of detections re-mained at the same level, with six each year.

The main modus operandi is to conceal thedrug in the means of transport. This ac-counts for 28 tonnes in 2002 and 2003each. A sharp decrease is seen in thenumber of detections made in the freightarea. The quantities fell from 55 to 21tonnes, while the number of detections de-creased, involving 82 and 71 cases in 2002and 2003 respectively. The number of largeseizures in particular decreased by 6 cases to14 in 2003, while the volume fell from 63tonnes to 41 tonnes. Twelve countries re-ported seizures above 1,000 kg in 2002.Only six countries reported seizures ex-ceeding 1,000 kg in 2003.

In the mid-1990s, African countries werethe main source countries for herbalcannabis, especially large quantities leavingSouth Africa. The volume of herbal cannabisleaving the country continued to decreasefrom 18 and 13 tonnes in 2001 and 2002 toonly 1.1 tonnes in 2003. The quantitiesfound originating in Ghana rose from 400and 1,400 kg in 2000 and 2001 to 3.3 and4.1 tonnes in 2002 and 2003.

Albanian herbal cannabis continued to de-crease from 14.4 tonnes in 2000 to only 1.7tonnes in 2003, while the quantities in 2001and 2002 remained stable at 8.8 tonnes ayear. Only Greece and Italy reportedseizures involving drugs from Albania.

PsychotropicsubstancesPsychotropic substances in particular werereported in various units such as capsules,ampoules, tablets, doses, etc. These unitshave been considered as tablets and allamounts were converted into kilograms byusing the conversion rate of one unit to onethird of a gram, to permit comparisons be-tween seizures.

AmphetamineThe quantity of amphetamine rose from 3.3tonnes to almost 4.8 tonnes, a rise of 45%compared to 2002. The main market is to befound in the Middle East, where SaudiArabia reported almost all amphetamineseizures. Kuwait reported one seizure to-talling 410 tablets.

Western Europe is another market for am-phetamine. The United Kingdom, where

744 kg were seized, is reported as the mainmarket within the region. In Eastern Europe,Turkey and Bulgaria are the main countries,where 158 and 153 kg were seized. TheBulgarian Customs reports that Bulgaria hasbecome a production country for ampheta-mine during the last few years. The quanti-ties seized in Eastern and Central Europerose significantly from 31 to 319 kg in 2003.

Burkina Faso reported their annual totals ofamphetamine, and the quantity rose signifi-can t ly f rom 333 to 797 kg in 2003 .Unfortunately, no detailed information onthe seizures was provided, so trafficking pat-terns cannot be identified.

MDMA ecstasyThe volume of MDMA rose to its highestlevel ever totalling almost 4,800 kg. Thereason for the increase is that Canada re-ported in 2003 all seizures, 1,675 kg ofMDMA being reported, thus affecting theannual totals of previous years.

In Western Europe, the quantities de-creased slightly from 2,400 kg to 2,108 kgin 2003, and the number of seizures fellfrom 380 to 272.

In the Asia/Pacific region, the quantities

Global overview of major drug types

MDMA - Main departure countries 2002-2003

274 233 33 16 35 16 22 539 36 17 3Netherlands Unknown Belgium Germany France Malaysia

2002

2003

0

100

200

300

400

500

Quantity (kg)

0

No. of departures

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

1,492

459 152 1096

303

2,429

638455 400 346

176

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almost tripled from 312 kg to 912 kg in2003, even though the number of cases re-mained stable at a level of 55 cases eachyear. In 2003, the Australian Customs suc-ceeded in carrying out four seizures, each ofmore than 100 kg of MDMA. All four caseswere made in maritime freight consign-ments, twice involving vessels arriving fromBelgium, once from Malaysia and once fromthe Netherlands.

The Netherlands remains the main origincountry for MDMA, and the steep increase isdue to the reports from Canada, identifyingthe Netherlands as the source country for1,596 kg of MDMA. The quantities de-parting from the countries neighbouring theNetherlands, such as Germany and Franceincreased considerably.

It is interesting to note that the number ofMDMA cases transported by ship or boatrose from six to ten cases in 2003. OnlyCanada and Australia reported seizures ofmore than 100 kg transported by vessels in2003, mainly involving vessels leaving theNetherlands and Belgium, which appear tobe centres of global ecstasy production.

MethamphetamineThe volume of methamphetamine seizedworldwide decreased by 18 kg to 732 kg in2003, while the number of detections rosefrom 65 to 78. The Asia/Pacific region ac-counts for 98% of the quantities seized,which shows that methamphetamine is pri-mary, a big problem in this region. Japan,Australia and Myanmar have the most im-portant roles if the quantities seized are con-

sidered (89% of the quantities seized inRILO AP region).

INCB states in its report, that illicit produc-tion is taking place mainly in China andMyanmar, but more recently also in thePhilippines. Furthermore, methampheta-mine is the most widely abused drug inJapan, the Republic of Korea and Thailand.The precursors for methamphetamine con-tinue to be smuggled into Myanmar and thePhilippines out of China and India.

China was reported as the source country for69% of the quantities seized, which supportsthe statements from INCB. 43% or 312 kgwere destined for Japan, while Australia ac-counts for 32% or 233 kg seized in one singlelarge seizure. The Republic of Korea seized53 kg in 2003, making an increase of 33 kg.

Less than one kilogram altogether wasseized in Eastern and Central Europe and inCanada, while eight kilos were seized inWestern Europe. Italy in particular reportednine cases involving four kilograms, and allseizures were of the type of crystal metham-phetamine or so-called “shabu” or “ice”.

KhatThe number of khat seizures reported inCEN rose from 139 to 662 cases, due to anoverall increase and particularly due to 340cases reported by Canada. The volume rosesignificantly from 9 tonnes to 39 tonnes, in-cluding 20.5 tonnes detected in Canada.

Khat is produced mainly in Eastern Africa.From there, it is legally exported to theNetherlands and the United Kingdom,

where khat is not an illegal drug. These twocountries are the sources for secondary dis-tribution. The main destination countriesare Canada, the Nordic States and Germany.

The Norwegian Customs reported “driedkhat” as a new trend. Samples of the driedkhat have been sent to a laboratory for fur-ther analysis, and results showed that theactive cathin is kept intact during the dryingprocess, making the dried khat possibly fivetimes stronger than fresh khat. The driedkhat is either smoked in a mixture with to-bacco or drunk as tea. Khat rapidly loses itsfreshness after harvesting and has to bemoved to its users within 48 hours. Thisnew trend might show a change in traf-ficking patterns in 2004.

Except for the seizures made in Canada, allseizures were detected in Western Europe. Adetailed analysis can be found in the respec-tive regional overviews in this report.

Global overview of major drug types

CEN ID Date Country Location Route Quantity Concealment Cover load

72832 19 Aug. 03 Canada Montreal NL-CA 809 kg In freight No cover load72831 22 Aug. 03 Canada Pearson NL-CA 750 kg In freight No cover load63268 4 Oct. 03 Australia Sydney BE-AU 195 kg In freight Machinery53763 15 Apr. 03 Australia Fremantle MY-AU 170 kg In freight Electronic appliances50408 5 Feb. 03 Australia Brisbane BE-AU 135 kg In freight Other58305 14 July 03 Australia Sydney NL-AU 115 kg In freight: Machinery

MDMA seizures of more than 100 kg transported by vessels in 2003

� A new trend was reported by NorwegianCustoms – dried Khat.

(Photo courtesy of Norwegian Customs)

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Overviews

Because of the high number of detectionsand the differences in sources, use and traf-ficking patterns, we have considered thedata from the three European RILOs sepa-rately when reviewing the seizures.

WESTERN

EUROPE

Opiates

HeroinThe number of heroin detections rose by 45to 397 in 2003, while the quantity founddecreased by almost 1 tonne to 2 tonnes in2003. The decrease in the quantity seized isdue to exceptionally large seizures detectedin 2002. None of the seizures made in 2003exceeded 100 kg.

The quantities found in freight consignmentfell dramatically in 2003 to 123 kg com-pared to 1,016 kg in 2002, even though thenumber of detections remained stable at alevel of 12 cases a year. The cover loads of

the freight consignments were not reportedin half of the cases. However, the coverloads which have been reported involvewooden furniture, wooden doors and foodconsignments of bananas and coconuts.Textiles were used twice as cover loads.

An examination of the seizures reported in2002 and 2003 shows that the traditional“Northern Balkan Route” via Turkey,Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary and Austriaplays again a more dominant role than in2002. The so-called “Southern BalkanRoute” to Italy via Greece, Albania orFYROM appears to have decreased in im-portance during 2003.

When law enforcement agencies have greatsuccesses in seizing drugs on a specificrouting, it is usual for criminals to shift tonew routings. We thus see a shift in 2002f ro m t h e d o m i n a n t ro u t i n g v i a t h e“Southern Balkan Route” to the traditional“Northern Balkan Route” in 2003.

In Italy we see a slight decrease in theheroin originating in Albania, amounting to369 kg in 2003. Heroin leaving Greece rosefrom 35 kg in 2002 to 118 kg in 2003.

Most of the heroin intercepted in WesternEurope arrived via the Balkan or Central

Asian routes. The number of seizures andthe quant i ty of heroin arr iv ing f romPakistan rose significantly from 9 seizuresand 52 kg in 2002 to 30 seizures and 161 kgin 2003. The heroin mainly arrives by air orby mail. Almost 101 kg were concealed inthe offenders’ luggage, while almost 56 kgwere detected in air freight consignments.Two of the consignments were transitingParis, France, where they were seized, andwere en route to Benin. Two air freight con-signments were bound for Cameroon andwere seized in the United Kingdom and inSwitzerland.

Other opiatesDuring 2003, the Western European regionreported 19 cases totalling 47 kg of opium, areduction in quantity of more than 50%over the previous year. Germany reported11 cases in 2003 totalling 42 kg. The mainsource countries are Iran and Turkey.

The United Kingdom reported one seizureof 2.2 kg of morphine.

Regional overviews – Europe

Regional overviews – Europe

Number and quantity seized in Western Europe2000-2003

Main departure countries in the RILO regions

2,81

5

2,83

9

2,94

4

1,99

3

2000 2001 2002 20030

1000

2000

3000

Quantity (kg)

Eastern and Central EuropeTurkey 1,320 kgRomania 143 kgSerbia and Montenegro 125 kgBulgaria 89 kgAlbania 66 kg

Western EuropeAlbania 369 kgNetherlands 283 kgTurkey 272 kgPakistan 161 kgGreece 118 kg

Main destination countries in the RILO regions

Eastern and Central EuropeGermany 567 kgRomania 363 kgAlbania 286 kgFrance 132 kgSerbia and Montenegro 104 kg

Western EuropeItaly 643 kgUnited Kingdom 458 kgGermany 286 kgFrance 129 kgSwitzerland 83 kg

0

No. of seizures

100

200

300

400

340 338 352

397

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Quantities seized in the countries on the 2 itineraries (in kg) - 2002

Quantities seized in the countries on the 2 itineraries (in kg) - 2003

3160

4520

254168

5,5

62

1.203

Grand total “Northern Balkan Route” 941

Grand total “Southern Balkan Route” 1,438,5

11

286

4568

1.199

660

3,5783

Grand total “Northern Balkan Route” 2,068

Grand total “Southern Balkan Route” 852

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Cocaine

As shown in the graph, both the number ofcocaine detections and the total quantityseized in Western Europe were the higheston record in 2003. 2001 had already been arecord year in this respect. The figures alsoindicate that demand for the drug is stillhigh and INCB states that many Europeancountries report an increase in the abuse ofcocaine.

These were the ten countries seizing morethan 99% of the cocaine seized in WesternEurope in 2002 and 2003. Switzerland andDenmark seem not to have an importantrole, but the quantities seized in these coun-tries are increasing.

Unsurprisingly, most cocaine arrives fromSouth America, especially from Venezuela,Colombia, Brazil and Suriname. Trinidadand Tobago and Cuba are together with theDutch Antilles becoming a more significantregion for departures of cocaine shipments.

Spain and the Netherlands are the two mostimportant reported countries of departurein Western Europe, which indicates thatsecondary distribution is taking place on al a r g e s c a l e f r o m t h e s e c o u n t r i e s .Unfortunately, the departure countries for17 tonnes of cocaine were not reported.

Cocaine from Nigeria is becoming more sig-nificant. In 2002, 25 shipments totalling 145kg were seized. In 2003, these figures rose to63 shipments and 234 kg. It is interesting to

note that the United Kingdom seized 94% ofthe quantity and accounts for 89% of thecases arriving from Nigeria. The cocaine isusually concealed in the offender’s luggageor on the person, such as being taped to thebody or swallowed.

Nigeria was also reported as a destination

Regional overviews – Europe

� December 2003, Italian Guardia diFinanza seized an amount of cocaine inthe fibers of woven baskets.

(Photos courtesy of Italian Guardia di Finanza)

Number and quantity seized in Western Europe2000-2003

13,5

58

37,2

20

35,5

04

55,7

76

2000 2001 2002 20030 0

Quantity (kg)

No. of seizures600005000040000300002000010000

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

2,606

3,662

4,6014,934

No. of seizures Quantity - kgCountry 2002 2003 2002 2003 Spain 477 349 13,744 30,959Netherlands 2,360 2,641 8,117 15,952United Kingdom 501 436 2,185 3,235France 452 574 2,360 2,033Italy 129 118 1,434 1,317Germany 447 480 1,921 934Portugal 104 119 1,763 572Belgium 13 51 3,658 426Switzerland 54 78 109 146Denmark 6 18 6 75Total above 4,543 4,864 35,303 55,654

Western European cocaine seizures 2002-2003Major countries in terms of quantity

No. of seizures Quantity - kgCountry 2002 2003 2002 2003 Venezuela 216 360 4,928 10.261Colombia 114 75 4,304 5,724Brazil 399 495 3,516 3,390Suriname 481 732 2,302 2,755Curacao 1,367 1,325 3,208 2,386Trinidad and Tobago 31 64 171 1,967Cuba 4 6 8 1,883Spain 61 105 5,708 1,772Dutch Antilles* 174 78 411 1,345Ecuador 108 77 4,574 1,035Total above 2,955 3,317 29,130 32,518

*Dutch Antilles – not specified

Main departure countries 2002-2003

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country for 116 kg in 2003. Four minorseizures were made at Frankfurt, Germany,in express mail with three shipments origi-nating in Argentina. Another four seizureswere made in Amsterdam, and the drugswere mainly transported by air passengers,twice from Venezuela and once fromCuracao. One seizure was made in thepostal sector.

The greatest number of detections is madeat airports, accounting for 68% of the totalnumber of seizures. The larger quantities ar-rive by ships or boats, and the cocaine is ei-ther concealed in the freight consignment oron board the vessels.

Cyprus reported one seizure of eight kilo-grams of cocaine. The drug was concealedin a freight consignment, and the commer-cial vessel arrived from Brazil and was enroute to South Africa.

Crack cocaineNine seizures of crack cocaine were reportedin Western Europe in 2003, totalling 17 kg.Most seizures were made at Amsterdam air-port, Suriname being mentioned as thesource country for three shipments.

Cocaine in solutionCocaine in solution was detected 12 times,amounting to 44 kg, involving a reductionof 12 kg and of eight seizures in compar-ison with 2002. The United Kingdom wasresponsible for 8 of the 12 seizures, whilethe biggest seizure took place at Madrid air-port in Spain. The cocaine is usually dis-solved in rum or wine bottles, but toiletriessuch as lotion or shampoo bottles are alsobeing frequently used. Eight different de-parture countries were reported during2003, with Saint Martin, the USA, Guyanaand Jamaica being the most important interms of quantity.

Cannabis

The quantity of cannabis oil increased from15 to 135 kg in 2003. The number of detec-tions rose from 1 to 12, carried out mainlyin Spain. Nine seizures were made ofcannabis seeds or plants.

Cannabis resin2003 was a record year for cannabis resinseizures in Western Europe. A total of 278tonnes were seized in 2003 compared to 217tonnes in each of the years 2001 and 2002,while 238 tonnes were seized in 2000. Therewas an 18% increase in interception rates to1,224 cases, Spain accounting for 66% of thenumber of seizures made.

Morocco remains the main source forcannabis resin, accounting for 74% of thequantity seized. Due to its geographical lo-cation, Spain remained the main gateway toWestern Europe, with 18% of the quantityleaving there, even though the cannabisresin originates in Morocco. France reporteda record quantity, totalling 57 tonnes in2003, compared to 38 tonnes the previousyear. Germany also experienced the highestlevel in years, with a quantity of 6 tonnes.

India is another source country for cannabisresin seized in Western Europe. 722 kg were

seized in 2003 compared to only 97 kg in2002. Five of the 27 seizures arriving fromIndia were detected in France, involving atotal of 389 kg. Seven seizures amounting to15 kg were seized in postal traff ic atFrankfurt airport in Germany, with two con-signments in transit for Israel. Israel de-t ec ted f i ve cases in ma i l f rom Ind iaamounting to 10.5 kg.

Spain seized 97% of the 157 tonnes ofcannabis transported by ships or boats.Major distributions take place by means ofsmall boats or ferries to Spain. Road trans-port is used from there to France and toother Western European countries. Roadtransport accounts for 42% of the quantitiesseized and, together with 55% carried out inthe maritime sector, it can be seen that othermeans of transport have a minor role.

Concealment in the means of transport or infreight consignments accounts for 76% of thequantity. It is interesting to note the enor-mous increase in drugs recovered from eitherthe sea or the beach. The number of detec-tions increased from 30 cases to 41 cases in2003, these accounting for 49 tonnes, com-pared to only 7.5 tonnes in 2002.

Regional overviews – Europe

No. of seizures Quantity seized in kgCountry 2002 2003 2002 2003 Spain 650 808 126,321 186,959France 104 128 38,155 57,315United Kingdom 31 30 18,363 17,893Germany 124 112 1,960 6,258Netherlands 26 42 22,055 6,164Belgium 11 9 6,661 1,270Ireland 5 8 387 730Denmark 7 12 170 603

Cannabis resin seizures in Western Europe, involving a total of more than 500 kilos in 2003

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Herbal cannabisThe volume of herbal cannabis interceptedin Western Europe in 2003 decreased signif-icantly in comparison with 2002. The up-ward trend in the period from 2000 to 2002came to an end.

The quantities seized during the last fiveyears are extremely low in comparison withthe annual totals of more than 100 tonnesseized in the mid-1990s.

The number of seizures remained stable at444 and 440 for 2002 and 2003 respec-tively. During 2002 and 2003, 17 cases ex-ceeded 1,000 kg. Only six of these seizureswere made in 2003. Fewer exceptionallylarge seizures were seized last year, whichexplains the decrease in the quantity seized.

The main country of origin is Thailand, fol-lowed by Ghana, Jamaica, Albania andNigeria. South Africa was reported as one ofthe main source countries in 2002, but thequantities departing decreased from 13tonnes in 2002 to only 1 tonne in 2003.

Honduras was mentioned as the source

country for a maritime freight consignmentseized in Antwerp, Belgium. No furtherseizures from Honduras were made.

All the Albanian herbal cannabis was seizedin Italy. It is interesting to note that no othercountry in Western Europe had detecteddrugs from that country, and Albania mightbe considered as a high risk source countryfor the Western European market. Duringthe last two years, annual totals of Albanianherbal cannabis were around 2.2 tonnes.This is considerably lower in comparisonwith the nine and seven tonnes in 2000 and2001 respectively.

Belgium detected 3.7 tonnes in a containerarriving from Ghana, while another tenseizures took place in 2003, and six minorseizures were found in the postal sector.

INCB estimates that Switzerland cultivatesbetween 300 and 500 hectares for the pro-duction of 50-200 tonnes of herbal cannabis,which is enough to satisfy local demand.Switzerland was not reported as a sourcecountry for any herbal cannabis seizures.The quantity seized in Switzerland rose from122 kg in 2002 to 260 kg last year.

Herbal cannabis has a minor role in theNordic States, where only 93 kg wereseized in comparison with 1,282 kg ofcannabis resin.

Psychotropic drugs

MDMA (ecstasy)The volume of MDMA intercepted in WesternEurope continues its downward trend to thelowest figure in recent years at almost 2.1tonnes. The number of interceptions also de-creased over the years, from almost 400 casesin 2000 to only 272 cases in 2003.

The Netherlands remains the main sourcecountry for MDMA with 70% of the ship-ments starting there in comparison withonly 64% in 2002. The quantity leaving theNetherlands decreased enormously from1,325 kg in 2002 to 570 kg in 2003.Belgium had a dominant role as a sourcecountry in 2002, from where 433 kg werereported as having been exported. Law en-forcement agencies have been combatingMDMA smuggling from the Netherlandsand Belgium over the last few years. As a re-sult, there seems to be a shift to other coun-tries which function as departure countriesfor MDMA.

Regional overviews – Europe

Herbal cannabis seizures 1999-2003in tonnes

59

37

58

34

46

1999 2000 2001 2002 2003

Herbal cannabis - departure countriesfor more than 1,000 kg in 2003

Departure 2002 2003

Thailand 15,679 11,437Ghana 2,443 4,167Netherlands 1,665 3,445Jamaica 7,989 3,224Albania 2,307 2,242Nigeria 7,071 1,625Honduras 0 1,441Germany 403 1,324 South Africa 13,012 1,042

MDMA seizures in Western Europe 2000-2003

2,62

7

2,65

1

2,40

0

2,10

8

2000 2001 2002 20030 0

Quantity (kg)

No. of seizures

4000

3000

2000

1000

100

200

300

400

399

272

378347

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These five countries represent 94% of thequantity of the cases in which the sourcewas given. Unfortunately, the sourcecountry was not reported for 592 kg ofMDMA.

As in previous years, the United Kingdomremains the largest market for MDMA, with61% of the quantity seized destined for thatcountry. The USA was one of the larger mar-kets in 2001 and 2002, but there was lessdestined for the USA in 2003. The MDMAwhich was bound for the USA was mainlydetected at Amsterdam airport, either in thepostal sector or in the possession of air pas-sengers. Belgium is another departurecountry for MDMA destined for the USA,followed to a lesser extent by Germany andthe United Kingdom.

The number of seizures seized in theNetherlands (26 cases, 43.8 kg and 22,102tablets) and Belgium (one case, 5,000tablets) destined for South Africa rose signif-icantly in comparison with the six cases to-talling 26 kg and 11,200 tablets made in2002. Most of the seizures were made in ex-press mail parcels, and the MDMA wasmainly concealed in the soles of shoes

which were contained in the parcels. Morethan half of the quantity was seized inDecember 2003. It is interesting to note thatthree seizures were made in air freight con-signments declared as electrical appliances,such as a electronic cloth dryer (19 kg), airhumidifier (5 kg) and a washing machine(3.5 kg).

The Republic of Korea, Indonesia and Maliwere all mentioned as destination countriesfor one shipment of 7 kg each. A GermanCustoms officer at Frankfurt airport arresteda courier with 7 kg of MDMA taped to hisbody. Another courier was arrested at Parisairport with 7.2 kg of MDMA destined forMali . The courier had departed from

Amsterdam. Two couriers were found tohave around 3.6 kg each taped to theirbodies en route to Indonesia.

In 2003, 51 countries were mentioned asdestination countries of MDMA, demon-strating that MDMA smuggling is becominga global problem.

The numbers and quantities detected in airtraffic decreased dramatically from 1,068 kgin 2002 to only 225 kg in 2003. There is aparticular decrease in the seizures carriedout at airports in the Netherlands, Germanyand France. Of the ten largest seizures ofmore than 15 kg of MDMA detected withinthe last two years, only one case was re-ported in 2003.

The use of vehicles remained stable in termsof the number of cases, but the quantitiestransported rose from 1 tonne in 2002 to1.56 tonnes in 2003. A total of 1,235 kg wasdestined for the United Kingdom in 2003,which is double the amount seized in 2002,even though the number of cases remainedstable, amounting to ten cases per year.

Regional overviews – Europe

Main departure countries for MDMA in kg2002

1,325 Netherlands

433 Belgium

109 Germany

97 France

10 Italy

Main departure countries for MDMA in kg2003

570 Netherlands

8 Belgium

368 Germany

311 France

90 Italy

2002 2003Country No. of seizures Quantity - kg No. of seizures Quantity - kg Netherlands 55 348 23 108Germany 19 127 8 52France 19 191 4 25Belgium 22 23 16 18United Kingdom 0 0 4 12Total above 115 689 55 215Grand total 135 1,068 62 225

MDMA - numbers and quantities seized in air traffic

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AmphetamineThe level of amphetamine seizures increasedfor the third consecutive year, and the quan-tity seized in 2003 is almost that of the levelof 2000. The number of cases per year fluc-tuated over the five year period between125 and 150.

Even though the number of detections madein the United Kingdom fell from five tothree cases, the quantity seized rose from324 kg in 2002 to 744 kg in 2003. BritishCustoms officers succeeded in detecting 300kg of amphetamine in a freight consignmentarriving from France. Another large seizureamounting to 246 kg was detected in ahorse box, leaving the Netherlands.

The Netherlands is the main source countryby number and quantity, even though thenumber fell from 51 to 43 cases and thequantity fell from 658 to 541 kg in 2003. Itis interesting to note that Bulgaria was notmentioned as a source country for any am-phetamine seizures made in WesternEurope. Estonia was a source country forFinland and Sweden in 2001 and 2002.This was much less the case in 2003, whenonly 2.5 kg departed from Estonia in 2003in comparison with 53 kg in 2002.

As in the case o f MDMA, the Uni tedKingdom is also the largest Europeanmarket for amphetamines. The quantitydestined for the UK market rose from 321 to825 kg in 2003. Scandinavia is also a largemarket. Especially in Norway the quantitiesseized rose from 35 to 119 kg in 2003,

while there was an increase of 11 in thenumber of seizures to 23 cases in 2003.

The Irish Customs reported three cases ofamphetamines totalling 51 kg in 2003, incomparison with no seizures in 2002. Thelargest seizure of 46 kg was made inside alorry. The declared goods were items of fur-niture. Another 4.4 kg were recovered fromthe sea at Kilmore quay.

Concealments in the freight area becamemore significant in 2003. The table showsthe five largest seizures made during 2003.

Unfortunately, the cover loads were rarelyreported, making it impossible to draw anyconclusions in this respect.

Regional overviews – Europe

Amphetamine seized in Western Europe2000-2003 in kg

1,510

922

1,466

875

2000 2001 2002 2003

Top 3 source countriesin Eastern and Central Europe - kg - 2002

Western EuropeNetherlands 658France 4Germany 31

Eastern and Central EuropePoland 29Lithuania 30Estonia 53

Top 3 source countriesin Eastern and Central Europe - kg - 2003

Western EuropeNetherlands 541France 347Germany 153

Eastern and Central EuropePoland 49Lithuania 24Estonia 3

Id. CEN Date Country Location Routing Transport Quantity - kg

67978 1 Dec. 03 GB Coquelles FR-GB Truck/Lorry 30056101 26 Mar. 03 GB Manchester UN-BE-GB Truck/Lorry 9059489 22 July 03 GB Hull NL-GB Vessel 7951555 19 Feb. 03 FR Calais DE-BE-FR-GB Truck/Lorry 5051552 1 Feb. 03 FR Calais NL-BE-FR-GB Truck/Lorry 20

Top 5 – Quantity seized in freight consignments in 2003

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MethamphetamineOnly 14 cases of methamphetamine were re-ported in 2003, amounting to 5 kg and10,569 tablets. Italy reported nine cases,which totalled more than 4 kg. It is inter-esting to note that most of the seizures weremade at Milan airport in connection with ar-rivals from the Philippines, transported byair passengers or by post. The methampheta-mine seized in Italy was in the crystal form ofso-called “shabu”, which could be the start ofa quickly growing illegal market of this kindof substance in Western Europe. Smalleramounts of crystal methamphetamine werealso seized in Germany.

Crystal methamphetamine or so-called ‘ice”has been common in the Asia/Pacific regionfor many years.

BenzodiazepinesDiazepam, better known as Valium, and flu-nitrazepam, known as Rohypnol, belong tothe benzodiazepine family. Benzodiazepinesare sedatives that cause dose-related depres-sion affecting the central nervous system. In2003, Member States, especially the NordicStates, reported huge quantities of diazepam,flunitrazepam and buprenorphine. For thisreason, we have looked at these three psy-chotropic substances in more detail.

The volume of diazepam decreased from al-most 600,000 tablets in 2002 to 86,490tablets in 2003, while the number of detec-tions rose by 19 to 64 cases. The figure for2002 was also affected by two large seizuresof more than 300,000 tablets. The mainsource country is Thailand. The Norwegian

Customs seized 75% of the volume of di-azepam, while Norway and Sweden ac-counted for 84% of the cases reported.

Flunitrazepam is the active substance inRohypnol and is internationally listed as acontrolled substance. As in the case of di-azepam, Norway and Sweden reported mostof these cases. The source country isLithuania, accounting for 62% of the quan-tity seized, followed by Romania (14%).Norway, Sweden and Denmark are the mainmarkets for Rohypnol.

Buprenorphine is a semi-synthetic opiate de-rived from thebaine. It is an analgesic(painkiller) and has gained a great deal of no-toriety for its ability to cut short severe opiateaddiction, including heroin and methadoneaddiction. The most common brand namesare Subutex, Temgesic or Buprenex.

The number of reported buprenorphinecases fell from 36 cases to 14 in 2003, whenonly 17,747 tablets were seized, which isonly half the quantity seized in 2002.Almost all seizures made in 2003 were re-ported by Finland. France is the mainsource country, the drug arriving mainly viaair passengers or via mail.

KhatThe volume of khat more than doubled,reaching 18.5 tonnes in 322 detections, 188cases more than in 2002. The quantities re-ported from the Nordic States in particularwere subject to increases.

The main source country for khat seized

Regional overviews – Europe

� The GdF seized 505 kg of cocaine in anairfreight consignment originating fromVenezuela and bound for Spain. Thedeclared candles were made of cocaine.

(Photos courtesy of Italian Guardia di Finanza)

Main countries seizing khat - in kg2002

2,480 Germany

1,760 Norway

1,302 Sweden

660 Finland

973 Denmark

230 Ireland

Main countries seizing khat - in kg2003

5,341 Germany

4,456 Norway

3,363 Sweden

1,634 Finland

1,599 Denmark

1,035 Ireland

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was either the Netherlands or the UnitedKingdom. The khat from the Netherlands isnormally transported by car to Germanyand Denmark, while khat from the UnitedK i n g d o m i s t r a n s p o r t e d b y a i r t oScandinavia. Khat is illegal in Denmark,which was mentioned as a secondary distri-bution country for almost 3 tonnes of khatin 46 incidents. Khat leaving Denmark is al-most exclusively seized in Helsingborg,Sweden, after use of the ferry connectionbetween the two countries.

More than 80% of the khat was destined fora Nordic State. Countries such as the USA,Ireland, France, Italy and Germany reportedminor quantities.

The use of air freight consignments rosefrom 589 kg in four incidents to 3,098 kg in15 cases in 2003.

Fresh khat is normally chewed while it isstill fresh. Transportation from the sourcecountry (mainly from East Africa) to theconsumer markets must therefore take placewithin 48 hours.

The RILO for Western Europe reported anew trend detected in Norway, namely driedkhat. Samples of the dried khat have beensent to a laboratory for further analysis, andthe results were that the active cathin is keptintact during the drying process, making thedried khat possibly five times stronger thanfresh khat.

EASTERN AND CENTRAL

EUROPE

Opiates

The Eastern and Central European region re-ported 65 heroin seizures totalling 2,271 kgin 2003, an increase of 28% by quantity incomparison with 2002. The table shows thesix countries which seized more than 50 kgin 2003. Detections made in other countrieshave a lesser role in 2003, as the table shows.

Regional overviews – Europe

Main interceptions of heroin seizures above 50 kg

Grand total 2002 1,767Grand total 2003 2,271

255

Turk

ey

1,20

0

520

Bulg

aria

568

10Se

rbia

and

Mon

tene

gro

72

168

Gree

ce

66 59Sl

oven

ia

61

595

Othe

r cou

ntrie

s

17

160

Hung

ary

287

20022003

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The largest seizure during the last two yearswas made in Ipsala, Turkey. A Turkish-regis-tered truck was selected for a more detailedinspection, leading to 286 kg of heroin beingfound in the load area of the trailer. Thefreight consignment was bound for Albania.

Heroin is almost exclusively transported byroad vehicles. A consideration of the tenlargest heroin seizures shows that mostseizures were made in Turkey and that thedrug was concealed in the structure oftrucks or their trailers on nine occasions.The use of freight consignments rose to fivecases, as compared to three in 2002, whilethe annual totals remained stable at 235 kg.

More detailed information on the routingcan be obtained from the respective regionalsection of this Report.

Cocaine

There were 21 cocaine seizures reported inEastern Europe, accounting for a total of482 kg and representing eight seizuresmore than in 2002 and almost double thequantity seized in 2002. The figure for2003 is boosted by a single large seizure of397 kg of cocaine detected at Gdynia sea-port in Poland. The container ship arrivedvia Hamburg, Germany, originating inM a r a c a i b o a n d P u e r t o C a b e l l o i nVenezuela. The cocaine was concealed in-side the freight consignment, which wasdeclared as machinery.

The second largest seizure made in 2003was detected in Tallinn, Estonia, where 45kg were found in the engine room of a com-mercial tanker by the crew. Again, the vesselarrived from Venezuela.

The Hungarian Customs reported 13 seizurestotalling almost 28 kg of cocaine. This is ahuge increase in comparison with the pre-vious year, when four seizures totalling

3.8 kg were made. Venezuela, Peru andBrazil are the main source countries for co-caine shipments destined for Hungary. Mostseizures were carried out in air traffic, theoffender having swallowed the drugs.

Cannabis

Cannabis resinDuring the last two years, the number ofcannabis resin seizures remained un-changed at ten seizures per year, while thequantity rose from 269 kg in 2002 to 457 kgin 2003. Bulgaria, the Czech Republic andTurkey reported two seizures each. Oneseizure each was reported from Estonia,Greece, FYROM and Poland. Bulgaria ac-counts for 50% of the quantity seized.

Albania was the main source country, in-volving five shipments and 318 kg, whileTurkey remains the main destinationcountry, accounting for 67% of the quan-tity seized.

Cannabis resin is almost exclusively trans-ported by use of road vehicles, and theplaces of concealment are usually in thestructure of the vehicle.

Herbal cannabisHerbal cannabis was seized in nine of theEastern European countries, the totalamount being 1,962 kg as a result of 30 de-tections, 4 tonnes and 24 cases fewer than in2002. The 2002 figures were affected by twolarge seizures totalling over 5 tonnes ofherbal cannabis seized in Kakavia, Greece.There were no similar seizures in terms ofquantity in 2003. The Greek Customs suc-ceeded in carrying out two large seizures ofmore than 800 kg in 2003. Both seizureswere made in Kristalopigi. In one case, thedrugs were concealed in the ceiling and inthe refrigeration compartment, while theother seizure was carried out inside a freightconsignment of charcoal.

Albania continued to be the main sourcecountry for herbal cannabis, accounting for86% of the quantity seized or 1,699 kg, eventhough the number of departures fell fromnine in 2002 to only three in 2003. Greeceand Italy continued to be used as the maingateways for Albanian herbal cannabis en-tering Western Europe. A large quantity ofAlbanian herbal cannabis was seized at Italianseaports, indicating that the route fromAlbania via Greece to Italy is still a favourite.

Psychotropic drugs

AmphetamineThe four largest amphetamine seizures weremade in Bulgaria, mainly at the land frontier

Regional overviews – Europe

� In April Bulgarian Customs seizedalmost 60 kg of amphetamine in thewater tank of a mobile home. Drugs werealso found under the dashboard and inthe right mudguard.

(Photos courtesy of Bulgarian Customs)

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between Bulgaria and Turkey at Andreevo.The most common way of smuggling largeamounts of amphetamine involves the useof fuel or water tanks.

Bulgarian law enforcement agencies dis-mantled three illegal amphetamine labora-tories during 2002, while six laboratorieswere dismantled in 2003. Approximately1 tonne of amphetamine base, ampheta-mine powder and tablets was seized duringthese operations. The black markets for am-phetamine produced in Bulgaria are Turkeyand Syria. None of the amphetamine seizedin the Western European region originatedin Bulgaria nor had it transited that country.

The Polish Customs detected amphetaminein two cases. In one case, the drugs arrivedby train from Germany. The other consign-ment was bound for the Netherlands. TheCzech Republic carried out three postalseizures of amphetamine in tablet form.The letters were bound for the USA.

MDMA (ecstasy)Turkey reported four seizures of MDMA, to-talling 282,242 tablets, slightly more than in2002. The source country was reported asthe Netherlands in two cases, while Bulgariaand Turkey were each mentioned once. TheCzech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Polandand Romania reported one seizure each, in-volving between 300 and 4,130 tablets.

COMMONWEALTH OF

INDEPENDENT STATES

(CIS)Unfortunately, it was not possible to receiveseizure data in time from other countriesthan from the Russian Federation, which re-ported 298 cases above the minimum limitsin 2003 as compared with 341 in 2002.

Opiates

HeroinRussian Federation reported 98 heroinseizures totalling 602 kg in 2003, in compar-ison with 101 seizures in 2002 involvingonly 176 kg. The largest seizure reportedamounted to 144 kg and was made atTroytsk in September 2003. A vehicle whichhad arrived from Uzbekistan was found to becarrying the drugs, which were concealed inwooden crates containing pears. The otherseizure of more than 100 kg was carried outat the Orenburg land frontier. The Russian-registered van which had arrived fromKazakhstan was found to be carrying thedrugs concealed in the doors and ceiling.

Kazakhstan is the main transshipment pointfor Russian heroin. Almost 350 kg in 10cases left Kazakhstan, in comparison withonly 5 kg in four cases in 2002. Uzbekistanwas reported as the departure country forthe above-mentioned case of 144 kg ofheroin. Heroin leaving Tajikistan decreased

in terms of number and quantity.

The involvement of Tajikistan, Uzbekistanand Kazakhstan indicates that the SilkRoad route still has an important role inthat region.

Almost 80% of the quantities are trans-ported by vehicles which are also used asthe places of concealment. Detections madein rail traffic rose significantly to 81 kg(48 kg in 2002).

OpiumThe number of opium seizures decreasedslightly to 16 cases in 2003 and totalledonly 7 kg in comparison with 118 kg in2002. The figures for 2002 were affected bytwo large seizures accounting for more than105 kg of opium.

In eleven cases, the departure country wasno t repor t ed . Ukra ine , the Rus s i anFederation and Azerbaijan were mentionedas departure countries in 2003.

All means of transport are used for smug-gling opium. Four cases each were detectedon board trains and road vehicles, whilethree seizures each were made on board air-craft and sea vessels. The opium was con-cealed on the offender in eleven cases.

Opium poppy strawOpium poppy straw was seized in 21 casesand totalled 86 kg, representing a decreasein the number of cases and a slight increasein the quantity seized in comparison with

Regional overviews – Europe

CEN ID Date Location Route Means of transport Quantity Place of concealment53688 2 Apr. 03 Andreevo YU-BG-TR Mobile home 59.5 kg In water tank,

under dashboard51486 16 Mar. 03 Svilengrad BG-BG-TR Railway train 39.7 kg Passenger

compartment59434 30 June 03 Andreevo BG-TR-SY Car/passenger van 33.7 kg Fuel tank,

in rear seat59470 25 July 03 Andreevo BG-TR-SY Car/passenger van 22.3 kg Fuel tank

Amphetamine seizures of more than 20 kg carried out in 2003 in Bulgaria

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2002. Nineteen cases and almost 99% of thequantity arrived from Ukraine.

The largest seizure of 32.6 kg was made on24 December 2003 in Moscow. The opiumpoppy straw was concealed inside the sparewheel of the vehicle. A Ukrainian male wasarrested.

On four occasions, road vehicles were usedto transport 46 kg, while almost 15 kg wereseized on three occasions in air traffic. Themost common way of smuggling opiumpoppy straw involves concealing it in the of-fenders’ luggage.

Cocaine

The Russian Federation reported six casesamounting to 42 kg of cocaine in 2003, incomparison with only two cases and 2 kgseized in 2002. This might indicate that co-caine is becoming more common in theRussian Federation, even though the num-bers of seizures are too low to allow anyconclusions. Cuba, Ecuador and Finlandwere reported as being the departure coun-tries for two shipments each, while Cuba

and Ecuador were the source countries for95% of the quantities seized.

Cannabis

Cannabis resinOnly nine seizures were reported in 2003in comparison with 23 the year before. Acloser consideration of the quantitiesseized also shows a decreasing trend, withonly 35 kg seized in 2003, 78 kg less thanin 2002.

Herbal cannabisHerbal cannabis remains the most com-m o n l y a b u s e d d r u g i n t h e R u s s i a nFederation. In 2003, the Russian authoritiesdetected 75 cases, involving the seizure ofmore than 6 tonnes of herbal cannabis, aslight decrease from 2002.

In terms of the number of cases, most of theherbal cannabis originates in Kazakhstan,even though 95% of the quantity was re-ported as the departure country being un-known. Most herbal cannabis is transportedby t ra in , fo l lowed by road vehic les .Unfortunately, the means of concealment

are reported as being ‘other’ for 95% of thequantities seized, and so no conclusionsmay be drawn in this respect.

Psychotropic drugs

Seizures of psychotropic drugs are not socommon in the Russian Federation.

The quantity of benzodiazepam rose by 120kg to 183 kg in 2003, but the figure is af-fected by a large seizure of 175 kg made inan air cargo consignment arriving fromSkopje, FYROM, en route to Yerevan,Armenia.

There were only few seizures of ampheta-mine and methadone and no seizures at allo f MDMA (ecstasy) . The numbers ofseizures do not allow any further conclu-sions to be drawn.

Regional overviews – Europe

� Dutch Customs seized 7,712 litres ofpiperonal inside the flase bottom ofelectric water cookers. The consignmentarrived from Yantian in China.

(Photos courtesy of Dutch Customs)

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Overview

The RILO for Asia/Pacific received seizureinformation on 139 cases, made by agenciesother than Customs. A total of 302 caseswere reported under the current minimumlimits, and the total quantity of drugsreached 25 kg. These seizures could unfor-tunately not be taken into consideration.The number of cases taken into account andreported by the Asia/Pacific region rose from694 to 781 seizures in 2003.

Opiates

A record seizure of 8,100 kg of opiumpoppy straw was carried out in Lahore,Pakistan. The poppy straw was found onpremises.

OpiumThe number of opium seizures remainedstable, totalling 72 cases in 2003, while thequantity decreased from 478 kg in 2002 toonly 323 kg in 2003. Most seizures were re-ported by Iran, even though Pakistan’sseizures involved greater quantities (145 kgin 2003), after 364 kg the year before. Iranand Pakistan are the main departure coun-tries for shipments of opium, and mostseizures were destined for Canada, theUnited States and the United Kingdom.

Tw o s e i z u r e s w e r e d e s t i n e d f o rTurkmenistan and amounted to 54 kg.Chinese Taipei was reported as a destinationfor 9.2 kg in two cases, no seizures havingbeen reported in 2002.

The largest numbers of opium seizures weremade in postal traffic, whereas the largestquantities were detected in vehicles. Almost232 kg were concealed in the means oftransport.

HeroinThe CEN database records 338 heroinseizures in 2003 in comparison with 204 in2002. The quantities seized rose significantly

from 1,280 kg in 2002 to 2,370 kg in2003. Pakistan accounts for 75% of thenumber of seizures and for 87% of thequantity seized, while only 284 kg or 22%were reported for Pakistan in 2002.

Pakistan remains the main source countryfor heroin.

The African continent was a prime target in2003. A total of 21 shipments accountingfor 26 kg were seized in Pakistan en routeto Nigeria in comparison with only eight in2002. Ethiopia was the destination countryfor 17 shipments, involving a total of 16kg, seized before departure from Pakistan.The same trend is shown for the Côted’Ivoire. A total of 15 cases or 25 kg ofheroin was destined for this country incomparison with a single seizure in 2002.It is interesting to note that most of thecouriers en route to Africa had swallowedthe heroin.

Nigeria, Ethiopia and Côte d’Ivoire did notreport any seizures to the CEN database.

Five postal shipments were bound for theUnited Kingdom and four for the USA. Allseizures were made in Pakistan.

Cocaine

The number of cocaine detections rose from20 in 2002 to 26 in 2003, and the quantityrose from 36 kg in 2002 to 78 kg in 2003.Indonesia reported this year three seizures,which accounted for almost 30 kg, com-pared with none in 2002. In one case, thecourier arrived via Singapore from theNetherlands, the cocaine being concealedinside a pipe for a paraglider. The otherseizure, exceeding 10 kg, originated inSingapore, the cocaine being concealed in ablanket.

Besides Brazil and the Netherlands as sourcecountries accounting for 28 kg, Peru andSouth Africa were reported as the sourcecountries for four shipments, representing a

total of 12 kg and 9 kg respectively in 2003,in comparison with none in 2002.

Cocaine shipments from Peru were detectedin Hong Kong, China, (two cases), Sydney,Australia and Auckland, New Zealand; threecases relate to seizures made in air traffic,while one parcel was sent by express carrierto Sydney.

All seizures from South Africa were carriedout at the airports of Sydney (three) andPerth (one), and the cocaine detected inSydney was found on the couriers’ bodies.The couriers all lived in South Africa, buthad different nationalities – South African(born in 1969), the British (born in 1944)and Italian (born in 1941).

The Chinese Customs reported two cases to-talling 5 kg in 2003 in comparison withnone in 2002. 4.5 kg of cocaine was foundin the lid of a suitcase belonging to a Thai fe-male and a Nigerian male, both in their late30s. They had begun their journey in Brazil,travelling via Hong Kong, China and endingin Shenzhen.

Customs officers at Auckland, New Zealand,reported a seizure of 7 kg mixed within thefibreglass shell of the false bottom of a suit-case. The male couriers, citizens of SouthAfrica and Israel, had departed from Lima,Peru, and travelled via Santiago ChilePapetee Tahiti Roratonga Cook Islands be-fore arriving in Auckland, their final desti-nation being Australia.

Cannabis

Cannabis resinThe number of cases of cannabis resinseizures rose, while the quantity seized de-creased by almost 3 tonnes to 17.5 tonnes in2003. Pakistan and Japan reported 82% ofthe seizures, although Pakistan accounts for94% of the total quantity seized.

The main source countries for cannabis resinare Pakistan, followed by India and Nepal.

Regional overviews – Asia/Pacific

Regional overviews – Asia/Pacific

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The largest seizure reported from this regionwas carried out by Pakistan. Almost 2.5tonnes were found inside the specially builtcavities of a water tanker.

The INCB states in its report that the north-west of India has emerged as a significantsource of cannabis resin. Cannabis resinfrom Nepal is also smuggled into India overland. Cannabis resin originating in Indiaand Pakistan transits through Bangladesh onits way to Europe.

Herbal cannabisThe Asia/Pacific region reported a slight in-crease in the number of seizures, while thequantity also rose from 14 tonnes in 2002 to16.3 tonnes in 2003.

The Indian Customs discovered 6.4 tonnesof herbal cannabis inside two road tankers.

Most of the herbal cannabis in this region istransported by road vehicles, which ex-plains why the most-used modus operandiis to conceal the drugs in the structure of themean of transportation.

Many seizures were made at airports, butthe quantities were quite small and did notexceed 300 kg in 2003.

The INCB states that most of the herbalc a n n a b i s w h i c h i s s m u g g l e d i n t oBangladesh is destined for the illicit marketin that country.

Psychotropic drugs

AmphetamineNo seizures of amphetamine were re-ported during 2003.

MethamphetamineThe number of detections of methampheta-mine rose from 47 (713 kg) in 2002 to 57(723 kg) in 2003. 35% of the seizures weremade by the Japanese Customs, repre-senting 43% of the total quantity seized.

The largest seizure of methamphetaminewas carried out in Japan in March 2003, in-volving 260 kg being found in a freight con-signment. The drug was concealed in thepedestals of porcelain dolls. In May 2003,the Austral ian Customs detected thesecond-largest seizure carried out in 2003,which amounted to 233 kg of methamphet-amine in a sea freight consignment arrivingfrom China. The drug was concealed amongPan Yu Rice sticks.

China was reported as being the sourcecountry in 70% of the cases of methampheta-mine seized in 2003 in comparison with only7% in 2002. Unfortunately, 14% of the quan-tity was reported with the departure countryunknown. The main destination country is,as already mentioned, Japan, both in terms ofthe number of cases and of quantity. TheRepublic of Korea was reported as being adestination country in 15 cases both in 2002and 2003, and the quantity rose from almost20 kg in 2002 to 53 kg in 2003. China re-ported 7 cases in 2003, which amounted to11 kg. It is interesting to note that all but oneseizure had arrived from Myanmar.

For the first time, Canada was reported as asource/transshipment country for metham-phetamine bound for Japan. All seizureswere made at Tokyo International Airport,and the drugs were mostly concealed on theoffenders’ bodies.

The number of shipments leaving Myanmarincreased, while the quantity decreased byalmost 50% to amount to 12 kg in 2003.One shipment only had left the Philippinesin 2002, while the number rose to nine in2003 and the quantity rose from less than1 kg in 2002 to 15 kg in 2003.

The INCB states in its annual report thatmethamphetamine continues to be mainlymanufactured in China, Myanmar and, to alesser extent, in the Philippines. Theseizures reported to the CEN database alsoshow that most seizures originate in China,Myanmar and the Philippines.

56% of the seizures are carried out in airtraffic, and the methamphetamine is mainlyconcealed in the offenders’ luggage or ontheir bodies. 75% of the quantities areseized in the maritime sector, while threeseizures were carried out in freight consign-ments. Two seizures amounting to 10.5 kgwere carried out in air freight, both havingbeen carried out by Japanese Customs offi-cers at Tokyo airport.

Regional overviews – Asia/Pacific

� German Customs seized 3.9 kg of whiteheroin hidden inside cricket balls, whichwere manufactured in Pakistan.The balls containing the heroin could notbe distinguished from normal balls byweight.

(Photos courtesy of German Customs)

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MDMA (ecstasy)Australia, New Zealand and Japan carriedout 72% of the 57 seizures made in 2003,three seizures more than in 2002. The quan-tity seized in the region rose dramaticallyfrom only 179 kg and 431,486 tablets in2002 to 697 kg and 711,836 tablets in2003. To enable comparisons to be made,the tablets were converted into kilogramsusing the following conversion: 1 kg =3,333 tablets.

Australian Customs officers detected 75% ofthe MDMA seized in this region, followedby Japan (11%), New Zealand (8%) andIndonesia (2%).

The Netherlands is the main source countryfor MDMA seizures in terms of the numberof shipments, accounting for 19 of the 55seizures carried out in 2003. Belgium andthe United Kingdom were the departurecountries for seven cases each, while Franceand Malaysia accounted for five cases each.In respect of quantities, Belgium became themost important departure country forMDMA shipments, accounting for 357 kg oralmost 40%, in comparison with only 8 kgor 2% in 2002. The Netherlands continuesto have a very important role for MDMAshipments to the Asia/Pacific region. In2003, 239 kg left the Netherlands in com-parison with only 150 kg in 2002.

Malaysia played a more important role as adeparture country for MDMA shipments.One large shipment of 170 kg was detectedat Fremantle seaport, Australia. The MDMAwas detected in a freight consignmentwithin the walls of a freezer unit.

Methaqualone – (Mandrax)In 2002, China reported a seizure of 3,860kg of methaqualone which had been de-tected in a freight consignment of electronicappliances. The shipment had left Shekou,China, transiting via Hong Kong, China,and with destination unknown. This year,the Chinese Customs again reported a verylarge seizure amounting to 4,260 kg. In this

case, the maritime freight consignment hadleft Guang Zhou, China, transiting Hong Kong,China, the United Kingdom being the countryof final destination. The methaqualone wasconcealed inside air conditioners.

India reported a single seizure of 57 kg ofMandrax in 2003.

Other drugsIn total, 79 seizures of other psychotropicsubstances such as alprazolam, phenter-mine, etc. were reported in 2003. The low

numbers of cases do not allow any furtherconclusions.

The Asia/Pacific region also reported a smallnumber of seizures of methadone and LSD.

Regional overviews – Asia/Pacific

Top 5 – in terms of number of departures2002

17 Netherlands

4 Belgium

4 United Kingdom

3 France

3 Malaysia

Top 5 – in terms of number of departures2003

19 Netherlands

7 Belgium

7 United Kingdom

5 France

5 Malaysia

Top 5 – departure in terms of quantity2002

150 Netherlands

8 Belgium

6 United Kingdom

12 France

6 Malaysia

Top 5 – departure in terms of quantity2003

239 Netherlands

357 Belgium

54 United Kingdom

35 France

176 Malaysia

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NORTH

AMERICA

Unfortunately, no seizure reports or sum-maries of information regarding 2003 couldbe provided by the US Customs.

This year, Canada provided the WCO withall seizure data electronically, and the datawere successfully up-loaded into the CENdatabase. Seizure data from 2004 will be en-tered manually by the Canadian Customs.This is a great step forward.

The table shows the quantities seized inCanada in the period 2001-03 for the maindrug types.

Opiates

The volume of heroin has decreased for thethird consecutive year. In 2003, only 33 kgwere seized in 20 incidents, the largestheroin seizure accounting for 13.7 kg. ACanadian female courier arriving in Torontofrom Bulgaria was arrested after heroin wasfound in a double-sided suitcase. Bulgaria,Venezuela, Ghana, Mexico and Aruba arethe main countries of departure for largerheroin shipments.

Again this year, heroin was mainly trans-ported by air passengers. Some seizureswere carried out in postal traffic, andheroin was transported in road vehiclesover the land boundary with the USA inonly two incidents.

In October 2003, Customs officers inVancouver discovered 18 kg of opium in asea freight consignment originating in theUAE.

Overall, 22 cases of attempted opium smug-gling were detected. The quantity of opiumrose steadily from 27 kg in 2001 to 43 kg in

2002 and 62 kg in 2003. Iran, Turkey andGermany were the main countries of depar-tures. Opium is either transported by air orin postal traffic. Four of the ten seizures car-ried out in postal traffic had left Germany.

The largest seizure of opium took place inVancouver where 18 kg were detected inpallets. The shipment originated in theUAE, the one time during the two years thatthis country was mentioned as a departurecountry.

Cocaine

In 2003, Canada reported 135 seizures ofcocaine totalling 959 kg. In particular, thetwo largest seizures carried out in 2003 areof great interest.

The largest seizure of cocaine, amounting to172 kg, took place in Halifax. A maritime seafreight container declared as containing per-sonal effects originating in Haiti was selectedfor a more detailed inspection. During theexamination, Customs officers noticed thatthe drawers of the nightstands (six alto-gether) were locked and nailed shut. Thenightstands contained cocaine to an esti-mated value of 21.5 million Canadian dol-lars. It is worth noting that all five shipmentsleaving Haiti were detected in Canada. Haitishould be considered a high risk country fortransshipments of cocaine transports.

Another large seizure of 105 kg took placein Brampton. The container had arrived

from Ecuador, and the goods were again de-clared as being personal and household ef-fects. The one kilogram cocaine slabs werelocated inside a grand piano.

Five of the six seizures carried out in roadtraffic were carried out at the land frontierwith the USA and accounted for 73 kg ofcocaine.

As in previous years, Jamaica remains themain origin country for seizures carried outin air traffic. It is interesting to note that al-most half of the quantity originating inGuyana was detected in Canada. Guyana isnot only a major source country for cocaineshipments bound for Canada (171 kg), but

Regional overviews – the Americas

Regional overviews – the Americas

Drug type: 2001 2002 2003

Heroin 68 kg 43 kg 33 kgOpium 27 kg 43 kg 62 kgCocaine 1,257 kg 881 kg 959 kgHerbal cannabis 2,845 kg 2,683 kg 694 kgCannabis resin 3,117 kg 100 kg 10,536 kgMDMA (ecstasy) 1,871,365 1,894,581 5,583,274

comp. comp. comp.Khat 10,800 kg 17,751 kg 20,547 kg

Cocaine from Guyana

3420

74

358

2000 2001 2002 20030 0

Quantity (kg)

No. of seizures

400

500

300

200

100

10

20

30

40

50

21

47

5

21

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also for the United Kingdom (150 kg) andto a lesser extent Barbados (20 kg).

Couriers and postal traffic accounted for22% of the cases, but in terms of quantity,have only a minor role.

Cannabis

The quantity of cannabis resin fell from over20 tonnes in 2000 to only three tones in2001. While only 100 kg were detected in2002, 10,536 kg were detected last year.This figure is affected by a large singleseizure of 10.5 tonnes detected in HalifaxMarine Operations. A damaged containeroriginating in Pakistan was selected for ex-amination. The hashish was found wrappedin green plastic and concealed within layersof “Friskies” cat food packages. All of thepackages appeared to be professionallysealed, and the hashish was marked with asquare “Night Crystal” emblem.

Thirty seizures of herbal cannabis totallingalmost 700 kg were seized in 2003. Twoseizures amounting to more than 300 kgoriginated in China, while most of theseizures left Jamaica and amounted to255 kg. Herbal cannabis leaving Jamaicawas mainly found in the offender’s luggage,but the drug was concealed in the falsefloors of an air cargo container in one case.

Eight seizures mainly originating in Jamaicaand totalling 92 kg were seized in air traffic.

Psychotropic drugs

Canada reported four seizures of ampheta-mine totalling less than half a kilo. LSD wasdetected eight times and amounted to10,508 doses. There were few seizures re-ported concerning benzoflunitrazepam, ben-zodiazepam, methamphetamine etc., andonly the number of seizures of MDMA andkhat reported allows further analysis.

MDMAIn 2001 and 2002, the quantity of MDMAremained stable and amounted to 1.9 mil-lion tablets. In 2003, more that 5.5 milliontables were seized. The figure is affected bytwo major seizures which took place inAugust: the largest-ever seizure of MDMAaccounted for 2.7 million tablets, followedby the second-largest seizure ever in Canada,accounting for 2.5 million tablets. Both ofthese seizures were carried out in marinecontainers which were declared as beingshipments of potato starch. Both shipmentshad left the Netherlands, and the estimatedstreet values for these two consignmentswere 181 million Canadian dollars.

The Netherlands remains the main source ofMDMA, while Germany and Belgium had amore significant role in 2003. Most of theMDMA was transported by aircraft, so thatthe main modus operandi was to concealthe drug in the structure of suitcases, suchas in false sides or double bottoms.

KhatMost khat originates in Eastern Africa(Somalia and Kenya) and arrives legally inthe Netherlands and the United Kingdom,from where it is smuggled to Canada. Almost90% of the quantities seized arrived fromthese two European countries, in compar-ison with 85% of the number of detections.Only four seizures, accounting for only 303kg, originated directly in the producercountry Kenya.

The main modus operandi in terms of thenumber of seizures and quantities seized in-volve the concealment of khat in the of-fenders’ luggage. Seizures were also carriedout in air cargo shipments and in mail con-signments.

Khat is usually packaged in plastic bags orwrapped in banana leaves to retain itsmoistness and freshness. It is often sprin-kled with water during transport to keep theleaves moist.

Canada reported 340 cases totalling 20tonnes of khat.

SOUTH

AMERICA

In the WCO’s Annual Report 2002, it wasstated that the number of seizures reportedin the South America region was low incomparison with 2001. Many seizure re-ports were afterwards entered into the CENdatabase, and the quantities reported rosefrom the 7 tonnes stated in the AnnualReport to 11 tonnes. The same may alsoapply this year. The number of seizures re-ported by the deadline for inclusion in thisReport again reveals a lack of seizure datafrom the South American region. Care musttherefore be observed when drawing con-clusions. The reader’s attention is drawn tothe fact that this year’s Report includes onlyseizures identified as having been carriedout by Customs or joint Customs/PoliceUnits or by law enforcement agencieshaving Customs powers.

South America reported 568 seizures relatedto drugs smuggling during 2003, a decreaseof 74 cases in comparison with 2002.

Most seizures were reported by Peru, Brazil,Chile, Argentina and French Guyana.

The Colombian Customs entered 55 casesin 2002 and 14 cases in 2003, amounting to30 and almost 8 tonnes of cocaine respec-tively. They were the successes on the part ofthe Colombian Secret Service, the army, thenavy, etc. which could therefore not betaken into consideration.

Cocaine

UNODC reports that Colombia had, in theperiod between 1993 and 1999, become the

Regional overviews – the Americas

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source of almost three-quarters of theworld’s illicit cocaine. In 2002 and 2003,there was a significant reduction of cocabush cultivation in Colombia, while Peruand Bolivia have also seen a downwardtrend in production. It is believed that thesuccessful eradication efforts in Colombiamay lead to the growth of illicit coca bushcultivation in neighbouring countries suchas Ecuador and Venezuela.

INCB estimates that the potential total man-ufacture of cocaine remained at approxi-mately 800 tonnes in 2002. In 2002,Colombian authorities destroyed more than1,400 illicit chemical and drugs laborato-ries, and cocaine laboratories have also beendismantled in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil,Chile, Ecuador and Venezuela.

Peru, Brazil, Chile, French Guyana andArgentina reported 487 cases related to co-caine smuggling, and more than half ofthese cases were reported by Peru. Thequantity seized in this region fell dramati-cally from over 11 tonnes in 2002 to only 2tonnes the year after. Half of the cocaineseized in 2003 was carried out in air traffic,followed by seizures carried out at the fron-tiers, especially that between Peru andChile.

In October, Customs officers at Callao sea-port, Peru, detected 561 kg of cocaine. Thefreight consignment was destined for

Guatemala via Panama.A closer look at the seizures involving co-caine from or to Guatemala shows that thiscountry has a more dominant role than inprevious years. There are indications thatGuatemala is a secondary distributioncountry for cocaine shipments mainly toWestern European countries.

F r e n c h G u y a n a r e p o r t e d 3 3 c a s e samounting to 74 kg of cocaine. Most of thecocaine had arrived by air from Surinameand was en route to Western Europeancountries, namely the Netherlands andFrance. In most cases, the couriers hadswallowed the drugs, taped it to their bodiesor concealed it in the soles of their shoes.There were few seizures of cocaine con-cealed in luggage or detected in mail con-signments.

Almost 6 tonnes of cocaine base were seizedin a single case in 2002, while only smallerquantities were seized during 2003.

Opiates

In 2002, the Peruvian Customs reportedeleven seizures of opium totalling almost40 kg in comparison with only 6 cases ac-counting for 33 kg in 2003. There were alsoseven cases involving almost 50 kg of heroinseized. The opiates were mainly transported

Regional overviews – the Americas

Cocaine from/to Guatemala

383

2858

625

2000 2001 2002 20030 0

Quantity (kg)

No. of seizures

400

500

600

700

300

200

100

10

20

30

40

50

16

911

18

� Dutch Customs detected 33 kg ofcocaine concealed between the roots ofliving plants. The consignment hadarrived from Guatemala.

(Photos courtesy of Dutch Customs)

by air passengers or by mail carriers, and themain destination countries were Argentinaand Mexico. Peru is the main departurecountry.

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Cannabis

Chile, Argentina and Peru reported a total of36 seizures in 2003 and a total of 1.2 tonnesof herbal cannabis in comparison with al-most 6 tonnes in 2002.

The main sources of herbal cannabis wereArgentina, followed by Paraguay, and themain country of destination was Chile.Almost all cases involved road vehicles asthe means of transportation so that the mainplace of concealment of the herb is insidethe vehicles.

There were no seizures of cannabis resin re-ported in 2003.

Other drugs

There were two seizures of MDMA (ecstasy),involving 8.8 kg and 5,500 tablets. Oneseizure took place in Brazil and the other inArgentina.

CARIBBEAN

Overview

This year, we received seizure informationfrom Bermuda, Barbados, Dutch Antilles,Cuba and Jamaica. Furthermore, the FrenchC u s t o m s r e p o r t e d s i x c a s e s f r o mGuadeloupe and three from Martinique,these being French territories.

The reason for the number of seizures beinglower this year in comparison with 2002 isthat we received detailed information on 114seizures carried out in Aruba in 2002. In2003, we received detailed information onlyon the largest seizures carried out in theDutch Antilles, which accounted for ninecases, but the quantities still indicate what ishappening in the region. We are aware thatwe are missing a great deal of detailed seizureinformation in the region, and we hope tominimize the gap in the forthcoming Report.

Cuba reported six cases during 2003, whileno seizures were reported in 2002.

Cocaine

A total of 32 cases were reported during2003, and these accounted for more than4.7 tonnes of cocaine. The Dutch Antillesreported six large seizures amounting to62% of the quantity seized. All the re-ported seizures were found either on thebeach, floating in the water or fished up byfishermen.

Martinique Customs seized more than1 tonnes of cocaine on board a yacht. Theitinerary was from Grenada to Spain viaMartinique. The cocaine was concealed inthe water tanks.

Bermuda reported six seizures carried out inair traffic, and all cases arrived either di-

rectly from the United States of America orvia Jamaica. In most cases, the cocaine waseither swallowed by the offender or con-cealed inside the effects carried. Threeseizures were carried out on board vessels atSt. George seaport. It was not specifiedwhether the vessels were cruise ships or ves-sels transporting goods.

Three of the five seizures reported byBarbados were en route to the UnitedKingdom. The cocaine was inserted into theoffender’s rectum in two cases, and the drugwas concealed in a video camera in one.

Cuba reported five cases involving 17 kg ofcocaine. In most cases, the cocaine had beenconcealed in the false bottoms of suitcases,concealed in the effects carried in the of-fender’s suitcase or had been swallowed bythe offender.

The numbers of seizures of crack cocainerose from a single seizure in 2002 to five in2003, totalling little more than 2 kg. Allthese seizures were reported by Bermuda,which was also reported as the destinationcountry.

Bermuda and Barbados reported a singleseizure each of cocaine in solution. InBarbados, 3.55 litres of liquid cocaine wasseized in “Eldorado” rum and also insidebottles of lotion. The courier was bound forthe United Kingdom. In Bermuda, Customsofficers detected more that 0.6 litres of co-caine on board an aircraft. It was concealedinside the shampoo and conditioner bottlesin the bathroom.

Heroin

Seven seizures and a total of almost 38 kg ofheroin were reported in 2003: three fromBermuda, three from Guadeloupe and onefrom Cuba. More that 30 kg were reportedfrom Guadeloupe, Colombia and the Dutch

Regional overviews – the Americas

� Chilean Customs found 14.5 kg of herbalcannabis inside rope spools.

(Photos courtesy of Chilean Customs)

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Antilles being the source countries. Almost7 kg of heroin which originated in Nigeriaand was bound for the USA were found byCuban Customs officers.

Cannabis

The volume of herbal cannabis rose from4 tonnes in 2002 to 5.8 tonnes in 2003.More than 5 tonnes (3 cases) were reportedby Jamaican Customs. Bermuda andBarbados reported respectively 16 and 20cases totalling 104 and 143 kg respectively.

No seizures of cannabis resin were reported.

Other drugs

No seizures of psychotropic substances werereported in 2003.

CENTRAL

AMERICA

Unfortunately, no seizure reports have beenentered into the CEN database by anyCentral American country.

Regional overviews – the Americas

� Bermuda Customs seized 300 gramsof cannabis hidden inside the spoolsof ribbon sent by a courier expresscompany.

(Photos courtesy of Bermudian Customs)

� Hungarian Customs dismantled 112 kgof heroin in the false floor and ceiling ofa Romanian Peugeot delivery van. Theheroin was destined for Germany.

(Photos courtesy of Hungarian Customs)

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Overview

The reporting of seizures carried out in theAfrican region remains inconsistent. In total,246 seizure reports were entered in the CENdatabase, which reflects almost the samenumber as in 2002. Ten Member states re-ported drugs seizures in 2003. This meansthat there can only be limited intelligenceobtained from an analysis of the data on theCEN database. Morocco accounts for almost80% of the number of seizures reported inthe region, and cannabis resin accounts forthe majority of seizures.

Opiates

Heroin was the only type of opiate detectedin Africa in 2003. The number of heroinseizures rose from four in 2002 to nine in2003, while the quantity decreased from37 kg to 16 kg in 2003.

South Africa states in its report that, al-though no heroin was seized, informationwas received indicating that heroin is beingsmuggled into South Africa.

All heroin seizures were made at airports,whereby the heroin was mainly swallowedby the couriers or concealed in the luggagecarried.

Mauritius and Kenya reported four caseseach, while one seizure was carried out inTanzania. India was reported as the countryof departure three times. Kenya was targetedas the final country of destination three times.

INCB states that illicit opium poppy cultiva-tion continues on the Sinai peninsula inEgypt, but cultivation is limited and de-clining. It is assumed that no illicit heroinproduction is taking place there.

Cocaine

The number of reported cocaine seizuresrose from 7 in 2002 to 12 in 2003, while thequantity rose from 32 kg in 2002 to 98 kg in2003. Ten of the twelve seizures were re-ported from South Africa, while one seizureeach was reported from Morocco andKenya. South Africa has a market for co-caine as well as an increasing market forMDMA. Seven of the ten seizures carried outin South Africa originated in Brazil. Theseseven cases accounted for 87% of the quan-tities seized in the African region. SouthAfrica can be considered as being the maindestination country in this region for co-caine shipments from South America. Onlytwo seizures were bound for the Europeanm a r k e t , n a m e l y t o S p a i n a n d t h eNetherlands.

The largest cocaine seizure made in 2003was a seizure of 50 kg carr ied out atJohannesburg Airport. The South Africancourier had come from Brazil, and the co-caine was detected in the false compart-ments of an “Eminent” suitcase. A seizure of20 kg of cocaine was also carried out atJohannesburg Airport. The air freight con-signment had left Brazil, and the cocainewas concealed inside picture frames.

Three cocaine seizures were carried out inpostal traffic during 2003. All seizures weremade in a Johannesburg mail centre. Twocases originated in Brazil, while one hadbeen sent from South Africa. One seizurewas bound for Australia, the second forSouth Africa, the third for Lesotho.

Moroccan Customs officers seized almost500 grams of cocaine in a passenger car enroute to Spain. The drug was concealed inthe dashboard of a Moroccan HondaAccord. The male Moroccan was arrested.

Regional overviews – Africa

Regional overviews – Africa

� Belgium Customs detected cannabisinside African masks

(Photos courtesy of Belgium Customs)

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Herbal cannabis

The INCB Annual Report 2003 states thatSouthern Africa continues to be the majorsource of herbal cannabis. The major pro-ducers are South Africa, Malawi, Lesotho,Swaziland and Mozambique.

Detections of herbal cannabis remained at alevel of eleven cases, while the quantitymore than doubled to almost 8 tonnes. Thefigures are affected by a single large seizureof more than six tonnes which took place inLarache, Morocco.

Burkina Faso reported another large seizureof 492 kg. Lesotho, Côte d’Ivoire, Mali andMauritius also reported seizures whichvaried in quantities between 4 kg and 22 kg.

Cannabis resin

The UNODC’s survey 2003 on cannabisstates that Morocco has become one of themain producers of cannabis resin and that itprimarily supplies the European market.The potential cannabis resin production wasestimated to be 3,080 metric tonnes, whilethe amount of cannabis cultivation has beenincreasing over the past few years.

Morocco, and to a lesser extent Tunisia,were the only countries in the African regionreporting seizures of cannabis resin. Eventhough the number of seizures decreasedfrom 225 in 2002 to 198 in 2003, the quan-tity rose by 15 tonnes to 45.8 tonnes in2003. Worldwide, 256,084 kg of cannabisresin originating in Morocco was seized in2003 in comparison with 182,938 kg seizedin the previous year.

As a result of its geographical location,Spain remained the main point of entry into

We s t e r n E u r o p e f o l l o w e d b y t h eNetherlands, France, Germany, Switzerland,Italy and Belgium.

The United Kingdom did not seize anycannabis resin directly shipped fromMorocco. The cannabis resin seized wasshipped mainly via Spain.

Ninety-five percent of the cannabis resinseized in Africa was transported by road ve-hicles. Places of concealment inside the legalfreight cargo became more important in2003, when almost 29 tonnes of cannabisresin was detected in comparison with onlyfive tonnes the previous year. The numberof freight consignments (six cases) remainedat the same level. The cover loads of two ofthe six cases detected in 2003 were toma-toes, while cover loads such as furniture andtextiles were also used.

Another preferred method of concealmentinvolves hiding the drugs in the means oftransport, such as in false floors or in theceiling of trailers or containers, manufac-turer-designed cavities in the vehicle, in thewings, etc.

UNODC and INCB state, as in the previousyear, that Morocco remains one of theworld’s leading cannabis resin producers.

Psychotropicsubstances

The INCB report states that the abuse ofmethaqualone (Mandrax) continues to be amatter of concern in countries in Easternand Southern Africa, particularly in SouthAfrica. One large single seizure of almost 4.4tonnes of Mandrax was seized in SouthAfrica in 2003.

Burkina Faso reported its annual totals ofamphetamine seizures for the years 2002and 2003, involving 300 kg and almost 800kg respectively.

South Africa was the only African country toreport seizures of MDMA (ecstasy), in-volving three seizures and totalling 3,500tablets. All three mail consignments had leftthe Netherlands. In one case, the ecstasywas concealed in grinders sent by the ex-press parcel company TNT.

Regional overviews – Africa

Cannabis resin originating in Morocco 2002 - 2003

Destination 2002 2003

Spain 128,584 186,259Netherlands 21,165 28,750France 9,544 18,368United Kingdom 5,426 6,142Germany 1,899 4,307Morocco 8,126 4,190Belgium 4,631 3,642Italy 881 2,231Ireland 31 851Switzerland 11 669Portugal 1,057 278Denmark 5 33

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Opiates

As the table shows, the number of heroinseizures remained almost at the same level,even though the quantity fell dramaticallyfrom 100 kg to only 20 kg in 2003. The fig-ures for 2002 are affected by two largeseizures totalling 75 kg.

In 2003, more than half of the heroinseizures were reported by Kuwait, followedby Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. The UAE re-ported two seizures of more than 0.7 kg.

The main departure country for heroin ship-ments was unsurprisingly Pakistan, eventhough the quantities involved fell from 34kg to 5.5 kg. Five shipments left India thisyear in comparison with none in 2002, allseizures being carried out in Bahrain. Fourof these cases were detected in transit bag-gage bound for Saudi Arabia, while a singleseizure of 1 kg was destined for Bahrain.While no shipments left the Netherlands,Afghanistan or Thailand in 2002, these werementioned for one shipment each in 2003.Kuwait and Saudi Arabia were the main des-tination countries.

The UAE reported this year 13 seizures ac-counting for 3.671 kg of opium, in compar-ison with none in 2002. Kuwait a lsoreported eight opium seizures amounting to

more than nine kg. A single seizure was alsoreported this year by Saudi Arabia. Nineteenof the twenty-two opium seizures originatedin Iran. The seizures made in the UAE weremainly discovered in the offenders’ clothingor in their luggage.

Six opium seizures originating in Iran werecarried out in Kuwait. All cases were de-tected in air traffic, while, most interestingly,all cases involve couriers who had swal-lowed the drugs.

Only one seizure involves smuggling of 100grams of morphine. The seizure took placein the UAE.

Cocaine

Cocaine does not appear to be widespreadin the region. However, the quantity of co-caine rose from 6.8 kg to 40.8 kg in 2003 al-though the number of detections fell fromseven to five.

Lebanese Customs officers detected 96% ofthe cocaine in two shipments. Both seizureswere made in January, one a t Be i rutInternational Airport and the other at theBeirut seaport. Almost 20 kg were found inthe luggage of a 27 year-old Lebanese, whoarrived via Paris from Sao Paulo, Brazil,where he lived.

The other seizure of 19.5 kg was carried outin a containerized maritime freight consign-ment, arriving from Venezuela via Valencia,Spain. The cocaine was concealed inside thehydraulic oil tank of an excavating machine.

In 2002, Saudi Arabia succeeded in de-tecting six couriers who had swallowed co-caine. Five of these seizures, totalling almost5 kg, had left Nigeria, while this place ofconcealment was not identified in 2003.Nigeria was mentioned only twice in 2003 asbeing a departure country, and the seizurestook place both times in Saudi Arabia.

Cannabis

Several large seizures of cannabis resin werereported in 2002, the largest of which wasof 1.5 tonnes of resin detected at Al-Shuaibaseaport in Kuwait. The resin was concealedin a freight consignment declared to be con-taining paint. It had originated in Pakistan.

Saudi Arabia reported 15 of the 17 cases ofcannabis resin.

Only two cases refer to seizures of herbalcannabis. One seizure of 662 kg was de-tected by Saudi Arabia, and the consign-ment had again left Pakistan.

In fact, Pakistan was mentioned as thesource country for 5 shipments totalling 2.8tonnes of cannabis, in comparison with asingle case of 736 kg in 2002. Morocco wasreported as a source country six times, butfor a total of only 16 kg.

Regional overviews – Middle East

Regional overviews – Middle East

Drug type Data 2002 2003 Grand total

Heroin No. of seizures 25 24 49Quantity seized (kg) 100.477 19.976 120.453

Morphine No. of seizures 1 1Quantity seized (kg) 0.100 0.100

Opium No. of seizures 13 22 35Quantity seized (kg) 4.005 13.227 17.232

Grand total – No. of seizures 38 47 85Grand total – Quantity seized (kg) 104.482 33.303 137.785

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Psychotropicsubstances

AmphetamineThe Middle East region and especially SaudiArabia is the largest market for ampheta-mine. The number and quantity seized inSaudi Arabia is shown in the table.

Both the number of seizures and the quanti-ties seized rose tremendously over the period.

Even a consideration of the first two monthsof 2004 indicates that this trend is most likelyto continue throughout the rest of the year.

The source o f amphetamine has notchanged over the years. It still arrives viafrontier crossings with Syria and Jordan.Few cases were reported originating inTurkey, and the UAE, Kuwait and Lebanonwere reported once. The amphetamine ismainly transported by road vehicles such ascars, buses and lorries.

Other drugs

Only a few seizures of other types of drugswere reported in 2003. Bahrain reported asingle seizure of benzodiazepam togetherwith a seizure of LSD.

Regional overviews – Middle East

� Belgium Customs detectedcocaine inside melons.

(Photos courtesy of Belgium Customs)

No. of seizures in Saudi Arabia

No. of Quantityseizures kg

2000 5 6472001 25 1,4712002 28 2,0272003 32 2,174Jan. & Feb. 2004 8 905

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RISK

MANAGEMENT

Customs enforcement has developed dra-matically over the last few decades to keeppace with the tremendous increase in inter-national trade and transport, the growingawareness of trans-frontier organized crimeand, more recently, the threat of terrorism.This has led to an increased awareness inCustoms administrations that national andinternational co-operation is essential.

An important aspect of this co-operation liesin sharing information among Customsservices and other law enforcement agen-cies. There has also been recognition of thevalue of sharing information with businesspartners. All this information provides thebasis for risk management, which is gener-ally regarded as the best approach toCustoms controls in current internationalbusiness practice.

This has made intelligence a very importanttool. Customs officers today and in the fu-ture will be carrying out operational drugenforcement work based on operational andtactical intelligence.

What is intelligence andintelligence analysisIntelligence is a product which is de-rived from the collection and pro-cessing of relevant information andwhich acts as a basis for user deci-sion-making. All data, whetherprocessed or analysed or not, aswell as documents, reports or anyother communications in anyformat, including formats in elec-tronic form or certified or authen-ticated copies of them, representsinformation that may be used.

Types of intelligence:Three main levels of decision-makingare supported by three types of intelli-gence.

Strategic intelligence supports policymakers in formulating and implementing

the high-level aims, objectives, policies andplans on the part of the Customs.

Tactical intelligence supports national andlocal managers of front-line units in plan-ning activities and deploying resources toachieve operational objectives.

Operational intelligence supports front-lineunits in taking case-specific action to achievecompliance or enforcement objectives.

What is “the intelligence cycle”?

The intelligence cycle represents a specific setof activities which turn raw information intointelligence. There are five steps constitutingthe intelligence cycle:

1. Direction:The direction of current and futureintelligence operations is established.The aim and objectives of the“intelligence project” have to beclearly defined.

2. Collection:The information to be processed iscollected. This stage also involves aninitial assessment of the reliability of theinformation source and of the accuracyof the information itself.

3. Processing:Information is turned into intelligence.Processing consists of a number ofcomponents, such as evaluation,collation, analysis and interpretation.

4. Dissemination:The intelligence product, for example areport, is distributed to the users.

5. Formal review:The intelligence users and providersjointly evaluate each phase of the cycle.

Special Items

More detailed information can be gathered from the WCO documents EC0132E3 orEC 0132F3, EC0133E2 or EC0133F2 and the Risk Management Guide available on theWCO’s Members website.

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AFRICAN

SEAPORTS PROJECT

It is now three years since Customs andDrugs provided an update on the AfricanSeaports Project, funded by the UnitedNations Office on Drugs and Crime with theWCO acting as the executive agency. Theproject commenced at the end of 1997 andis designed to improve drug control capacityin the ports of Eastern and Southern Africaby establishing joint Customs and Policeanti-drug units in identified key ports.Members of each port unit receive class-room training which lasts three weeks, prac-t i c a l t r a i n i n g i n t h e i r h o m e p o r tenvironment which lasts four weeks. Threeor four officers also make a fellowship visitto train alongside officers in a more experi-enced port. The training is based on the useof intelligence, risk assessment and profilingto select high-risk consignments and seavessels for attention. The units are taughthow to collect and analyse intelligence andthen how to search the selected containersand vessels safely and effectively. In order tofacilitate this, the units are supplied with anagreed package of search equipment andprotective clothing.

In the original project phase, funded byItaly, Sweden and Finland, port units wereestablished in Mombasa, Dar-Es-Salaam,Durban, Maputo and Djibouti. There were anumber of benefits for the region, not leastin the form of a number of significant drugseizures and the subsidiary detection of rev-enue and other non-drug offences. Theworking methods, based on intelligence-ledrisk assessment, have also encouraged bettercommunication and co-operation betweenthe law enforcement agencies and the pri-vate sector at each location.

The success of the original project led to anextension phase being funded by the USA.This saw additional port units being estab-l ished in Cape Town, Port Elizabeth,Johannesburg City Deep (an inland clear-ance depot) and Port Louis, Mauritius. Thenine teams have collectively continued tomake drug seizures, many of which were int r a n s i t c o n s i g n m e n t s d e s t i n e d f o rEuropean and North American ports.

Notable detections include 11 tonnes and1.8 tonnes of cannabis resin, 2.6 millionamphetamine tablets, 4 tonnes of Mandraxpowder (sufficient to produce 8 milliontablets), 4 tonnes of anthranilic acid (a pre-cursor for Mandrax), a Mandrax tabletpressing machine, and 350 kg of cocaine.Non-drug seizures include 35 million ciga-rettes, an additional 8.3 million pirated ciga-r e t t e s t o g e t h e r w i t h m a c h i n e r y t omanufacture 5 million cigarettes per week,an extensive range of counterfeit goods, and63 tonnes of stolen platinum.

A significant reason for the success of theproject is the excellence of the trainers, pro-vided by the Customs administrations ofBelgium, Canada, France, Ireland, the UK,the USA and South Africa. France andBelgium in particular have repeatedly sup-plied one trainer each. The long-term in-volvement of these two trainers, and theircontinuing contact with and support for allthe port units, has provided incalculablebenefits to the project.

The total budget for the initial and first ex-tension phases was $1.2 million, includingproject support costs. The UNODC has nowsourc ed fund ing f rom the US S t a t eDepartment for a second extension phase.This will run through 2004-5 and will es-tablish new teams in Zanzibar in Tanzania,Beira and Nacala in Mozambique, andWalvis Bay in Namibia. It will also supplyrefresher training to the first four teamsformed within the project. It is most grati-fying to see this valuable project still goingstrong after almost seven years.

Special Items

Cape Town

Dar Es Salaam

Mombasa

Djibouti

Port ElisabethDurban

MaputoPort Louis

Kenya

Tanzania

SouhAfrica

Mozam

bique

JohannesburgCity Deep

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PRECURSOR

CHEMICALS

With the exception of cannabis, most illicitdrugs types require a certain number of pre-cursors and essential chemicals for theirproduction.

The INCB report on precursors for 2003noted that monitoring and control mecha-nisms for the licit trade in precursor chemi-cals are in place in most of the majormanufacturing exporting and importingcountries.

Various projects have been initiated tocombat smuggling and illicit trading in pre-cursor chemicals.

WCO and precursorprojects

The WCO is participating in thefollowing projects:The Prism Task Force Project was launched inJanuary 2003. The aim of this task force is toidentify diversions of the five main precursorsused in the illicit manufacture of ampheta-mine-type stimulants, namely ephedrine, 3,4-methylenedioxyphenyl-2-propanone (PMK),1-phenyl -2propanone (BMK), pseu-doephedrine and safrole as well as the equip-m e n t w h i c h i s u s e d . B a c k t r a c k i n ginvestigations are carried out to identify theactual source of the seized precursors.

Operation Topaz is based on an informaland voluntary agreement among a numberof participating countries, whose main goalis to monitor and track consignments ofacetic anhydride, which is a main precursorfor the production of heroin. OperationTopaz has successfully been ongoing sinceMarch 2001.

Special Items

� In October Dutch Customs seized4,000 litres of PMK/BMK at the port ofRotterdam. The chemicals were found ina freight consignment declared as cleandisinfectant. More than 283,000 tablets ofMDMA, 14 kg heroin, 30 kg amphetaminebase, 3.5 kg cocaine, weapons andequipment used to produce drugswere seized.

(Photos courtesy of Dutch Customs)

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The European Commission initiated thePHARE programme in 1992. The objectivesof this project are to assist and supportcountries in the Central and EasternEuropean region in terms of precursor leg-islation, training, technical assistance, etc.

Precursor interceptionsin 2003

The number of precursor seizures of morethan 10 kg rose from 34 cases in 2002 to 37cases in 2003.

The majority of precursor seizures reportedinto the CEN database involved ephedrine,which is the basic chemical for the produc-tion of amphetamine and methampheta-mine. There was almost twice the numberof detections of ephedrine in the periodfrom 2002 to 2003, amounting to 15 caseswhich involved more than 3 tonnes and170,000 tablets.

Turkey was reported as the main country ofdeparture, followed by Australia. Seizureswere mainly carried out in mail centres orat airports, followed by seizures made onboard road vehicles.

The New Zealand Customs authorities re-ported six detections totalling 153,000tablets. Larger quantities were shipped inmail consignments, while smaller quantitieswere carried on the offender or in the luggage

of the persons travelling by aircraft. Threeof the six shipments had originated inAustralia.

The two largest seizures involved 1,000 kgand 1,024 kg of ephedrine being found onboard a truck in India.

Acetic anhydride is the main precursor forthe production of heroin. Three cases to-talling 5,660 litres of acetic anhydride wereseized in 2003, which is only a third of thequantity seized in 2002, when Turkeyseized more than 17,000 litres in two inci-dents. By contrast, Turkey did not reportany seizures in 2003. The largest seizure re-ported this year was made in Bulgaria,where Customs officers detected 4,500litres which had left Turkey by truck.

There were very few reports of cocaine pre-cursors such as sulphuric acid, toluene andpotassium permanganate in 2003.

Acetone is used in the illegal production ofheroin, cocaine, amphetamine and its de-rivates and lysergide, better known as LSD.The number of detections rose from two in2002 to four in 2003, while the quantity in-creased enormously from only 220 litresthe year before to 3,660 litres last year. Twoseizures were made in the Philippines,where 1,960 litres were detected insidefreight consignments. The other twoseizures took place in Arad, Romania,where 1,700 litres of pure acetone werefound in overland freight consignmentswhich had left Italy.

Precursor Licit use Illicit use

Acetic anhydride In textile industry Mainly heroinAmphetamine, methamphetamine, methaqualone, etc.

Acetone Manufacture of plastics Heroin, cocaine,substituted derivates of amphetamine and methamphetamine

Ephedrine Manufacture of bronchodilators Amphetamine, methamphetamineHydrochloric acid Manufacture of chlorides and hydrochlorides Heroin, cocain, substituted derivates of amphetamine and

In cleaning metal products methamphetamine, LSD, methaqualone, etc.Methyl ethyl ketone Manufacture of coatings, lacquers, resins Heroin and cocaine3,4-methylenedioxyphenyl Manufacture of perfume components Ring-substituted derivates of amphetamine and methamphetamine-2-propanone (PMK)Phenyl-2-propanone (BMK) Manufacture of amphetamine Amphetamine, methamphetaminePiperonal In perfumeries, cherry and vanilla flavouring Ring-substituted derivates of amphetamine and methamphetamine

and mosquito repellentsPotassium permanganate For bleaching applications. Cocaine

In disinfectantsSafrole In perfumeries. Manufacture Ring-substituted derivates of amphetamine and methamphetamine

of piperonal and soaps

Hydrochloric acid was detected twice in2003, in amounts totalling to 5,000 kg. Theseizures were made in the Philippines in twomaritime freight consignments arriving fromChinese Taipei.

The most popular precursors to ampheta-mine and methamphetamine are phenyl-2-propanone (also called P2P, BMK, benzylmethyl ketone or phenylacetone andpiperony methyl ketone (also called 3,4-methylenedioxyphenyl-2-propanone orPMK) The quantities of BMK and PMKseized increased dramatically in 2003, eventhough the number of cases remained small.

In July, Customs officers in Rotterdam sea-port seized 3,020 litres of BMK. The mar-itime consignment had declared contents ofmushroom sauce which had left China.Only three months later, Customs atRotterdam seaport detected a consignmentoriginating in China. This time, 4,000 litresof BMK and PMK were seized, the biggestseizure of its kind ever reported. Cleansingagents (soaps) were used to cover the illegalconsignment.

Licit and illicit use ofthe main precursors

The UNODC has produced a guide to pre-cursor chemicals and their licit and illicituse. The table below reflects a short sum-mary of this guide.

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and within the regional administrative infra-structure have to be examined in order toidentify measures for improvements.

DRUGS IN

AFRICAN MAIL

The UNODC Project “Countering DrugTrafficking and Money Laundering viaPostal Systems in Africa”, which was initi-ated in February 2001, provides another ex-ample of the close co-operation between theUNODC and the WCO,.

The project is aiming to strengthen nationaland regional efforts to combat illicit drugtrafficking and money laundering throughpostal systems in 18 countries located inNorthern, Eastern and Western Africa. Sixcountries each in Arabic-, English- andFrench- speaking regions of Africa havebeen identified for the project.

The Universal Postal Union (UPU), ICPO-Interpol, UNODC and the WCO jointly de-veloped a specialized training programmeadapted to the needs of the envisaged coun-tries. This training package has been deliv-ered to Postal, Police and Customs officersand managers. Aspects to be covered by thetraining programmes include risk assess-ment, profiling, targeting, interception andthe development of effective response mech-anisms. By the end of the project, more than180 people will have been trained and sev-eral inter-agency co-operation arrangementswill have been established.

Training has already taken place in Egypt,Ghana, Kenya, Morocco, Senegal, Tanzaniaand Uganda from 2001 to 2003.

LARGE

COCAINE

SHIPMENTS

The number of large cocaine shipments re-ported worldwide rose tremendously during2003. For this reason, we took a closer lookat the seizures of more than 500 kg.

As already mentioned, the volume of co-caine seized increased by over 30% to 64tonnes in 2003. This increase can be ex-plained by the number of detections of ex-tremely large seizures, which rose by 10 to26, while the quantity involved rose from 26to 41 tonnes.

In Spain law enforcement agencies seizedremarkable quantities in 2003, amountingto almost 20 tonnes more than in 2002.

The UK Customs seized two large maritimeconsignments arriving from Brazil.

In Martinique Customs seized 1,113 kg ofcocaine in the water tanks of a vessel,leaving Grenada via Martinique and headingfor Spain.

Two seizures were reported from the DutchAntilles, both of which involved drugs beingrecovered from the sea.

The Netherlands and Italy were the onlycountries which reported seizures carriedout in the area of air freight. Three consign-ments were reported from Amsterdam air-port. Two consignments had left Cuba, oneJamaica. Another air freight consignment ofcandles originating in Venezuela and boundfor Spain was detected in Rome. The can-dles were made of cocaine (505 kg).

For 2002, only Colombia, Brazil, Peru and

Special Items

Country No. of Quantityseizures kg

Spain 13 28,584Netherlands 6 7,611United Kingdom 2 1,499Dutch Antilles 2 1,415Martinique 1 1,113Peru 1 561Italy 1 505

UNODC’S

“PARIS PACT”The Secretary General of the WCO attendedthe Ministerial Conference on the DrugRoutes from Central Asia to Europe, whichw a s h e l d i n P a r i s o n 2 2 M a y 2 0 0 3 .According to studies supplied by the UnitedNations, international organizations and thevarious specialist agencies, opium andheroin consumption has sharply increasedalong the drug trafficking routes, and nu-merous new routes have appeared. TheUNODC Executive Director, Antonio MariaCosta, proposed a new partnership amongall countries and parties affected by opiumtrafficking originating in Afghanistan. Theneed for strong and well co-ordinated pro-grammes against heroin trafficking fromAfghanistan was subsequently raised duringthe Evian G8 Summit and the June 2003UN Security Council Special meeting ondrugs in Afghanistan.

The UNODC developed within the ParisPact a consultative mechanism for co-ordi-nation as a twin-track approach toward anoperational level and a policy level.

Two specialized round tables at the opera-t ional level took place in Brussels inSeptember and October 2003. The firstround table focused on the Balkan route; thesecond round table was hosted by the WCOand focused on the Islamic Republic of Iran.The round table discussions contributed tothe identification of trafficking points andat-risk frontiers. The consultative policymeeting, which took place in Rome inNovember 2003, recognized the need for anintensified action programme throughout theregions under a co-ordinated mechanism.

The WCO will continue to participate ac-tively in the forthcoming round table dis-cussions. One future contribution will be astrategy on how to interdict drugs traf-ficking from Afghanistan through CentralAsia and Eastern Europe to Western Europe.The strategy, which is currently being devel-oped, will have to highlight the major routesand crucial frontier points, through whichlegal commercial traffic is being channelled.Weaknesses at these frontier crossing points

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Ecuador were reported as being countries ofdeparture. For 2003, this list was extendedto Spain and to the Caribbean region, in-cluding Trinidad and Tobago, Cuba, theDutch Antilles, Grenada, and Jamaica ascountries of departure.

Common destination countries in 2002 and2003 included Spain, the Netherlands andthe United Kingdom, while Belgium, theDutch Antilles and Guatemala were reportedonly in 2003. Final destination countriessuch as Colombia, Peru, Germany, Italy andPortugal were reported only in 2002.

Special Items

� On board the ship “Boston Ward” arrivingfrom the Caribbean 714 kg of cocainewere found.

(Photos courtesy of Spanish Customs)

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HEROIN

IN WALNUTS

Over the last few years, a number of seizureswere made in nuts. In 2001, Customs in theUnited Kingdom and Germany foundheroin in consignments of almonds arrivingfrom Pakistan. The almond was replaced by1-2 grams of heroin, and the shell was gluedaround the heroin.

A similar modus operandi was discovered in2003. The seizure of 360 grams of herointook place at Birmingham airport in theUnited Kingdom. A consignment of 470 kgof walnuts was physically examined after anX-ray had detected inconsistencies. Thewalnut shells had been split and then filledwith a small plastic bag containing heroin.To minimize the risk of detection, only 30walnuts (2-3 in each bag) contained heroin.

The United Kingdom published an alert,also available on the CEN website, in re-spect of this modus operandi.

In March 2004, a similar seizure tookplace at Yekaterinburg Airport, RussianFederation. This time 4.5 kg of heroin wasconcealed inside individual walnuts whichweighed four to five grams, the averageweight of a walnut. Again, the X-rayshowed that the walnut shell had been dis-cretely taken apart and glued togetheragain. The Tajikistani courier had arrivedvia Hujand, Tajikistan. This is one of manyseizures involving heroin, transportedf r o m A f g h a n i s t a n t o t h e R u s s i a nFederation via Tajikistan. An alert waspublished accordingly.

METHOD OF CIRCUM-VENTING EMIT TEST

In November 2003, UK Customs officers atHeathrow Airport arrested two couriers, a17 year old female and a 28 year old male,arriving from Montego Bay in Jamaica.

When the male courier was strip-searched,two condoms of “clean” urine were foundattached to the buttonhole of his underwear.A similar condom of “clean” urine wasfound in the female’s underwear.

The urine-filled condoms had been given tothe couriers by the organizers in Jamaica, tobe “delivered” in the event of a urine samplebeing requested by Customs officials.

The EMIT test is used by many Customs ad-ministrations to detect the presence of con-trolled drugs in the urine of suspected drugsswallowers.

Special Items

(Photos courtesy of UK Customs)

COCAINE CONCEALED

ON BOARD AIRCRAFT

The concealment of cocaine on board aircraftrose significantly during 2003. In 2002, 17cases were detected, totalling 271 kg, while 61cases totalling 1,016 kg were detected in 2003.

The Dutch Customs in particular succeededin detecting cocaine smuggling on board air-craft. Half the quantities detected arrivedfrom Curacao in the Caribbean. Surinamewas mentioned as the departure country for243 kg, followed by Venezuela (61 kg) andJamaica (56 kg).

Most of the se izures were reported as“airbags”, which involves a bag or a box whichis not on the manifest and which would nor-mally be ripped off by airport workers. Largerquantities were concealed under the floor ofthe cargo area. Another favourite method ofconcealment is to hide the drugs in cateringtrolleys and waste bins, behind panels, behindcomputer equipment, etc.

Three of the four seizures carried out inCanada involved two detections at the pas-senger seats and one in the toilet.

Drugs transported in air freight containers,which are not included in the table, are eitherreported as having been seized in freight con-signments or in the transport specified as acontainer.

Large quantities were reported in this area. InCanada, 42 kg of cocaine were found insidethe false ceiling of a cargo container. Theshipment arrived from Trinidad and Tobago.

It is worthwhile highlighting another excep-tionally large seizure which took place atAmsterdam a irport , the Nether lands .Approximately 600 kg of cocaine were foundin an AKE luggage container. The consign-ment contained eleven boxes which all had“cla im tags” , normal ly being used forchecked-in luggage and not for freight con-signments. The US Customs also seized 50 kgof cocaine behind the false wall of a cargocontainer. The container had arrived from theDominican Republic in the Caribbean.

No. of seizures Quantity in kgCountry 2002 2003 2002 2003Netherlands 15 47 216 971Canada 4 20France 1 12Bermuda 1 11Czech Republic 1 1Belgium 7 1United Kingdom 2 55Grand total 17 61 271 1,016

Number and quantity seized – on board aircraft

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COCAINE IN NATURAL

GRANITE

In May 2003, Customs officers in Antwerpexamined eight 40-foot open-top containersloaded with eight blocks of natural graniteweighing 112,250 kg. Examination of thegoods was carried out together with theBelgian Police. It was not possible to identifyany traces on the blocks, the drug detectiondogs did not react and the scan imagesshowed everything black. The goods wereput under surveillance. The blocks wereloaded onto trucks and transported to awarehouse in Antwerp. Two weeks later, oneof the blocks was loaded onto a trailer,which was then loaded onto a train boundfor Perpignan, France. A Belgian truck drovethe trailer from Perpignan to Reus in Spain,where the block was unloaded in a ware-house. Close co-operation with the SpanishPolice was established.

It was finally decided to examine closely thegranite block, which was broken into thou-sands of pieces. A total of 294 kg of cocainewas seized, and fourteen people involvedwere arrested.

� The cocaine could not be identified byusing X-ray equipment. The granite blockwas destroyed into thousands of piecesand a total of 294 kg were seized

(Photos courtesy of Belgium and Spanish Customs)

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OPIATESHeroin Morphine Opium Poppy Straw

No. of Quantity No. of Quantity No. of Quantity No. of Quantityseizures (Kg) seizures (Kg) seizures (Kg) seizures (Kg)

Asia and Pacific 338 2,370 3 6 72 323 2 8,150Caribbean 7 33CIS 98 602 16 7 21 86E/C Europe 65 2,271 3 9 2 1Middle East 24 20 1 0,1 22 13North America 20 33 2 1,3 13 62South America 7 48 6 33E/S Africa 9 16Western Europe 397 1,993 2 2,2 19 47

Grand Total 965 7,386 8 9,6 151 494 25 8,237

COCAINECocaine Cocaine Base Cocaine Solution Crack

No. of Quantity No. of Quantity No. of Quantity No. of Quantityseizures (Kg) seizures (Kg) seizures (Kg/Litres) seizures (Kg)

Asia and Pacific 26 78Caribbean 32 4.896 2 4.2 5 2.2CIS 6 42E/C Europe 21 482 1 6Middle East 5 41 1 20North Africa 1 0.5North America 135 959 1 0.5 1 0.4South America 487 2.013 29 220 1 0.6E/S Africa 11 97Western Europe 4.934 55.776 7 33 12 44.3 9 17

Grand Total 5.658 64.386 39 279.5 14 48.5 16 20.2

CANNABISHerbal Cannabis Cannabis-liquid/oil Cannabis-other Cannabis Resin

Asia and Pacific 76 16,344 1 5,582 82 17,507Caribbean 41 5,826CIS 75 6,123 9 35E/C Europe 30 1,962 1 180 10 457Middle East 2 663 1 25,000 17 2,358North Africa 4 7,405 198 45,810North America 30 694 8 92 3 10,536South America 36 1,203E/S Africa 3 15 11 1,082West Africa 4 526Western Europe 440 33,459 11 135 5 198 4 291 1,224 278,433

Grand Total 741 74,220 19 227 17 6,862 6 25,471 1,543 355,136

The tables give an overview of the number and quantity seized for the main drug types

No. of Quantity No. of Quantity No. of Quantity No. of Quantity No. of Quantityseizures (Kg) seizures (Kg/Litres) seizures (Kg) seizures (units) seizures (Kg)

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PSYCHOTROPIC SUBSTANCESAmphetamine Benzodiazepam Benzoflunitrazepam

Asia and Pacific 4 1,450CIS 1 1 3 182,9 3 875E/C Europe 7 159 4 532,318Middle East 32 7,245,956 1 1,360North America 2 0,3 2 502 12 6,748 2 20,300South AmericaE/S AfricaWest Africa 1 797Western Europe 125 1.465 1 1.640 2 0,1 62 86,490 25 97,471

Grand Total 136 2,422 39 7,780,416 5 183 82 96,923 27 117,771

PSYCHOTROPIC SUBSTANCESMethamphetamine Methaqualone Psilocybines

(Mandrax)

Asia and Pacific 50 718.5 7 15,532 2 4,317CIS E/C Europe 4 0.2 2 4 1 250Middle East 1 34,400North America 2 0.6 1 231 2 4.2 2 848South AmericaE/S Africa 1 4,386West AfricaWestern Europe 11 5.1 3 10,569 1 1 14 64

Grand Total 67 724.4 11 26,332 4 8,704 18 72.2 4 35,498

PSYCHOTROPIC SUBSTANCESLSD MDMA (Ecstasy) Methadone

Asia and Pacific 1 306 21 698 36 711,836 6 2.1CIS 1 0.2E/C Europe 1 4 8 287,982Middle East 1 420North America 8 10,508 22 5,583,274 1 5South America 1 9 1 5,500E/S Africa 3 3,500West AfricaWestern Europe 3 30,365 115 1,222 157 2,953,601 9 8.9

Grand Total 13 41,599 138 1,933 227 9,545,693 17 16.2

No. of Quantity No. of Quantity No. of Quantity No. of Quantity No. of Quantityseizures (Kg) seizures (Tabs) seizures (Kg) seizures (Tabs) seizures (Tabs)

No. of Quantity No. of Quantity No. of Quantity No. of Quantityseizures (Doses) seizures (Kg) seizures (Tabs) seizures (Kg)

No. of Quantity No. of Quantity No. of Quantity No. of Quantity No. of Quantityseizures (Kg) seizures (Tabs) seizures (Kg) seizures (Kg) seizures (Tabs)

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PSYCHOTROPIC SUBSTANCESOther Psychotropic Substances Khat

Asia and Pacific 24 92 55 233,437CIS 29 973 36 430,882E/C Europe 5 1,106,988Middle East 1 0 5 2,005,570North America 3 5 1 0.2 340 20,547South AmericaE/S AfricaWest AfricaWestern Europe 6 18 8 618 35 31.631 322 18,475

Grand Total 63 1,088 9 618.2 136 3,808,508 662 39,022

Remarkable large seizures made in 2003

COCAINECEN ID Date Country Location Route Conveyance Quantity Concealment

(Kg)70450 11 Oct. 03 Spain Atlantic Ocean UN-ES Vessel:Other 5,734 In transport:Vessel59500 20 Aug. 03 Netherlands Vlissingen VE-XC-NL-BE Commercial vessel 4,050 In transport:

Vessel:On board 70550 4 July 03 Spain Atlantic Ocean VE-ES Fishing vessel 3,640 In transport:

Vessel:On board55347 8 May 03 Spain Vigo CO-ES Commercial vessel 3,271 In transport:Vessel67729 6 Dec. 03 Spain Vigo UN-ES Vessel 2,800 In transport:

Vessel:On board55363 30 May 03 Spain Canarias UN-ES Vessel 2,611 In transport:

Vessel:On board55364 4 June 03 Spain Canarias UN-ES Vessel 2,591 In transport:

Vessel:On board57689 13 Apr.03 Spain Gran Canaria TT-ES Commercial vessel 1,887 In transport:

Vessel:Other70545 7 May 03 Spain Vizcaya CO-VE-ES Container ship 1,750 In freight:Sea70537 16 Nov.03 Spain Atlantic Ocean UN-ES Fishing vessel 1,368 In transport:

Vessel:On board

No. of Quantity No. of Quantity No. of Quantity No. of Quantityseizures (Kg) seizures (Litres) seizures (Tabs) seizures (Kg)

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HEROINCEN ID Date Country Location Route Conveyance Quantity Concealment

(Kg)56911 6 May 03 Pakistan Koh-E-Suleman PK-UN Unknown 1,350 Other:Dumped61821 29 Sep. 03 Turkey Ipsala UN-TR-GR-AL Truck/Lorry 286 In transport:

In load area:Other57325 3 June 03 Pakistan Baluchistan PK-UN Unknown 176 Other: Dumped45248 18 Jan. 03 Turkey Kapikule TR-BG-UN Truck/Lorry 144 In transport:

Truck/Lorry:Exterior65318 16 Oct. 03 Turkey Kapikule TR-BG-RO Coach/bus 141 In transport:

Coach/Bus59478 4 Sep. 03 Bulgaria Rousse TR-BG-RO-HU Truck/Lorry 137 In transport:

-AT-DE Exterior:In structure70934 10 Jan. 03 Russian Fed. Uralsk KZ-RU Vehicle 114 In transport67036 23 Dec. 03 Hungary Kiszombor RO-AT-HU-DE Delivery van 112 In transport:

In load area:In structure

57931 13 June 03 Turkey Ipsala TR-GR-FR Truck/Lorry: 107 In transport:Trailer truck Driver's compartment

56914 8 May 03 Pakistan Chagi UN-PK-UN Unknown 95 Other: Dumped

HERBAL CANNABISCEN ID Date Country Location Route Conveyance Quantity Concealment

(Kg)

62742 20 Oct. 03 India Aizawal UN-IN-UN Truck/Lorry 6,368 In transport:Truck/Lorry66197 8 Dec. 03 Morocco Larache MA Unknown 6,100 Unknown53476 25 Apr. 03 Netherlands Rotterdam TH-SG-NL Commercial vessel 4,282 In freight:Sea65879 5 Jan. 03 Jamaica Gordon Bay JM-US Container ship 4,103 In freight:Sea57621 17 Mar. 03 Belgium Antwerp GH-DE-BE-NL Commercial vessel 3,740 In transport:Container60107 17 July 03 Belgium Antwerp NG-BE Commercial vessel 1,529 In freight:Sea62740 3 Oct. 03 India Dimapur UN-IN-UN Truck/Lorry 1,452 In transport:Truck/Lorry57634 3 June 03 Belgium Antwerp HN-DE-BE Commercial vessel 1,441 In freight:Sea58153 16 June 03 India Shillong UN-IN-UN Unknown 1,423 Other

CANNABIS RESINCEN ID Date Country Location Route Conveyance Quantity Concealment

(Kg)65613 7 Dec. 03 Morocco Tanger MA-ES-NL Truck/Lorry 19,200 In freight:Road73604 17 Jan. 03 Canada Halifax UN-CA Vessel 10,532 In transport:

Container56977 28 May 03 France Bayonne MA-ES-FR Truck/Lorry 7,385 In freight:Road65057 14 Nov. 03 Morocco Tanger MA-ES Truck/Lorry 6,390 In freight:Road51213 10 Mar. 03 Spain Alicante MA-ES Vessel: Yacht 5,434 In transport:

Vessel:On board71948 11 Nov. 03 Spain Coruna MA-ES Vessel 4,360 Not concealed57057 22 May 03 France Montpellier MA-ES-FR-GB Truck/Lorry 4,068 In freight:Road66274 17 Dec. 03 France Les Ulis ES-FR-NL Truck/Lorry 3,870 In freight:Road61814 19 Oct. 03 Spain Aguilas MA-ES Vessel:Other 3,740 In transport:Vessel:

On board61874 5 Oct. 03 Spain Cadiz MA-ES Truck/Lorry 3,700 In transport:

In load area:In structure

57622 28 Apr. 03 Belgium Antwerp TH-NL-BE Commercial vessel 6,402 In transport: Container

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AMPHETAMINECEN ID Date Country Location Route Conveyance Quantity Concealment

(Kg)70836 31 Dec. 03 Burkina Faso* Ouaga UN-BF Truck/Lorry 797 In transport:Truck/Lorry67978 1 Dec. 03 United Kingdom Coquelles FR-FR-GB Truck/Lorry 300 In freight:Road52298 8 Apr. 03 Saudi Arabia Hadithah SY-JO-SA Coach/bus 284 In transport:

Coach/Bus67871 15 Nov. 03 United Kingdom Dover NL-UN-GB Truck/Lorry 246 In transport:Truck/Lorry52184 7 Apr. 03 Saudi Arabia Hadithah LB-SY-JO-SA Truck/Lorry 189 In transport:

Truck/Lorry:Exterior58248 18 July 03 Turkey Kapikule BG-TR-TR Car/passenger van 158 In transport:

Boot:In structure52299 8 Apr. 03 Saudi Arabia Hadithah SY-JO-SA Coach/bus 148 In transport:

Coach/Bus55478 25 June 03 Saudi Arabia Alhadetha JO-SA Coach/bus 147 In transport:

Coach/Bus:Luggage area

64444 18 Oct. 03 Saudi Arabia Haditha SY-JO-SA Truck/Lorry 145 In transport:Driver's compartment

62838 9 May 03 Saudi Arabia Haditha SY-JO-SA Car/passenger van 138 In transport:Coach/Bus

*Annual figure

COCAINEDeparture Quantity (Kg) Destination Quantity (Kg)Unknown 19,854 Spain 32,846Venezuela 10,536 Netherlands 11,864Colombia 6,098 Belgium 4,437Brazil 3,879 United Kingdom 3,660Suriname 2,812 Dutch Antilles 2,772Peru 2,541 Italy 1,537Curacao 2,386 Canada 1,018Trinidad & Tobago 2,051 France 735Cuba 1,910 Guatemala 561Spain 1,776 Portugal 458

MDMA (Ecstasy)CEN ID Date Country Location Route Conveyance Quantity Concealment

(Kg)72832 19 Aug. 03 Canada Montreal NL-CA Vessel 809 In freight:Other72831 22 Aug. 03 Canada Pearson NL-CA Vessel 750 In freight:Other57598 19 June 03 United Kingdom Dover UN-FR-GB Truck/Lorry 288 In transport:Truck/Lorry66488 3 Dec. 03 France Dunkerque DE-BE-FR-GB Truck/Lorry 256 In transport:

In load area63268 4 Oct. 03 Australia Sydney BE-AU Commercial vessel 195 In freight:Sea59472 2 July 03 United Kingdom Dover FR-GB Truck/Lorry 192 In transport:Truck/Lorry53763 15 Apr. 03 Australia Fremantle MY-AU Commercial vessel 171 In freight:Sea56101 26 Mar. 03 United Kingdom Manchester UN-BE-GB Truck/Lorry 135 In freight:Road50408 5 Feb. 03 Australia Brisbane BE-AU Commercial vessel 135 In freight:Sea58305 14 July 03 Australia Sydney NL-AU Commercial vessel 115 In freight:Sea

Main Departure and Intended Destination Countries for the Main Drug Types

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HEROINDeparture Quantity (Kg) Destination Quantity (Kg)Pakistan 2,088 Unknown 2,117Turkey 1,594 Germany 855Unknown 1,029 Italy 668Albania 436 Russian Fed. 586Kazakhstan 353 United Kingdom 485India 317 Romania 363Netherlands 284 Albania 286Serbia and Montenegro 213 France 267Uzbekistan 144 Netherlands 181Romania 144 Sri Lanka 118

HERBAL CANNABISDeparture Quantity (Kg) Destination Quantity (Kg)Unknown 16,280 Unknown 13,465Thailand 11,525 United Kingdom 10,619Jamaica 8,614 Belgium 9,388Morocco 7,414 Netherlands 9,274Ghana 4,171 Morocco 7,405Netherlands 3,492 US 4,828Albania 3,470 India 3,039India 3,058 Russian Fed. 2,198Nigeria 1,659 Italy 1,856Honduras 1,441 Greece 1,739

CANNABIS RESINDeparture Quantity (Kg) Destination Quantity (Kg)Morocco 251,380 Spain 186,895Spain 50,474 Netherlands 42,650Unknown 17,687 United Kingdom 38,832Pakistan 15,303 France 24,972Netherlands 4,657 Unknown 12,520France 1,783 Canada 10,544Belgium 1,770 Germany 9,847Italy 950 Italy 5,811Nepal 860 Morocco 4,190India 852 Belgium 3,698

AMPHETAMINEDeparture Quantity (Kg) Destination Quantity (Kg)Syria 1,078 Saudi Arabia 2,170Jordan 592 United Kingdom 826Netherlands 542 Turkey 258France 347 Norway 192Bulgaria 255 Germany 140Unknown 246 Unknown 118Lebanon 190 Sweden 75Turkey 181 Syria 60Germany 157 Ireland 51Kuwait 81 Switzerland 20

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MDMA (Ecstasy)Departure Quantity (Kg) Destination Quantity (Kg)Netherlands 2,429 Canada 1,675Unknown 638 United Kingdom 1,285Belgium 455 Australia 714Germany 400 Japan 105France 346 Unknown 103Malaysia 176 Spain 98Italy 92 Italy 89United Kingdom 73 France 83Turkey 70 US 79Switzerland 29 New Zealand 72

METHAMPHETAMINEDeparture Quantity (Kg) Destination Quantity (Kg)China 509 Japan 313Unknown 103 Australia 233Dem. Korea 45 Unknown 102Philippines 20 Dem. Korea 53Hong Kong, China 14 China 11Myanmar 12 Switzerland 5Canada 10 Italy 4Malaysia 8 Guam 4Thailand 7 Thailand 3Rep. Korea 3 Chinese Taipei 1

KHATDeparture Quantity (Kg) Destination Quantity (Kg)United Kingdom 21,279 Canada 23,104Netherlands 12,283 Denmark 5,592Denmark 2,915 Norway 4,636Unknown 1,686 Sweden 3,218Sweden 736 Finland 1,769Kenya 627 US 1,497Djibouti 585 Germany 823Germany 376 Ireland 520Italy 273 France 247Norway 157 Italy 131

OPIUMDeparture Quantity (Kg) Destination Quantity (Kg)Unknown 210 Unknown 274Iran 168 Canada 81Pakistan 119 Turkmenistan 54Myanmar 54 Germany 41Peru 33 Iran 39United Arab Emirates 18 China 34Turkey 15 United Kingdom 21Thailand 10 Pakistan 19Afghanistan 9 Myanmar 15Germany 7 US 15

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03WCO RILO Network

WCO CEN TEAM – BRUSSELStel: 32 2 209 9211 (switchboard) - ext. 312 fax: 32 2 209 94 95 email: [email protected]

WESTERN EUROPE - GERMANY ZOLLKRIMINALAMT (ZKA)Bergisch Gladbacher Str. 83751069 Cologne tel: 49 221 672 4112fax: 49 221 672 4111e-mail: [email protected]

CENTRAL/EASTERN EUROPE - POLANDPOLISH CUSTOMS SERVICEMINISTRY OF FINANCE12 Swietokrzyska Str, 00-916 Warsawatel: 48 228 26 9189fax: 48 228 27 6797e-mail: [email protected] or [email protected]

ASIA/PACIFIC – CHINACHINESE CUSTOMS ADMINISTRATION10th Floor, East Wing, Jia 10,Guang Hua Road - Chao Yang District10026 Beijingtel: 86 10 6539 6346fax: 86 10 6539 6349e-mail: [email protected]

MIDDLE EAST - SAUDI ARABIACUSTOMS DEPARTMENTP.O. Box 22631,Riyadhtel: 966 1 478 7889fax: 966 1 478 5887e-mail: [email protected]

SOUTH AMERICA - CHILEDIRECCIÓN NACIONAL DE ADUANASPlaza Sotomayor, 60Valparaisotel: 56 32 20 0815fax: 56 32 23 31 63/25 4034e-mail: [email protected]

CIS – RUSSIAN FEDERATIONCENTRAL ENFORCEMENT DEPARTMENT OF THE STATE CUSTOMS COMMITTEENovozavodskaj Street 11/5121087 Moscowtel: 7 095 449 86 86fax: 7 095 449 86 90/86e-mail: [email protected]

NORTH AFRICA - MOROCCO ADMINISTRATION DES DOUANES ETIMPÔTS INDIRECTSAvenue Annakhil, Hay Ryad, Rabat Tel: 212 37 57 94 42Fax: 212 37 71 78 38E-mail: [email protected]

EASTERN/SOUTHERN AFRICA - KENYAKENYA REVENUE AUTHORITYTimes Tower 9th FloorHaile Selassie AvenueP.O. Box 72236Nairobitel: 254 20 34 04 14fax: 254 20 31 79 64 or 254 20 24 13 17e-mail: [email protected]

CENTRAL AFRICA - CAMEROONDIRECTION NATIONALE DES DOUANESB.P. 4049 Doualatel: 237 343 1690fax: 237 343 1690e-mail: [email protected]

WEST AFRICA - SENEGALRue René Ndiaye, Angle CardeB.P. 4033Dakartel: 221 822 1185fax: 221 822 5569e-mail: [email protected]

JOINT INTELLIGENCE OFFICE (JIO)CARIBBEANCCLEC – CARIBBEAN CUSTOMS LAWENFORCEMENT COUNSIL4 Manoel StreetP.O.Box 1030Tel: 1 758 453 2556Fax: 1 758 453 2563e-mail: [email protected]

WCO RILO Network

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The World Customs Organization is an in-dependent intergovernmental body whosemission is to enhance the efficiency and ef-fectiveness of Member Customs administra-tions, thereby assisting them to contributesuccessfully to national development goals,particularly in the areas of trade facilitation,revenue collection, community protectionand national security.

The World Customs Organization is inter-nationally acknowledged as the globalcentre of Customs expertise and plays aleading role in the discussion, development,promotion and implementation of modernand secure Customs systems and proce-dures. It is responsive to the needs of itsMembers and its strategic environment, andits instruments and best-practice ap-proaches are recognized as the basis forsound Customs administration throughoutthe world.

WCOMissionStatement

WCOVisionStatement

The World Customs Organization is verygrateful for the specific contributions to thisannual Report provided by: All RegionalIntelligence Liaison Offices and theirNational Contact Points including use oftheir bulletins; International NarcoticsControl Board (INCB), ICPO/INTERPOLand United Nations Office on Drugs andCrime (UNODC).

The WCO would like to thank HM Customsand Excise, United Kingdom, for allowingPeter Clark to continue co-ordination of the“African Seaport Projects” and for his contri-bution to this Report.

Acknowledgements

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WORLD CUSTOMS ORGANIZATION30 rue du Marché

B-1210 Brussels, BelgiumTel: +32 (0)2 209 92 11Fax: +32 (0)2 209 92 92

E-mail: [email protected]: www.wcoomd.org