INTERNATIONAL NARCOTICS REGIONAL AND POLITICAL ANALYSIS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP79T00912A001800010010-9
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 14
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: February 18, 2009
• Sequence Number: 10
• Publication Date: April 27, 1977
• Content Type: REPORT

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International Narcotics
DOJ, DOS Reviews
Completed.
Secret
Secret
PS SNIN 77-009
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INTERNATIONAL NARCOTICS
27 April 1977
LEBANON: Poppy Cultivation in the Bekaa Valley. . . 1
NATIONAL ASSESSMENTS:
1. India . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
2. Laos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
BRIEFS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
INTERESTING READING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
This publication is prepared by analysts in the Directorate of Intelligence for
specialists in the Washington community who are interested in international nar-
cotics matters. Comments and queries are welcome. They should be directed to the
authors of the individual articles.
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Opium Poppy Cultivation in the
ekaa Valley
Al Hirmil
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LEBANON: Poppy Cultivation in the Bekaa Valley
Opium poppies are being cultivated around Dayr Am-
mar in the Bekaa Valley,
Hashish roduction has lon een reva-
in this area that is now occupied by the Syrian-
dominated Arab Security Force. Earlier reports indicated
that Turkish families had been brought into northern Leb-
anon to cultivate opium poppies in the vicinity of Al
Hirmil.
A number of Lebanese farmers who formerly cultivated
hashish may have switched to opium production for the
higher profits and because normal channels for moving
bulky hashish crops were disrupted b the civil war.
more than 700 hec-
tares of poppies are under cultivation in Lebanon, but
US embassy officials in Damascus believe that this fig-
ure is high.
The US
Drru o cro eme Administr o Neves Egypt would be
the most likely recipient of any opiates produced in
Lebanon.
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NATIONAL ASSESSMENTS
Significance: India is the world's largest producer
and exporter of legal opium and will produce about 1,200
tons in the current crop year, ending this month. Most
of the opium will be exported.
Opium is collected, processed, and sold under govern-
ment supervision, and Indian officials claim that not
more than 1 percent is diverted to illicit channels.
Outside experts generally agree that controls are reason-
ably effective; however, they suspect that internal di-
version may be as much as 10 percent. Most of this is
used domestically, but some is smuggled to Sri Lanka and
the Persian Gulf Emirates, and no more than perhaps a
few kilos reach the US annually.
Some opium reportedly is smuggled into India from
Pakistan and possibly Burma. There is also a substan-
tial transshipment of Nepalese hashish through India to
the US, Canada, and Europe.
Problem: India tries to balance its production effort
to meet the world demand for medicinal opium against pos-
sible diversion to illegal international channels. In
1976 the government allowed only 3,500 additional acres
for poppy production, bringing the total authorized acre-
age to 138,000. India is reluctant to increase produc-
tion significantly, largely because of the responsibility
for control.
The Indian government is cooperating with the US
in efforts to control illicit hashish traffic but hesi-
tates to even discuss the extent of opium smuggling from
India. US officials are concerned about the potential
impact of illegal Indian opium. If only 1 percent of
India's opium production illegally entered the US, it
would represent almost 12 tons of opium or 1 ton of
heroin--about 15 percent of the estimated annual heroin
consumption of the US.
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Prospects: Indian opium gum production will probably
expand slowly. India has exported limited amounts of
codeine since 1975 and probably will gradually increase
the amounts available for export. India also is devel-
oping a poppy straw industry and may open a plant in
the next year or so. About 15,000 tons of poppy straw
are exported annually, but India apparently does not
plan to shift entirely from opium gum to poppy straw.
US-Indian cooperation in opium matters appears to
be improving slightly, in the exchange of infor-
mation about smug
There have been some recent indications of Indian in-
terest, however, in participation in a regional train-
ing program under UN auspices.
Significance: Laos is a minor producer of raw opium.
Most is consumed locally by an estimated 100,000 drug
users among the population of three million.
Problem: The main problem has been the new Communist
government's lack of commitment to suppression of opium
production. During the struggle that ended in the Com-
munist takeover, opium production and use was permitted
in Pathet Lao - controlled parts of the country. During
the interim period of coalition rule, Communist members
of the government forced revocation of a 1971 law pro-
hibiting opium poppy cultivation, trading, and consump-
tion on the logic that international drug regulations
were part of an imperialist (American) scheme. The Com-
munist regime, with considerable prompting from UN nar-
cotics representatives, has gradually swung around to a
professed desire to abide by international conventions
against the drug trade. The Soviet Union's ostensible
support for international controls apparently was an
important factor in bringing about a change in the of-
ficial Lao attitude. The Lao government also has
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apparently been disabused of the idea that drug traf-
ficking with the West would be a lucrative and reliable
source of convertible foreign exchange.
Prospects: Lao Communist officials have expressed some
interest in an internationally assisted crop substitu-
tion program. Last year they suggested a pilot project
to a UN representative who advised them that such a pro-
gram was dependent on an overall agreement with the Lao
government. The UN envisions a $6-million, six-year
program if such an agreement can be worked out. Mean-
while, the Lao government is taking some steps toward
opium control. Large opium dens in Vientiane and other
towns have been ordered closed, and private transporta-
tion of opium from one locality to another has been
banned. There is little early prospect of significant
cuts in opium production, however. The hill tribes which
account for most of Laos' output provided the most deter-
mined resistance to the Communist conquest of the coun-
try. The government finds it politic not to unduly ag-
gravate their hostility and argues that it must move
slowly in weaning the hill people from their entrenched
ways.
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COLOMBIA: Some new trends in narcotics trafficking in
Colombia have recently come to light. In the past,
Bogota, Medellin, Cali, and other cities in Colom-
bia have been noted for their refinement laboratories
where raw coca paste from Peru or Ecuador was con-
verted into street-vendable cocaine crystals.
There are indications that some of the Colombian
networks are beginning to buy refined cocaine di-
rectly from Bolivia. Also, Colombian "mules" or
couriers who transport cocaine in their baggage or
on their person are using Venezuelan and other third
country passports to avoid the closer scrutiny af-
forded to bearers of Colombian passports who are
more likely to be suspected as narcotics traffickers.
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THAILAND: One of the ten most important drug traffickers
in Southeast Asia was executed on April 15, on the
orders of the Prime Minister. His decision to use
his summary powers under Article 21 of the Interim
Constitution to order the execution of the drug traf-
ficker underscores his determination to press Thai-
land's fight against narcotics and to deal harshly
with drug traffickers, according to the American
embassy in Bangkok.
PERU: The new draft law on control of dependency produc-
ing drugs has been approved by the four ministers
charged with reviewing the draft, according to the
minister of interior. The ministerial group was
scheduled to present its findings to the President
on April 21. The American embassy in Lima views the
progress of the draft legislation as good news, al-
though it warns that there is both passive and active
resistance in a number of Peruvian circles to the
adoption of a comprehensive anticoca/cocaine law--
and even to the enforcement of existing laws against
illegal coca production. The embassy notes that a
basic government decision with far-reaching economic,
social, and political consequences will be necessary
to assure the passage and enforcement of the draft
AFGHANISTAN: US officials visiting Afghanistan have
traveled briefly through some of the areas where opium
poppies are under cultivation, and they have confirmed
that Afghanistan will have a bumper crop this year.
Despite the three-year-old law banning opium produc-
tion, farmers are growing poppies even along the
edges of major roads, and production everywhere in
the area appears to be up as a result of the almost
ideal weather conditions and the anticipation of
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higher prices. Presidential orders to provincial
governors to destroy the crops apparently have gone
unheeded, according to the embassy.
LAOS: A high-level Laotian official has rejected U~d
proposals for the use of $200,000 in aid from the
UN Fund for Drug Abuse Control and has demanded
that the funds be used instead in accordance with
national plans for work projects using former drug
addicts and for crop substitution and eradication
efforts in another area. The UN official claims
that he cannot "in good conscience" accede to the
government's proposal for the use of UNFDAC funds.
NORWAY: Foreign Minister Knut Frydenland, during the
course of a parliamentary debate on April 18 on the
narcotics situation, announced the government's de-
cision to make a grant of development funds to the
UNFDAC. He did not specify the amount, however,
nor did he specify what form Norwegian participation
would take, although it apparently will be in sup-
port of crop substitution in Southeast Asia.
NEPAL: According to the local press, the largest drug
dealer in the country has been arrested and, during
the search of his property, over 100 rounds of ammuni-
tion and 11 walkie-talkies were found as well
as 500 kilograms of hashish. Although he has es-
caped prosecution in the past, the embassy believes
that he will have a difficult time getting out of
the current charges against him because the mere
possession of the ammunition and the transceivers
raises security questions that the government can-
not ignore. The embassy also suspects that the
drug dealer was set up for the arrest because he
was rumored to have double-crossed someone in a
major drug deal.
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Press Conference Sums Up Successes Against Narcotics
(BULGARIA)--TNDD,* No. 294, April 13, 1977, pp. 33-34.
Rising Drug Addiction, Traffic Lead to Crackdown
(YUGOSLAVIA)--TNDD, No.. 294, pp. 37-41.
Undercover Work Smashes International Drug Ring (EGYPT)--
TNDD, No. 294, pp. 63-66.
Raid Nets Large Drug Haul (.EGYPT)--TNDD, No. 294,
pp. 67-68.
Mass Raids on Drugs Network by 800 Detectives (UNITED
KINGDOM)--TNDD, No. 294, pp. 72-74.
Importance of "Golden Triangle" Increasing (SINGAPORE)--
TNDD, No. 295,April 20, 1977, pp. 6-8.
Colombia, Others Becoming Important Drug-Smuggling
Centers (COLOMBIA)--TNL)D, No. 295, pp. 20-23. This
is the translation of a recent article appearing in
Der Spiegel entitled "Cocaine in a Boa Constrictor."
In the article, Colombia is described as a "turn-
table" of the international drug trade.
La Guajira: Thriving Marijuana Center (COLOMBIA)--TNDD,
No. 295, pp. 33-42. This is the first of a series
of articles appearing in El Tiempo on drug traffick-
ing in Colombia.
Drug Network Discovered, 51 Charged (FRANCE)--TNDD, No.
295, pp. 68-69.
Interview with Dr. Lester Grinspoon appearing in High
Times, a drug-culture magazine, February 1977,
pp. 23-28. Grinspoon is a psychiatrist on the staff
of the Harvard Medical School and is noted for his
studies on marijuana and cocaine.
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