A common harvest of lawlessness is drugs. When the Soviets pulled out of Afghanistan, they left little government and less of an economy. So the gaps were filled in by industrious Afghans who raised poppies and sold them to the equally industrious Pakistanis. The Pakistanis jumped in when Iran's fundamentalist government got tough on drugs and Afghan routes to the west were interrupted by war. Today, Pakistan exports between 65 and 80 tons of heroin every year. Not much when you compare it to the 2630 tons from the Golden Triangle, but enough to generate US$1.5 billion in revenue.
The major drug producing regions in Afghanistan are Helmand, Kandahor, Uruzgan and Nangarhar provinces. Less productive regions for poppies are the provinces of Badakhstan, Kunar, Farah and Nimroz. At first it was thought the anti-drug taliban would crack down (at least they told DP that they would shoot all drug smugglers) but it seemed that when the morality was balanced with the economics common sense prevailed and drugs are bigger than ever.
There are some fairly significant barriers for entrance into the drug business. First off you need to have access to very expensive, very controlled chemicals like ephedrine ($80,000 a ton), methaqualone, n-acetylanthranillic acid, acetic anhydride (for heroin). If you are in the coca to cocaine base business you need mountains of sulfuric acid, hydrochloric acid, sodium hydrochloride, and lime. The main areas for chemicals are India and China. Secondly, you need to control and protect cultivation areas and processing areas. This means gunmen, bribes and the occasional brutal murder. Finally you need transportation corridors and customers. This means staying on top of brutal and slippery alliances with terrorists, politicians, warlords, the military and organized crime. It is estimated the heroin business provides half a billion dollars a year to the Kurdistan Workers Party or PKK. Enough to pay for a television satellite to broadcast their very own MED/TV.
There are 38,740 hectares of poppy cultivation (yielding 1250 metric tons) in Afghanistan with about 85 percent coming from the provinces of Nangarhar and Helmand which is then refined to morphine or heroin base. Pakistanis then take delivery and refine the drug in Quetta and ship it by sea or land (across Iran) or northward through Central Asia by road.
Pakistan is a major refining and distribution area primarily in the Khyber region and Northwest Frontier Province (see Pakistan IADP) where 155 metric tons of opium was produced. There is also a significant addict population in Pakistan.
The northern provinces transship through Tajikistan and Central Asia.
Iran has a minor output of opium but is primarily a transshipment point for heroin from Afghanistan en route to Turkey in the north and from Baluchistan in the south.
This is a Lahore, Pakistan-based group loosely modeled after the 1980s American S&L structure; in other words, most of the key players are currently in jail while making millions of dollars. This organization lacks the political halo and the tens of thousands of armed men the Myanmar groups possess, and they are paying the price.The leaders are all killing time in Pakistan on drug charges awaiting extradition to the States. Meanwhile, their organization relies on Haji Ayub Afridi to carry on business as usual. Afridi lives in Jalalabad, a half-hour outside Peshawar in a compound protected by antiaircraft guns and armed tribesmen. His responsibility is to keep the flow of heroin and hashish moving to local distribution and sales groups in New York, Newark, NJ, L.A. and San Francisco.
The DEA-named Quetta Alliance is a coalition of Afghan tribes (the Issa, Notezai and thc Rigi) based along the Pakistan-Afghani border. The tribes control the output and shipment of processed opium (mostly morphine) to Turkey for further processing into heroin. The PKK and other terrorist groups in Turkey and Iran take care of security, and the final product is trucked from Istanbul to Europe for the last leg of the journey into America. The leader of the Notezai, Sakhi Dost Jan Notezai, is serving his third term in the provincial assembly, while concurrently serving time in prison on drug charges.
Drugs are also sent from Quetta to the Makran coast, where they are shipped via freighter to Marseilles and New York.
| Crack |
|---|
| Crack has replaced heroin as the new "jones" that is dragging down the inner city. Not as addictive as heroin, it has an intense high that is psychologically addictive. In some American cities, three out of 100 first-graders are addicted to crack, thanks to their mothers. In 1995, 18 per 1000 live births were crack babies. Crack pushes users to violent criminal acts, sexual trading and other desperate measures to feed their habit. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the typical crack user is low-income, white (49.9 percent) and desperate; 35.9 percent are black and 14.2 percent Latino. |
Although they are known as a Kurdish liberation group, these folks have enough dough to run a TV station in London, 30 radio stations and a host of newspapers and rent time on two satellites (for a reputed 2 billion English pounds). You don't get this kind of money selling "Free the Kurds" T-shirts. Dope is protected through east Turkey and into Cyprus and then shipped to sales networks in Europe and the U.S. These guys should sell stock!
Although it cannot be said that the taliban are smuggling drugs, it can be said that regional governors who are set up by the taliban do allow the cultivation, sale, basic refining and transportation of drugs. Although initially they sent in armed groups to stop drug smuggling, it seems that the taliban forces routinely deduct their passage fee from drug caravans and the local governors profit from this activity as well. For now the taliban get either caustic or vague when you accuse them of condoning drugs but cultivation increases, chemicals continue to be smuggled in from Central Asia and shipments to Europe have increased.
Europe is a major consumer of illicit drugs. Amsterdam, Marseille and Baltic ports provide easy access for Asian and Central Asian purveyors.
Poland produces 20 percent of the amphetamines sold in Europe and is a major base for Chinese, Colombian and other drug groups looking for a safe central place to process drugs. There are about 200,000 drug users, and half of them are addicts.
England has an estimated 100,000 heroin addicts and is a major consumer of soft and hard drugs. Most of the heroin comes from Afghanistan via Pakistani organizations. Marijuana comes from Morocco. Cocaine comes directly from South America via Amsterdam.
Italy is home to three major criminal organizations: The Calabrian `Ndrangheta, the Neapolitan Camorra and the Sicilian Mafia. All work directly with South American cartels to transport and sell cocaine in Europe. Most cocaine arrives by sea into mafia-controlled ports. There are around 150,000 addicts in Italy and 200,000 cocaine users.
Germany is the one place where cocaine costs more than the U.S. and use is up. Its ports of Hamburg, Bremen and Rostock are entry points for drugs and Frankfurt is the main air terminal used by Europe bound "mules" from Asia, Africa and Central Asia
Greece has 80,000 heroin users and is a major transshipment point into Europe from Turkey, by road, sea and air.
Bulgaria's lax airport security allows cocaine smugglers access to Europe. It also a main route into Europe from Turkey for West Asian drugs.
Cyprus is an important meeting ground and money laundering center for the Russian Mafyia. There are over 20,000 offshore companies, one tenth are Russian. Its central, neutral location and business infrastructure make it the ideal meeting place for drug deals, payoffs and discussions.
The well-maintained roads and compliant customs officials of the former Yugoslavia were the home leg of the long road from the poppy fields of Asia. The war messed up this convenient leg and now most heroin is smuggled through Albania, Macedonia and Bulgaria. About 70 percent of the heroin is smuggled under the direction of the Albanian mafia to customers in Germany and Switzerland. They are bosom buddies with the Italian mafia. The Albanian mafia is comprised primarily of the Kosovar clan. Heroin is also processed in Albania by the mafia to increase profits.
Albania is a mess with the mafia being a stronger force than the government itself. Criminals control most major ports and entry areas making it a free trade zone for drugs. Cannabis and poppies are also grown domestically. Albanians from the Kosova region are the main smugglers who deliver their wares to retailers in Italy, Turkey and along the Mediterranean.
The rough and ready base of Europe is a natural conduit for anything coming from the foggy mountains of Chechnya, Georgia and other small states.
Chechnya paid for its revolution primarily with drug funds. The Russian military shipped heroin and hash using the Baku-Grozny-Rostov line. The Chechens raided over 559 trains in 1993 looting 4000 cars and stealing 11.5 billion rubles worth of legal cargo. It is not known how much drugs were taken. There is a nasty rumor that when Dudayev unsuccessfully demanded a higher cut of drug moneys from Defense Minister, Pavel Grachev he began to execute train conductors and confiscate all the drugs. Prompting Grachev to invade Chechnya.
Armenia is one stop for hashish and opium from Afghanistan on its way to Europe. There are also around 10,000 drug addicts.
Azerbaijan is another rest stop for smugglers from Central Asia, Iran and Afghanistan on their way to Russia or Europe. The drug trade is well entrenched with the main one being the route from Iran up to Russia and the Baltic states. There is a little side action smuggling drugs into Georgia.
Colombia is the world's leading producer and distributor of cocaine, according to the DEA. It is the world's second largest producer of coca. They also are a major supplier of heroin and marijuana to the Mexican mafia. In the early '70s Colombia started out primarily as a grower of pot, with cocaine being a small part of the then $500 million a year export. Pot was mostly cultivated along the Atlantic coast. Today, it is estimated that Colombia's drug industry pockets about 3 billion a year in profits from the drug trade. They have a lock on 75 percent of the world's cocaine, and about 80 percent of the toot goes to Uncle Sam. To get an idea of what a narco government is, you have to understand that the entire gross domestic product of Colombia is only $5 billion.
Most coca is grown on 8-20 acre farms. The Colombian farmers get in 3-4 harvests a year. Some farmers are taking the next step and creating coca paste which sells for about $1100 per kilo. Most of the 135,000 acres of coca farms in Colombia are in the far south. It is estimated that there are 35,000 farmers in the business of growing coca and poppies. Only about 7000 families have switched to legal crops in the last two years.
Colombia has 50,900 hectares of coca, 2180 of opium poppy and 5000 hectares of marijuana under cultivation. Cocaine base is also flown into Colombia for processing via aircraft from Bolivia and Peru. Colombia's 80 metric tons of cocaine and 6.5 tons of heroin is then flown or shipped out to Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean. Ecuador, Venezuela, Paraguay and Haiti are also transshipment points and money laundering centers.
Thailand's position in the Golden Triangle is more geographic than economic. It is a net importer of hard drugs and is a major transit route to Western countries. About 50 percent of the opium that enters Thailand from Myanmar heads for the U.S. The Thai opium crop is 25 metric tons and is under constant threat by government eradication programs and tough border controls with its northern bad boy neighbor Myanmar. Still the mule trains get through the rough terrain and insurgents keep the Thai soldiers from truly policing or sealing off the area.
Just under 70 percent of the world's heroin and 60 percent of heroin seized by U.S. law enforcement came from the Golden Triangle. The Golden Triangle is not really a geographic triangle but a loosely U.S. defined area that covers eastern Myanmar, northern Laos and scattered parts of northern Thailand. The common elements are remoteness and inaccessibility, lack of law enforcement and the right altitude and climate to permit the cultivation of poppies. It may be more accurate to describe the Golden Triangle as just Myanmar.
Visitors to this area will find the locals decidedly reserved and openly belligerent if pressed for details on their trade.The U.S. State Department estimates that Myanmar exports about 2300 tons of raw opium a year, primarily from the Kachin and north Shan states. Laos moves about 300 tons and Thailand about 30 tons. Currently there is no anti-drug program and even the most visible drug smuggler in the world, Khun Sa, has retired in luxury to Yangon. In fact the term warlord or drug czar has been replaced by the SLORC with a new title: Leader of National Races and include: U Sai Lin aka; Lin Ming-shing of the Eastern Shan State Army (ESSA); Yang Mao-liang, Peng Chia-sheng, and Liu Go-shi of the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA-Kokang Chinese); Pao Yu-chiang, Li Tzu-ju, and Wei Hsueh-kang of the United Wa State Army (UWSA); and U Mahtu Naw of the Kachin Defense Army (KDA). All have been fingered by the U.S. government as the men who put the monkeys on the junkies.
For now the SLORCies are proud of the capture of a ridiculous 100 kgs of heroin as proof that they are "just saying no" to drugs in Myanmar.
Back in 1989, the SLORC Generals cracked down on Khun Sa. They overran his base in Ho Mong and subjected him to a list of horrors they felt Myanmar's smack daddy deserved: A mock trial, house arrest, no extradition, a job running the bus system, a nice house to stay arrested in, great medical care, around the clock bodyguards and only one round of golf on the Yangon links each week. Despite this cruel and unusual punishment and SLORC's clear message to all aspiring druglords, the heroin trade still continues in the north.
Today Khun Sa's Doi Land and Huay Makekahm heroin factories are humming along (they "crank" out 140 kg's of smack every month) under new ownership, the opium crop is up 10 percent and life is good for the United Wa Army.
The Wa Army is led by two men, former Commie Chao Nyi-Lai and Wei Hsueh-Kang, who operate out of the town of Pan Hsang in the easternmost corner of Myanmar. The Wei Siao brothers; Gang and Long are supposed to be the majordomos of drug dealing (Gang is wanted in the U.S. for drug trafficking) after Tei Kung MIng was offed in China. In any case the Wa boys and the United Wa State Army (an army of between 15,000 to 35,000 men) are in charge. They were trained well since they once provided raw opium to Khun Sa. The two leaders have political ambitions and claim that they want to shift the Wa people into legitimate crops once they have representation within the country of Myanmar. (Probably as soon as Joe Namath plays for the Jets again.) Opium production was up 10 percent in 1996 and instead of one big centralized high visibility operation (The big K's downfall) the opium business under the Wa is broken into smaller more numerous processors.
A third group led by Ai Hsiao-shih and Wei Hseuh-kang specializes in the transportation of raw and processed heroin into China and Thailand.
The Wa and the Shan-or more accurately the former Khun-Sa factions and Nyi-Lai/Hsueh-kang-account for 75 percent of the opium leaving thc Golden Triangle. Most of Myanmar's opium is transported in pony caravans along simple trails into China's Yunnan province and eventually to the drug syndicates in Hong Kong, or it moves south through Chiang Mai in northern Thailand down to Bangkok. Once the pony caravans reach minor towns, the heroin is then trucked to major cities, from where it is shipped or flown to the United States or Mexico.
A third route is from Moulmein in southern Burma into Bangkok and, surprisingly, into Malaysia and Singapore. Malaysia and Singapore widely publicize their imposition of a mandatory death penalty for drug smuggling, while also serving as major centers for the export of drugs.
For now the Wa are big wheels in the opium trade. There are plans afoot to turn Khun Sa's big white house into a museum.
Bangladesh, with its harbors and airports, is a growing transshipment point. For now, they are trying to crack down on the use of phensidyl, a codeine based cough syrup in vogue with Bangladeshis.
India is a legal producer of opium (in the states of Madhya, Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh) for medical purposes and is strategically situated between the Golden Crescent to the West and the Golden Triangle to the East. It also supplies processing chemicals to all major drug processing groups. The also produce methaqualone for sale in southern and eastern Africa.
The real dirty work is taken care of by the region's poor but industrious hill tribes. Poppies in the Golden Triangle are grown and harvested by the Lahu, Lisu, Nfien and Hmong tribes, and cultivated among less odious but less profitable crops like maize. Since smart farmers maximize the use of their land and labor, it's not surprising that the annual opium production has tripled in Myanmar in the last 10 years. Depending on which druglord's auspices the farmer falls under, the raw product is sent to processing labs either along the Chinese border (Wa) or along the Thai border (Shan).
As broken as the surrounding topography, the Mong Tai (Shan State) Army, once led by the now retired Chang Chi Fu aka Khun Sa (Prince of Prosperity) disintegrated into factions in mid-1995 as the drug warlord cut a deal with Myanmar's ruling SLORC. Khun Sa, 63, now lives in Yangon in comfortable retirement. The USDEA were doing backflips when the K-Mart of heroin shut down. In August of 1996 street prices for heroin shot up 10 times their normal level as supplies disappeared down junkies' veins.For one brief shining moment it looked like the generals had been visited by the Do-Good fairy. The former headquarters at Ho Mong nine miles from the Thai border became a shell of its former glory with the population dwindling to less than 4000 compared to 18,000 in its heyday. But within the Wa, the new "Wa"-Mart of heroin filled Khun Sa's shoes.
Mexico continues to be the financial and transshipment choice of South American drug cartels due to its lax banking laws, corrupt officials and its "don't ask, don't tell" policy of the military and government. The drug business in Mexico is sliced into three cartels; the Tijuana, Juarez and the Gulf. The Tijuana cartel under the Feliz brothers smuggles primarily heroin and majijuana, The Gulf cartel is the coca express and Amada Carrillo Fuentes' group (before he liposuctioned himself to death) used to cover trans border shipments from El Paso to Brownsville. In many cases, the cartels have cut out the beleaguered Colombian middle men and go right to the source for the coca paste.
Cocaine is smuggled in from South America in large multi-engine cargo jets and large cargo ships. Corrupt customs officials drive new Chevy Suburbans and the ruling class in Acapulco and Tijuana could outbid Bill Gates at any poker game. The downside is that Mexico's border population is coming down with a jones for their product and the U.S. government is losing patience with our biggest narco neighbor.
Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Guatemala and Honduras are major land, air and sea transshipment routes for Colombian drugs entering Mexico. Mexico snaps up about 50-70 percent of all cocaine from South America. Mexico's corrupt government and long border with the U.S. make it an ideal entry point for drugs and a major money laundering center.
Mexico produces about 80 percent of the marijuana, 20-30 percent of the heroin and a growing amount of methamphetamines.
The Darien region of Panama is a hot spot for coca cultivation for the Colombian drug czars. Local Indians are goaded into cultivating crops under the watchful protection of Colombian guerillas. Recently, officials destroyed more than five tons of cocaine, broke up six coca paste labs and burned down 200 acres of a coca plantation. Still, Panama retains its reputation as an ideal shipment point for drugs and is a major center for laundering drug money.
Coca is Peru's second largest crop (after maize) with 930 square miles under cultivation. The major areas are the Huallaya Valley and the Apurimac-Enc Valley east of Lima. The 115,300 hectares of coca leaf (60 percent of the world's total coca crop) under cultivation is worth 40-50¢ a kilo (down from $3 in 1994). The drugs are grown by peasants who sell to shippers and processors under the control of the Shining Path and oddly enough the Peruvian military.
Russia's geographical position makes it a major drug producing, shipping and consumption center. Its neighbors make good use of the corrupt and inefficient police and border guards. The Russians quickly motorized the business and Russian Generals made millions sending back drugs to Russia in lead lined coffins. The trade in Tajikistan sends Tajik agents bearing Russian military supplies; blankets, food, guns, shoes etc. into Afghanistan. An Afghan dealer swaps the material for drugs and then the Russian soldiers make a one million dollar ruble payment to the border guards. The soldiers then ship the drugs directly into Russia's major cities by military transport (air, rail or road) which is not subject to inspection. The favored route is from Tajikistan Krasnovodsk, Baku, Grozny to Rostov and then on to Europe through Estonia. Defense Minister Pachel Grachev is nicknamed Pasha Mercedes for his high lifestyle and his reputed income from drugs.
Drugs from the Golden Crescent (Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran) are transported to major centers like Tashkent in Uzbekistan, or through the states of Chechnya, Tajikistan, Georgia and Azerbaijan. There are also major growing areas in southern Russia and the western Ukraine, as well as the states of Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Krygyzstan. The presence of foreign troops during the Balkan War has disrupted the once traditional smuggling routes into Europe, which are being replaced by Afghanistan to Tajikistan to St. Petersburg to Cyprus, and then out through ports on the Baltic Sea and Mediterranean.
Russian officials estimate there are about 5.7 million drug users in Russia, with hashish being the drug of choice. A U.N. report says there may be 100,000 opium poppy fields and more than 2.5 million acres of marijuana under cultivation within the country. Drug-related crime is up 15 percent and 23 tons of drugs were seized in raids last year. About 80 percent of drug dealers arrested in Moscow are Azerbaijanis; the rest are Chechens. Moscow banks are becoming popular with out of town drug dealers like the Sicilian mafia and the Colombian cartels to launder money. The total drug business adds up to an unimpressive US$25 million (compared to our US$500 billion narcotics industry). A kilo of hash in Russia goes for as little as US$15, compared to US$200 in Europe. Accordingly the profit savvy and brutal Russian gangs are also expanding into Europe and the United States.
Those drugs that don't end up in Moscow or St. Petersburg go through to the Baltics where eager Scandinavian and Lowlands customers await.
Africa is not a major consumer of drugs, but it is an important transshipment point. South Africa is a growing consumer of drugs.
Egypt has large opium and marijuana plantations in the remote valleys of the Sinai Peninsula. The government launched a military offensive to eliminate them in March of 1996. The flow of cash from the drug trade is supposed to have made the drug cartels' assets an estimated $15 to $60 billion. It is also a transshipment point for Asian heroin on its way to Europe and the U.S. Its control of the Suez Canal allow large cargo shipments from the Indian Ocean into the Mediterranean.
Morocco is a supplier to Europe with its 74,000 hectares of marijuana under cultivation.
Nigeria grows cannabis but is known primarily for its courier business. Nigerians supplies South American cocaine and Asian heroin to the U.S and Europe. Interpol considers Nigeria the third largest heroin smuggling area in the world. Nigerians also recruit non-Nigerians for the risky business as well. It costs about $5000 to get five keys of heroin past Nigerian customs inspectors.
South Africa is also a transshipment point for cocaine and heroin and is one of the largest producers of weed primarily for its own consumption.
East Africa ports and airports are a transit point for Pakistani couriers as well as sea and air shipments. Often Nigerian couriers will fly into Nairobi to pick up shipments then fly into Europe or the U.S. Kenya deals primarily in hashish from Pakistan and heroin from Asia. It is, also, the major producer of khat, a mild narcotic favored by Yemenis and Somalis.
Yemen is a transit country for hard drugs and consumers of them.
Zambia is a major transit point for methaqualone destined for South Africa.
Zimbabwe grows and exports marijuana to Europe and transships cocaine from South America and methaqualone from India to South Africa.