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U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
INTERNATIONAL NARCOTICS CONTROL STRATEGY REPORT, MARCH 1996: CZECH REPUBLIC

United States Department of State

Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs


CZECH REPUBLIC

I. Summary

In 1995, the Czech Republic emerged as a target of the drug trade, while continuing as a conduit for illicit drug smuggling. Drug traffickers rapidly expanded drug markets, money laundering operations, and production of amphetamines during 1995. Low drug prices in the Czech Republic and legislation which permits the possession of drugs for personal use also attracted increasing numbers of "drug tourists" from Austria and Germany. In response to the rising drug threats, the Government of the Czech Republic (GOCR) bolstered its antidrug program by developing a new three-year national antidrug campaign which, once adopted, will emphasize both law enforcement and demand reduction programs. New legislation which allows for undercover operations and targets money laundering will significantly increase the effectiveness of GOCR counterdrug operations. In December, the Czech Republic also signed the Council of Europe's Convention on Money Laundering, Seizure and Confiscation of Proceeds from Crime. Despite these signs of progress, the development of a national drug control plan was hampered by philosophical differences.

II. Status of Country

Czech police believe that drug organizations are accelerating efforts to target domestic markets, strengthen smuggling networks, expand amphetamine production, and launder drug profits. According to Czech officials, organized crime groups from the Newly Independent States (NIS) and the former Yugoslavia, as well as Italian groups such as the Neapolitan Camorra and the Sicilian Mafia, are establishing bases in the Czech Republic.

These groups and others use the Czech Republic as a conduit for smuggling drugs to Western Europe. For instance, Turks and local Czechs, Kosovo Albanians, Russians, and former Yugoslavs move large cargoes of heroin from the Golden Crescent -- Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iran -- to West European markets. More recently, South American cocaine traffickers have begun to target the Czech Republic as a staging ground to reach West European markets and Czech Customs officials recently apprehended a series of small-time drug couriers traveling by air to Prague.

The National Hygienic Service estimates the number of persons dependent on drugs at approximately 200,000, of whom about 1,200 are addicts. Drug use in the Czech Republic is on the rise, including in the countryside where demand reduction programs are scarce. Police authorities find that amphetamines are the most prevalent drug, but use of heroin and cocaine is also becoming more widespread. While amphetamines are often imported from Poland, pervitin, a stimulant manufactured locally from ephedrine, is also becoming more widely used. The relatively low prices and the legal provision permitting possession of drugs for personal use, are also attracting drug "tourists," particularly from Germany. In the Czech Republic, heroin and cocaine sell for one-third of the price they command in either Germany or Austria.

III. Country Actions Against Drugs in 1995

Policy Initiatives. In response to the rise in drug abuse, the Czech National Drug Commission (NDC), which coordinates among eleven ministries and departments, is developing a three-year national counternarcotics plan that emphasizes both law enforcement and drug abuse prevention and treatment. Key to this effort, is an extensive demand reduction training plan focusing on school-based prevention programs, which are being extended from elementary to high schools. The Czech government made steady progress in revising antidrug legislation to bolster law enforcement mechanisms targeted against crime and facilitate implementation of the 1988 UN Convention. The changes include:

-- amendments to the penal code, allowing the police to conduct undercover operations, providing for the use of confidential informants, and establishing a witness protection program.

-- the adoption of a draft bill on narcotics and psychotropic substances which will give the Ministry of Health the authority to control pharmaceutical imports and exports and to register the cultivation of opium and hemp.

-- the introduction of a bill criminalizing money laundering in the 1995 session of Parliament. The bill, which Czech authorities expect will come into force in July 1996, will require banks and other financial organizations to report unusual financial transactions and cash transactions over 500,000 Czech crowns, and will set up a monitoring unit in the Ministry of Finance.

Despite these key gains made in forming a response to the growing drug threat, GOCR efforts were hampered by basic philosophical differences. Disagreements by cabinet members about whether possession of drugs for personal use should remain legal continue to reduce the effectiveness of the national counterdrug program.

During 1995, GOCR also began expanding its interdiction campaign, including giving its customs agents law enforcement authority. While seizures remained low, enforcement efforts yielded increased arrests. Seizures in 1995 totalled 5 kilograms of heroin, 52 kilograms of cocaine, 36 kilograms of ephedrine, and 5 kilograms of cannabis. Customs and police agents carried out 99 drug enforcement operations, arresting 174 people and dismantling a large illicit amphetamine operation and small methamphetamine laboratories. As a result of international cooperation, another 20 kilograms of heroin and 700 kilograms of cocaine were seized abroad and an ephedrine smuggling route from Mexico was discovered.

Government and non-government organizations (NGOs) provide programs for demand reduction and drug education. Anonymous advice, diagnosis, and treatment of drug addicts are available from both the government's health clinics and private institutions, including seven ngos. Organizations offering drug treatment and counseling reported increases in contacts from the public over the past year. The Ministry of Health's national coordinator for drug epidemiology has compiled a report on the extent of drug problems in the country. The Ministry of Health has developed a one-semester credit course in drug-use prevention for 1,700 teachers from all over the country; further material for parents and kindergarten teachers was distributed in 1995.

Corruption. The USG is unaware of any reports of official narcoticsrelated corruption in the Czech Republic.

Agreements and treaties. The Czech Republic is a party to the three UN conventions on narcotics: the 1961 UN Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs and the 1972 Protocol thereto, the 1971 UN Convention on Psychotropic Substances, and the 1988 UN Convention. The bilateral extradition treaty between the Czech Republic and the United States is in effect and includes drug-related offenses covered under the 1988 UN Convention.

In mid-December, the Czech Republic signed the Council of Europe's Convention on Money Laundering and the Seizure and Confiscation of Proceeds from Crime. The Convention provides a vehicle for member countries to freeze and seize assets in banking accounts in other member countries. The Justice Minister also signed several bilateral protocols to facilitate the extradition of persons wanted for criminal proceedings or sentenced to prison.

Cultivation and Production. Authorities believe that methamphetamine production is extensive, but most data are anecdotal. The Czech Statistical Office reported that there were 35,000 hectares of licit opium poppy cultivation for pharmaceutical products and poppy seeds for the food industry. Authorities predicted that total licit opium cultivation will be reduced to 25,000 hectares in 1996. There is no available information about large-scale cannabis cultivation, but authorities believe that cannabis is cultivated for personal use.

IV. U.S. Policy Initiatives and Programs

Policy Initiatives and Bilateral Cooperation. The USG continues to promote increased GOCR attention to the drug problem. Moreover, the USG encourages assistance for the GOCR from those nations, primarily in Western Europe, most directly affected by the drug problems of this region. In 1995, the USG increased cooperation with the Czech antidrug agencies and provided law enforcement and customs training.

The Road Ahead. The USG will encourage the Czech Republic to continue to expand its drug control activities and build up the nation's antidrug institutional capabilities. In 1996, the USG will provide three narcotics enforcement seminars to assist the Czech Government's counterdrug efforts. Additionally, the United States and the UNDCP will continue to support Czech participation in the Central European regional demand reduction program in Italy.

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