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U.S. Department of State
1996 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report, March 1997
United States Department of State
Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs
Africa and the Middle East
SAUDI ARABIA
I. Summary
Saudi Arabia is a party to the 1988 UN Convention and assigns a high national
priority to the elimination of drug trafficking and abuse. While the
government provides no statistics on drug consumption, interdiction, and
trafficking, Saudi Arabia's relatively affluent population and strict privacy
laws make it an attractive target for drug dealers. Under the Saudi Islamic
Legal Code (Sharia), drug trafficking is a capital crime, enforced against
Saudis and non-Saudis alike. While the number of drug-related executions
declined in 1996, arrests continued apace, with Pakistan still ranking as the
single largest source of narcotics and Pakistani nationals the largest conduit
of illegal substances. Saudi Arabia relies upon a network of overseas drug
enforcement liaison offices and on state of the art detection and training
programs to apprehend and deter drug traffickers.
USG and Saudi officials are exploring the resumption of regional DEA visits,
which have waned during the past few years. Saudi drug enforcement officials
welcomed quarterly DEA visits, which were the practice prior to May 1991, and
provided an invaluable mechanism for better assessing Saudi strengths and
weaknesses in the interdiction effort.
II. Status of Country
There is no significant drug production in Saudi Arabia and it places a high
priority on countering narcotics abuse and trafficking. The country's
conservative Islamic values provide ample justification for an aggressive
approach to substance abuse. The government undertakes widespread
antinarcotics educational campaigns in the media, health institutes and
schools; since 1988, it has applied the death penalty for drug smuggling.
However, a variety of factors combine to make Saudi Arabia a tempting target
for drug traffickers: a relatively wealthy population; the absence of
conventional social recreation due to a conservative Islamic culture; the
influx of over two million Islamic pilgrims annually on Hajj and minor Hajj
(Umra) pilgrimages, a portion of whom use pilgrimage visas to mask travel from
and through narcotics producing areas; and, with regard to money laundering,
the absence of foreign exchange controls.
Saudi authorities are most concerned with domestic narcotics abuse.
Authorities jail and deport expatriate substance abusers, while they remand
Saudi nationals to one of the country's three drug treatment hospitals.
Narcotics and health officials confirm anecdotal reports of a general increase
in the level of drug trafficking and substance abuse. However, treatment
officials note that Saudi addictions are not severe, reflecting the scarcity
of narcotics available and their diluted form. Heroin is more prevalent in
the coastal urban areas, with hashish, cocaine, and "pep" pills (particularly
Captagon, which is reputed to have an aphrodisiacal quality) also in demand.
Saudi Customs officials state that Saudi Arabia has been used as a
transshipment point for narcotics. Authorities tightened inspections of cargo
transiting the Kingdom when it became clear that traffickers were capitalizing
on the country's antidrug reputation to deflect the suspicion of customs
officials in the countries of destination. Some narcotics originating in
Pakistan and Southeast Asia may reach the US market, although we have no firm
evidence of this. In recognition of worldwide money laundering activities,
particularly those involving drugs, the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA)
published money laundering control guidelines in 1995 to assist Saudi banks in
recognizing and combating illegal transactions and other criminal activity.
III. Country Action Against Drugs in 1996
Policy Initiatives. The lead agency in Saudi Arabia's drug interdiction
effort is the Ministry of Interior, which has more than 20 overseas offices in
countries identified as representing a trafficking threat. In addition, the
Saudi Government signed a number of bilateral drug enforcement cooperation
agreements in 1996 and plays a lead role in nascent efforts to enhance
intelligence-sharing among the six countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council
(GCC). Saudi Arabia is a member of the UNDCP, and its drug enforcement
personnel regularly participate in international fora and training programs.
Accomplishments and Law Enforcement Efforts. Saudi Arabia
successfully suppresses drug production, excepting marginal cultivation of the
mild stimulant qat in the southwestern tribal areas of the country bordering
Yemen. While drug seizures, arrests, prosecutions, and consumption trends are
not a matter of public record, Saudi law enforcement officials note that the
execution of four Turkish nationals in 1995 on drug trafficking charges
resulted in an almost complete cessation of the smuggling of Captagon tablets
into Saudi Arabia from Turkey. Narcotics interdiction specialists believe
that Saudi efforts against individual drug carriers are more aggressive and
successful than follow-on operations designed to identify drug distributors
and regional networks. The Ministry of Interior is evaluating a proposed US
non-binding drug enforcement cooperation memorandum of understanding (MOU) and
has recommended the government's participation in a UNDCP-hosted drug
interdiction seminar scheduled for 1997.
Corruption. There is no evidence of involvement by Saudi Government
officials in the production, processing, or shipment of narcotic and
psychotropic drugs and other controlled substances or in other drug-related
crimes.
Agreements and Treaties. There are no extradition or mutual legal
assistance treaties (MLAT's) between the US and Saudi Arabia. However, there
is an on-going American advisory and training presence with Saudi Customs.
The non-binding MOU proposed by the Department of State in May, and still
under review by the Saudi Ministry of Interior, calls for increased bilateral
cooperation in information sharing, legal assistance, training, and demand
reduction. The Kingdom has also acceded to the World Customs Organization's
1977 International Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance for the
Prevention, Investigation and Repression of Customs Offences. Annex 10 of
this Convention deals with assistance in action against the smuggling of
narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances. Saudi Arabia acceded to the 1988
UN Convention in 1992.
Cultivation/Production. There is only negligible cultivation or
production of narcotics in Saudi Arabia.
Drug Flow/Transit. Saudi Customs officials devote a majority of their
efforts to curbing the flow of drugs, primarily heroin, traveling from
Pakistan to European, and perhaps American, markets. The USG currently has no
data that any drugs flowing through Saudi Arabia reach the US in significant
quantities.
Domestic Programs (Demand Reduction). In addition to widespread media
campaigns against substance abuse, the Saudi Government sponsors drug
education programs directed at school-age children, health care officials, and
mothers (who, in Saudi Arabia, wield disproportionate influence within the
family). Saudi narcotics officials believe the executions of drug
traffickers, conducted in public and publicized extensively, serve as a
deterrent to narcotics abuse. The country's influential religious
establishment preaches actively against narcotics use and several government
treatment facilities provide counseling for addicts free of charge. One
result is that while drug abuse continues in the privacy of the home, Saudi
Arabia is devoid of a public drug culture.
IV. US Policy Initiatives and Programs
Policy Initiatives. The US seeks to enhance bilateral and multilateral
cooperation with the Saudi Government through the signing of a non-binding MOU
on drug enforcement cooperation and by encouraging greater Saudi participation
in the UNDCP. US Customs provides on-going training and guidance to Saudi
Customs in order to facilitate narcotics interdiction.
Bilateral Cooperation. Saudi officials actively seek and participate in
US-sponsored training programs and are receptive to enhanced official contacts
with DEA. DEA has undertaken to participate in an in-country UNDCP training
program on drug interdiction, now scheduled for the first quarter of 1997.
Road Ahead. The USG will encourage DEA to resume visiting Saudi Arabia
regularly, building on contacts made between Saudi and US officials at
DEA-hosted or attended international seminars. These visits would enable the
Saudis to discuss their objectives and strategies with American narcotics law
enforcement specialists and allow DEA to program appropriate training for
Saudi counterparts.
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