U.S. Department of State
1997 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report, March 1998
United States Department of State
Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs
Europe and Central Asia
MOLDOVA
I. Summary
A party to the 1988 UN Drug Convention, Moldova has only limited
budgetary resources to meet its obligations under that Convention. The
country is not a significant narcotics producer or money laundering center,
and its low per capita income make it a relatively unattractive market for
narcotics. However, Moldova is being used for the transshipment of illegal
narcotics from, and precursor chemicals to, central Asia. The new Moldovan
government's determination to deal with drugs and related criminal activity
is evidenced by the creation in 1997 of an elite "Department to Combat
Organized Crime and Corruption" in the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The
United States is assisting this new organization, the existing Drug Squad,
and Moldovan Customs with training programs and with equipment purchased
under a 1996 Letter of Agreement providing $50,000 in INL assistance.
II. Status of Country
Moldova does not produce significant quantities of narcotics or serve as
an international money laundering center. The country's low per capita
income discourages the widespread use of imported drugs. However, recent
seizures indicate that the country is being used as a transshipment route
for narcotics from, and precursor chemicals to, central Asia.
III. Country Actions Against Drugs in 1997
Accomplishments. The new Moldovan government, formed after the
inauguration of President Petru Lucinschi in January 1997, has evidenced a
determination, within its resource constraints, to meet its obligations
under the 1988 UN Drug Convention and other international narcotics
agreements to which Moldova is a party. The most encouraging sign of this
determination has been the formation of a Department to Combat Organized
Crime and Corruption in the Ministry of Internal Affairs. This new
Department, composed of specially-recruited officers, attempts to prosecute
criminal organizations--and their protectors in government--which may deal
in drugs, among other illegal activities. The Department has begun making
arrests, but no convictions have yet emerged from the slow-moving criminal
justice system.
Law Enforcement Efforts. According to the Narcotics Squad's
statistics, the number of drug-related crimes has increased three-fold over
the past five years. During the nine-month period ending September, 30,
1997, 592 narcotics-related crimes were registered, as compared to 515 in
all of 1996. 572 of these cases were solved. Police and Customs officials
made the following seizures in this period: 487 kilos of poppy straw; 362
kilos of hashish, hashish oil and marijuana; 16 kilos of opium, 10 kilos of
heroin, 3 kilos of noxitron, and one kilo of ethedron.
Corruption. The work of the new Department to Combat Organized
Crime and Corruption has resulted in the dismissal of senior police
officials with criminal charges pending, but these cases are not known to
involve narcotics. Moldova has no law specifically dealing with
narcotics-related corruption.
Agreements and Treaties. Moldova is a party to the 1988 UN Drug
Convention, the 1961 UN Single Convention and its 1972 Protocol, and the
1971 UN Convention on Psychotropic Substances.
Cultivation and Production. The principal locally-produced illegal
substance is hemp, originally introduced in Moldova for rope-making. Legal
hemp production was eliminated some 50 years ago, but narcotic-quality
plants still grow throughout the country. No reliable production estimates
are available, but hemp's ready availability has been capitalized upon by
criminal elements, particularly among an ethnic minority in northern
Moldova. Other locally-produced substances include oil-bearing poppies and
synthetic and semi-synthetic drugs including Ephedrine, Pervitini,
Omnoponi, and Methadone. However, neither hemp nor any of these substances
is exported in significant quantities.
Drug Flow/Transit. Periodic seizures indicate that Moldova is
used as a transit route for heroin and cocaine moving from central Asia to
central and western Europe and precursor chemicals moving in the opposite
direction. However, the seizures are too sporadic to indicate trends in
this regard.
Demand Reduction. Moldova's low per capita income ($440 per
annum) effectively discourages the widespread use of imported
narcotics. Police and public health officials estimate that some 50-60,000
Moldovans abuse drugs, about 1 percent of the population. However, this
estimate lacks a hard basis, and only 2750 persons are in drug treatment
programs. Anecdotal evidence and personal observation suggest that drug
addiction does not constitute a major public health problem. For this
reason demand reduction is not a priority for Moldova's financially
strapped health service.
IV. US Policy Initiatives and Programs
Bilateral Cooperation. US assistance is aimed at enhancing the
ability of the Moldovan Drug Squad and Moldovan Customs to interdict
international narcotics shipments and the competence of the Department to
Combat Organized Crime and Corruption to deal with these interrelated
problems.
Equipment purchased under the 1996 Letter of Agreement began to arrive
in 1997, and Moldovan police and Customs officials continued to attend
courses conducted by US agents. INL responded to the formation of the
Department to Combat Organized Crime and Corruption by financing two
seminars, presented by Assistant US Attorneys and FBI Special Agents, to
share expertise with representatives of this organization and other
Moldovan officials. The seminar presenters also consulted with their
Moldovan counterparts on the development of new legislation and procedures
to facilitate their task. The responses of the Moldovan officials to this
aid have been uniformly positive, and the US Embassy is regularly asked for
additional assistance.
The Road Ahead. The commitment of INL resources has been largely
responsible for the progress made in the counternarcotics field. The
Moldovans would welcome an expanded program dealing with narcotics,
corruption and other facets of organized criminal activity.
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