ANNEX A: LISBON AND MADRID VISIT NOTES
We visited Lisbon, Portugal and Madrid, Spain on
14-15th September 2009. In Lisbon we visited the Maritime
Analysis and Operations Centre—Narcotics (MAOC-N) and the
European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA).
In Madrid we visited the Spanish Intelligence Centre for Organised
Crime (CICO) and met anti-drugs prosecutors.
Marine Analysis and Operations Centre—Narcotics
(MAOC-N), Lisbon
Tim Manhire, Executive Director of MAOC-N, gave an
overview of the organisation's work.
Smuggling routes
- West Africa was a key transit
area for cocaine smuggling: countries included Guinea, Guinea
Bissau, Nigeria, Sierra Leone. Failing states in West Africa were
fertile ground for traffickers, but the drug trade further destabilised
such countries. MAOC-N was increasing operations in Cape Verde,
including some joint operations with the US.
- Cocaine was freely stored, cut, and packaged
in West Africa for onward transit via air couriers, container
ships unregulated vessels as well as other traditional / historic
trade and smuggling routes.
- Transit countries developed drug problems themselves
- for instance, Colombians operating out of West Africa often
paid in cocaine rather than cash.
- In Europe, key transit and destination countries
were the Netherlands, Spain and the UK.
- The US estimated that 1900 metric tonnes of cocaine
were produced in Colombia per annum.
- The more northerly routes (eg. top of West Africa
to Portugal and Europe) tended to use sailing, rather then motorised,
vessels at this time.
Smuggling methods
- Semi-submersibles were increasingly
being used to run shipments into Caribbean and US. They could
carry 7 tonnes of cocaine and were 18m long. Such vessels had
the capacity to travel long distances - such as from Ecuador to
San Diego. MAOC-N estimated it might be possible to cross the
Atlantic in one such vessel. The vessels were frequently then
scuppered by the traffickers once ashore.
- Drugs often set off on a "mother ship"
and were later offloaded onto a "daughter ship".
International co-operation
- US forces patrolled the Caribbean
and South Pacific, but didn't patrol the Atlantic. US ships involved
in MAOC-N operations were from the US fleet based at Naples.
- MAOC-N especially wanted to involve Brazil and
Colombia as partners or observers in the organisation. It wanted
to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with Brazil to increase
co-operation.
- It wanted West African countries to carry out
more prosecutions themselves.
MAOC-N operations
- MAOC-N had personnel from 12
countries and assets from 11 countries. It considered 9 partners
to be a maximum useful number of partners - otherwise an organisation
became too bureaucratic. Its strength was in being able to carry
out operations quickly.
- MAOC-N didn't deal with scheduled vessels such
as container ships or scheduled flights, but focused only on uncanalised
vessels.
- It also worked principally with 'actionable'
intelligence - intelligence that is heavily classified is hard
to use.
- Prosecutions for drug trafficking often took
place in Europe, despite an intercept being made in close proximity
to Africa or international waters due to the current requirements
/ constraints of the Laws of the Sea coupled with the varying
national legislation of the boarding States and capabilities
in the West Africa region.
- There were 4 phases to maritime operations which
MAOC-N co-ordinated based on its set up of Law Enforcement with
Military support:
- Detect and monitor
- Coordination Asset sharing
- Intercept and arrest
- Debriefing
- If a vessel was flagged by
a particular country (one which has ratified international agreements),
MAOC-N would contact that country for permission to board the
vessel. There had not, to date, been a case where permission has
been refused. Those who board the ship tended to be from the country
which has agreed to prosecute the case.
- In 20 years, no operation had involved the exchange
of gunfire.
- MAOC-N operations were informally given different
rankings for different outcomes. A "1" ranking - the
lowest - was given when an operation forces the smugglers to jettison
the drugs by throwing them overboard - the drug supply is disrupted,
but there is no evidence and therefore no prosecution. A "10"
rating - the highest - was given to an operation leading to the
dismantling of an entire organised crime group.
- MAOC-N relied heavily on intelligence, from agencies
like SOCA (Serious Organised Crime Agency).
- Seized drugs were generally destroyed, unless
they were needed as evidence in a prosecution.
- Around 80-90% of sea operations converted into
seizures.
- 44.163 tonnes of cocaine had been seized by MAOC-N.
The wholesale value was around £40,000 per kilogram.
- Seizures were only part of disrupting the drugs
trade - it had to be tackled at all levels.
European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug
Addiction (EMCDDA), Lisbon
Work of the EMCDDA
- The EMCDDA conducted research
and analysis to provide an evidence base for policy-making. It
compared policy and law from EU countries, based on raw data provided
by national observatories.
- The Centre produced an early warning system to
identify emerging drugs.
- All 27 EU member states were represented on the
management board. Norway, and shortly Turkey, were also involved.
- EMCDDA had daily contact with Europol.
Trends in drug use
- Trends in drug use should be
seen in a wider context - where use of one drug went down, use
of another often rose. For example, a rise in methamphetamine
use seemed to follow from a decrease in cocaine use.
- Decriminalisation of certain drugs in Portugal
had not had the negative effects which some had predicted. The
success of the Portuguese approach had been in moving emphasis
for tackling drugs from penal system to a civil and interventionist
approach. In most cases Portuguese substance use is lower that
the European average.
- There was an overall upward trend in cocaine
use, accompanied by a downward trend in purity and price.
- Crack cocaine use was limited and localised.
- Cocaine trafficking routes were diversifying
- including to possible new routes via Eastern Europe.
- The most recent problematic trend in drug misuse
was from legitimate substances being contaminated by illegal substances.
- There was a strong link between alcohol dependency
and cocaine use.
- 22% of all drug treatment demand was for cocaine.
Research
- The US funded important clinical
research, but were less strong at turning research into innovative
practice.
- Epidemiological data showed that there were two
types of cocaine user: so-called "recreational users",
often taking cocaine with alcohol; and more chronic users, frequently
using multiple other drugs too.
- A study in sewage epidemiology from the river
Po in Italy analysed samples from the river over time to show
changes in prevalence of drug use in the local population. Although
the method is new and has some ethical challenges to its application,
it is a promising measure of trends of use within a population.
Meeting with Spanish anti-drugs prosecutors,
Madrid
- Prosecutors were finding that
large pyramid-structured criminal organisations had been replaced
by small networks.
- Mutual legal recognition between prosecutors
in EU member states had helped international co-operation on drugs
trafficking. National liaison magistrates in key countries, such
as Morocco, were also helpful.
- It was crucial not only to seize drug cargoes
but to acquire the intelligence to dismantle criminal organisations.
- There was very little co-operation or contact
from transit countries. Police in those countries did not have
enough resources to allocate to drugs units.
- The processes involved in seizing assets presented
difficulties - in order to access bank accounts, authorities had
to liaise with tax agencies and bank associations: there was a
risk that information could filter back to the criminal organisation
during these processes, and assets be moved.
- In Spain possession of a drug, with no intention
of dealing, was not a criminal offence. The drug would be confiscated
and a civil penalty (fine) applied. However, drug dealing would
be prosecuted.
- The Spanish had a policy of stationing police
close to schools to discourage dealing.
- There were ongoing anti-drugs information
campaigns alongside police enforcement, including one on the dangers
of drug driving.
- Countries in west Africa were turning into
"drugs warehouses" - including Mauretania, Guinea Bissau
and Morocco. Colombian gangs had been trying to grow coca in west
Africa - to date without success.
Meeting with Spanish parliament Interior Committee,
Madrid
- Out of all penal judgments
in Spain, 40% were drugs-related.
- Penalties were dependent on whether hard or soft
drugs were involved, and the personal circumstances of the user.
Penalties for hard drugs were typically 3-20yrs imprisonment,
for soft drugs less than 3yrs.
- In general legislators had strong popular support
for anti-drugs legislation. There was a cross-party political
agreement on not prosecuting for possession. More than 1.5g of
cocaine was the threshold for individual consumption.
- Most fines for drug use in public spaces were
not actually implemented - the police tended to 'denounce' lots
of users but not actually collect the fines.
- Article 368 of the Spanish Penal Code covered
drug growing and trafficking. It was up to the courts to determine
penalties in individual cases.
- Spain confiscated the highest amount of drugs
in Europe and had one of the highest arrest rates.
- The Achilles heel of criminal gangs was their
finances: a 2003 Money Laundering Reform in Spain helped target
criminal assets.
- All wealth confiscated from criminal gangs was
made available to a commission which was part of the Spanish National
Drug Plan organisation. In this way seized assets were ploughed
directly back into drug treatment agencies.
Spanish Intelligence Centre for Organised Crime
(CICO), Madrid
CICO is a strategic unit which co-ordinates intelligence
at the national level from various different regional police forces.
- There was a general trend towards increased numbers
of seizures, although not to an increased overall amount of cocaine
seized.
- Cocaine was no longer an elite drug, and was
being used across all parts of the population.
- Price per gram had remained pretty constant since
2003, but the price per kilogram had been consistently falling.
CICO considered that this showed shifts in retail distribution.
- There were two anti-drugs targets in Spain: the
number of arrests (27,000 in the previous year); and the amount
of drugs confiscated. These were not sophisticated indicators.
- In the period 1 January to 30 September 2008,
24,828.87 kg of cocaine were seized in Spain - this was almost
exactly the same as the previous year.[258]
- CICO worked closely with MAOC-N and Europol,
and also with directly with UK law enforcement agencies.
- Over the past couple of years there had been
a substantial increase in the information provided to CICO by
police liaison officers working abroad, and by international co-ordination
centres against drug trafficking - including JIAFTS in the U.S.,
ANTENA-OCRTIS in Martinique, and MAOC-N in Lisbon.
258 Executive Summary of CICO 2008 Annual Report Back
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