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The Republic of Uzbekistan is situated in the central and north-western part of Central Asia. The total area of the country is 448,900 sq. km. Uzbekistan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to the east and southeast, Afghanistan to the south and Turkmenistan to the southwest. Tashkent is the capital of Uzbekistan.

Demographics and Human Development Index indicators

There is no significant opiates production in Uzbekistan, as the country is primarily a transit route for opiates originating in Afghanistan. Effective government eradication programs have eliminated nearly all illicit production of opium poppies in Uzbekistan. In spite of some eradication, there is a limited illicit cultivation of cannabis and very small amounts of opium poppy in the remote region of Samarkand, mostly for domestic consumption.

National Centre on Drug Control of the Republic of Uzbekistan estimates indicated that less than 1 ha of land was used for illegal narcotic cultivation in 2002.

Trafficking

Uzbekistan is primarily a transit country for trafficking drugs from Afghanistan. Increases in trafficking across Uzbekistan’s territory has been part of the larger trend over recent years of increasing trafficking of drugs out of Afghanistan via the “Northern Route”, which runs through the Central Asian states, onward to the Russian Federation, and generally further onward to European markets. The flow of Afghan heroin and opium remains the main source for supplying the Republic’s illegal narco-transit and narco-market, as at the same time, part of the drugs remains in Uzbekistan.

· from the Republic of Tajikistan through: Uzun district of Surkhandarya region, Oybek settlement of Tashkent region and Samarkand region;

· from the Kyrgyz Republic through Uchkuprik district of Namangan region and Uygursay settlement of Andijan region;

· from Turkmenistan through Bukhara region, Khorezm region and the Autonomiy Republic of Karakalpakstan.

Drug traffickers use almost all kinds of transport for delivery of drugs. However, in 2002 using of railway transport decreased by 70.2% mainly due to improvements in Tajik security efforts, which resulted in a decrease in rail trafficking along the Dushanbe-Moscow route and motor transports by 22.2%.

Concealment methods for drugs smuggling remain conventional as follows: concealment among goods, items and food-stuff which do not attract special attention during the examination and crossing the border, among wares of home craft, in vacuums of motor and railway transport (in various places like passenger compartment, or in coaches, under carpets, in pallets, petrol tanks, spare wheels, luggage racks) or in specially equipped hiding-places and also on body (in linen, clothes, pockets, belted bags, straps, head hair and ball pens).

Prices

According to estimation by international experts, in 2002 there was a few decrease in heroin and opium trafficking as compared with 2001 not only in Uzbekistan, but also in some neighboring Central Asian countries. As a result, prices for hard drugs rose.

The cost of heroin rises a few times depending on moving away from the regions bordering Afghanistan and Tajikistan towards northwest and west. Price of 1 kg of heroin (for 2002): in Tashkent region is up to USD 15,000, in Tashkent city is USD 20,000, in Khorezm region and Karakalpakstan Autonomy Republic is up to USD 35,000.

Comparatively, the average wholesale price of heroin in 2000 was USD 5,666.7 per kilogram. Opium retail prices in 2001 ranged from USD 1.0 up to 2.5 per gram, whereas the average wholesale price in 1999 was USD 1,050 per kilogram.

Types of Drugs Consumed

Since heroin is more profitable and easier to transport than opium, its share in the total volume of seized opiates in Central Asia continued to increase. As a result, there appears to be a shift from cannabis to opium and heroin as “drugs of choice” throughout Central Asia including Uzbekistan.

Before 1995 there were no heroin addicts registered in Uzbekistan. Such addicts were registered in 1995 for the first time. For example, in the Samarkand region an aggravated form of heroin addiction has been noted since 1997. At present, according to the official data, abuse of high-concentrated drugs, and mainly heroin, predominate in the structure of drug addiction in the country.

Prevalence

21,846 persons were registered in Uzbekistan for non-medical using of narcotic substances as of July 1, 2003. It gives rate of drug addiction of 5.4 per each 100 thousand people. At the end of 2002 they counted 21,360. 1,767 drug addicts were found and registered for the six months of 2003. In all, 1,360 persons were registered with diagnosis of “drug addiction” for the first time in their lives in first half of 2003.

It should be noticed that the number of registered addicts is believed to reflect only 10-15% of the actual drug addicts in Uzbekistan.

Demography of Abusers

One of the main problems in the region, including Uzbekistan, is the rapid change in the demography of abusers. The age of first drug abuse is significantly dropping. At the same time, the proportion of women among drug abusers has been increasing. These changes represent a shift from “traditional” drug use patterns to patterns of abuse perhaps associated with unemployment, urban disaffection, the sex trade child prostitution and hooliganism and in general unfavourable social environment.

In Uzbekistan over 40% of drug addicts (8,186 people as of July 1, 2003) live in rural areas. Persons aged 18 to 40 are the basic age group of drug users. Residents from Andijan and Kashkadarya regions use mainly herbal origin drugs.

Intravenous Drug Use (IDU) and HIV/AIDS

This problem has been intensified with post-1995 emergence of larger scale heroin production within Afghanistan. Effects emanating from internal drug abuse include the rapid spread and increase in HIV/AIDS cases, resulting from IDU. Statistic data for 2003 shows that the number of heroin users increased by 609 people if compare with 2002 and totally made 11,302 people. The number of addicts who use heroin intravenously is 7,783.

Up to July 1, 2003, the number of HIV-positives accounted for 2,534, and 1,695 people out of them are drug addicts. At least half of those drug injectors infected with HIV are under the age of 30. The indicator of IDU-related HIV infections per 1 million inhabitants in 2001 accounted 5.0. Despite limited resources, preventive measures against the spread of HIV are being intensified in Uzbekistan, especially in high-risk groups such as drug addicts.

Drug-Related Crimes

The analysis of illicit drug trafficking situation shows that despite the measures taken, drug situation in the Republic of Uzbekistan is one of the main unfavourable factors influencing negatively the public security as a whole.

Totally, 8,716 drug-related crimes were revealed by the law enforcement agencies in Uzbekistan in 2002 and 4,574 crimes - during first six months of 2003. Most of such crimes were revealed in Tashkent city, Samarkand region, Fergana region and Tashkent region. The rate of illicit drug sale during the first six months of 2003 was 43% out of the total number of drug-related crimes.

For the first six months of 2003 units and departments of the Committee for State Border Guarding of the Republic of Uzbekistan suppressed 25 cases of conveyance of drugs and seized 53.223 kg of drugs.

107 cases of illicit conveyance of drugs via the republic’s customs border were registered by officers of the Customs Committee for the first half of 2003 and 24.632 kg of drugs were seized.

Totally, 88 citizens from 11 countries have been detained for drug related crimes: Tajikistan (41), Kyrgyzstan (10), Russia (6), Turkmenistan (7), Kazakhstan (9), Afghanistan (9), Georgia (2), Iran (1), Ukraine (1), Belarus (1) and Turkey (1).

Judicial authorities of the Republic investigated into 2,707 criminal cases as regard to 3,466 persons over the first six months of 2003.

According to National Center on Drug Control, most smuggling incidents involve one or two individuals, likely backed by a larger, organized group. The information that has been gathered suggests smuggling rings are relatively small, family-run operations, with no single group controlling any region or the whole country. Smuggling rings tend to be located on the border between Uzbekistan and Tajikistan where family members can cross the border more easily.

Counter-efforts

Domestic Drug Control Framework

National Legislation

In March 2002 the Government of Uzbekistan adopted a programme for countering drug abuse and illicit trafficking of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances for the period of 2002-2005, which provides for the strengthening of law enforcement activities, the prevention of drug abuse and the expansion of international cooperation in drug control.

Uzbekistan has adopted the State Programme to Prevent HIV/AIDS for 2002-2005, which contains a very large component to prevent drug abuse.

National Drug Control Institutions

Three agencies with separate jurisdictions have counter-narcotics responsibilities: the Ministry of Interior, the National Security Service and the State Customs Committee. The Ministry of Interior concentrates on domestic crime and has 140 officers dedicated to counter-narcotics; the National Security Service handles international organized crime (in addition to its intelligence role); and Customs works at the border (interdiction/seizures at the border are also carried our by the Border Guards, although it is not their primary role) and continues to give a high priority to counter-narcotics reflected in a 300-person increase in staff dedicated to counter-narcotics efforts. None of the law enforcement agencies specializes in counter-narcotics.

There is the State Drug Control Commission which coordinates anti-drug activities both at the national and regional levels as well as implements international obligations for drug control. The National Center on Drug Control under the Cabinet of Ministers is the permanent organ of the State Drug Control Commission. One of its main tasks is to collect information and establish a data bank, analyze information thoroughly, furnish relevant information to concerned ministries and organizations. The Center was designed to minimize mistrust, rivalry and duplication of efforts among the agencies.

The regional drug control commissions are established and operating in all regions of the country. They are responsible for coordination of the activities of the territorial divisions of the ministries and agencies in the field of drug control.

Countering Cultivation, Production, Supply, and Trafficking

For several years, regional drug control commissions along with law enforcement of the Republic have successfully worked together on the annual operation “Black Poppy” at two stages: from 1 May to 31 June and from 1 September to 31 October. The project combines intelligence collection, interdiction of smugglers, eradication of cultivation, and demand reduction.

During the conducting of the operation “Black poppy-2002” 1,310 cases of illicit cultivation of plants containing narcotic substances were revealed (against 949 in 2001) in the area with the total square of 1.58 ha (against 1.15 ha in 2001), according of which, 1,000 proceedings were instituted (against 775 in 2001) and 386.6 kg of different types of drugs were seized (against 422.754 kg in 2001). Totally, 1.9 ha of wild narcotic-bearing plants were revealed and defoliated all over the country (against 2.3 ha in 2001).

919 cases of illicit drug cultivation were revealed during the first stage of operation “Black poppy-2003” on the total area of 16,675 sq. m., out of which 803 cases related to opium cultivation and 116 cases – hemp cultivation. 16,877 sq. m. of wild cannabis fields were revealed and eradicated.

Seizures

Seizures of Illicit Drugs in Uzbekistan, 1999-2003

Type of drugs	1999	2000	2001	2002	January-June 2003
Opium (kg, raw & prepared)	3,292.342	2,008.200	241.680	76	78.5
Heroin (kg)	324.843	675	466.601	256.3	122.5
Cannabis (kg, herb and resin)	982.689	65 (resin only)	86 (resin only)	44.7	13.8

Totally, 839.6 kg of narcotic substances were seized in 2002 (against 1,069 kg in 2001). With considerable decrease of the total volume of drugs seized, there is an increase of the phytogenic narcotics (marijuana, cannabis and kuknar) from 360.7 kg in 2001 to 507.3 kg in 2002.

The relatively strong increase in heroin seizures in recent years, including 1999 (7.7%), 2000 (22.6%) and 2001 (44%), was seen in Uzbekistan, especially, if one compares the 1996-1998 and the 2000-2001 periods. Opium seizures in Uzbekistan fell in 2001 by approximately two thirds.

During 1995-1998, 77.6 tons of precursor chemicals were seized in Uzbekistan, mostly of acetic anhydride, used in the manufacture of heroin. In 2002 a shipment of 200 litters of precursors was seized at Termez. There were no cases registered of illegal import of psychotropic substances and precursors to the country during the first six months of 2003.

Demand Reduction and Rehabilitation

Uzbekistan has a rather wide network of narcological clinics, since this problem has been given a particular focus recently. In Uzbekistan drug abuse is divided into a separate category and treated in separate institutions. At present, there are about 20 narcological clinics, most of which have in-patient departments. There also are two specialized narcological hospitals. In each district (162 districts and 55 cities/towns) every health centre has a narcological room.

Anonymous centres to exchange injection syringes for addicts using heroin by injection would be one of the most effective methods to prevent HIV/AIDS infection among drug addicts. Such centres have been already operating for several years.

Education and Public Information Programmes

The annual operation “Black Poppy” apart from intelligence collection, interdiction of smugglers, eradication of cultivations, contains also demand reduction. The demand reduction efforts have focused on a coordinated community policing effort, in which police officers work with local government and education officials to visit schools and other large institutions to discourage illicit drug use.

Uzbekistan has established a nation-wide system of governmental and nongovernmental Trust Points, being able to reach a large scope of risk groups through successful networking and peer to peer work.

A particular focus was given to the prevention of drug addiction among the youth. Youth’s Movement “Kamolot” in its activity covers primarily youth institutions: schools, colleges, lyceums and higher schools.

International Cooperation

International Conventions

Uzbekistan has ratified the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, the 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances, the 1988 UN Convention against Illicit Trafficking in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances. The Government of Uzbekistan has designated their national authorities in charge of mutual legal assistance pursuant to article 7 of the 1988 Convention.

Uzbekistan is party to numerous regionally-based drug control agreements organized through ECO, OSCE, UNDP, UNODC and other organizations. Regional efforts have sought to deal with a set of problems common to countries in the region, including a lack of basic resources to institute effective drug control programmes; the links between drugs, organized crime, and international terrorism; and the destabilizing effects of the drug trade on each country’s economy and security.

On May 4, 1996 the five Central Asian states signed a Memorandum of Understanding on sub-regional drug control cooperation, which was also joined by Russia and the Agha Khan Foundation in January 1998 and by Azerbaijan in September 2001.

In 1996 the law enforcement agencies of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan signed an agreement on cooperation in combating the illicit traffic in drugs.

On April 21, 2000 Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan signed a Treaty on Concerted Action in Combating Terrorism, Political and Religious Extremism, Transnational Organized Crime and Other Threats to the Stability and Security of the Signatory Parties, which addresses also drug trafficking.

In 2000 the "Six Plus Two" group (Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Pakistan, Iran, China, as well as the Russian Federation and the USA) with the support of ODCCP established a Working group to strengthen drug control cooperation among the countries bordering on Afghanistan, e.g. to enhance their interdiction capacities (“Security belt”). In September 2000 the "Six Plus Two" group, with ODCCP’s assistance, elaborated and approved a Regional Action Plan for countering the Afghan drug threat.

In December 2001 UNODCCP presented a Regional Programme comprising a strategic framework and the ongoing and pipeline projects at the “Bishkek International Conference on Enhancing Security and Stability in Central Asia: Strengthening Comprehensive Efforts to Counter Terrorism”, jointly organized by ODCCP and OSCE. The participants of the Conference endorsed the Declaration and Programme of Action to Counter Terrorism, which emphasized additional needs of the Central Asian states in technical and financial assistance.

In September 2002 the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) set up an agency to combat drug trafficking in Central Asia, to pursue joint measures in investigating drug-related crime and to promote drug abuse prevention activities.

Shanghai Cooperation Organization (former “Shanghai Five”), which includes Uzbekistan, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan, covers several issues related to regional security, including drug trafficking. The anti-terrorist center of this organization was established in Tashkent in 2003.

There are also several other coordinating bodies of the CIS countries to facilitate joint operations against organized criminal activities. A number of training activities on controlled delivery of drugs under the provisional name “Druzhba” on Tajikistan-Uzbekistan-Kazakhstan-Kyrgyzstan route were held in the first half of 2003. The representatives of law enforcement bodies from Central Asian countries of CIS as well as the federal department of criminal police of Germany, which was a main focal point of the activities under the support of European Union, took part in this work. The main task of these activities were to arrange operative and smooth collaboration under holding tactical activity “controlled delivery”, to work out effective measures against international criminal groupings, to reveal and to block Afghani drug flow through Central Asian countries to Russian and further to Europe.

The Republic of Uzbekistan participated in international operation titled “Topaz”. The aim of this operation was to trace turnover of anhydride of acetic acid with a purpose to prevent it from being used in illicit production of heroin.

For the time being, the Republic of Uzbekistan is taking efforts towards implementation of number of regional and national UN projects envisaging rendering comprehensive assistance to country’s bodies in the field of drug control.

Upon initiative of the Republic of Uzbekistan, UNODC has worked out and proposed for implementation a project document “Establishment of Central-Asian Regional Information-Coordinative Center – TSARIKTS” to fight with transbordery crimes related to illicit drug trafficking. Main task of this project is to develop regional cooperation of law enforcement bodies of Central Asian countries, Azerbaijan, Russia in the field of illicit drug dissemination by means of establishing a regional contact body aimed at organization and coordination of operative-investigative activities.

Within the framework of cooperation with European Union, Uzbekistan has completed implementing the first phase of regional program against drugs in Central Asia “CADAP”. A project to strengthen control and oppose drug trafficking in airports has been implemented with CADAP program.

The Republic of Uzbekistan, in collaboration with special agencies of EU, USA and other international organizations, holds a broad complex of seminars and trainings aimed at improving methods to fight with illicit drug trafficking. In interaction with OSCE center in Tashkent, Uzbekistan side organized International OSCE seminar titled “National and economic consequences of illicit drug trade” on March 17-18 2003, in order to support OSCE initiatives on prevention of illicit drug dissemination. The representatives of 55 OSCE countries, about 15 international organizations including ECO, diplomatic corps in Tashkent as well as concerned ministries and departments of the Republic of Uzbekistan took part in this important seminar.

The OSCE in cooperation with ODCCP organized in October 2000 the Tashkent Conference on Security and Stability in Central Asia, where for the first time an integrated approach in the fight against drugs, organized crime and terrorism was considered. The OSCE Senior Police Adviser has recently carried out preliminary assessments in Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan and is now in correspondence with the respective Ministers of Interior on police-related activities.

In terms of cooperation within the ECO, National Center on Drug Control of Uzbekistan has arranged a smooth work with the Drug Control Coordination Unit (DCCU) of ECO. In line with this, National Center on Drug Control has prepared and submitted to ECO DCCU a draft project on establishment of common database to register drug-addicts, people detained for illicit drug trafficking, confiscated drugs and to control over licit drugs, psychotropic substances and precursors in the Republic of Uzbekistan, which was forwarded by ECO DCCU to UNODC for consideration.

Bilateral Agreements and Programmes

In June 2000 Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in combating illicit drug trafficking in narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances was signed between the Governments of Uzbekistan and Islamic Republic of Iran.

As a sign of appreciation to Uzbekistan’s efforts in the war against terrorism, the US Congress has allocated additional funds in an amount of USD 3 million to be used for drug abuse prevention in Uzbekistan. The ultimate goal of the new initiative is to develop a comprehensive programme on drug demand reduction with a prior focus to be made on Uzbekistan and also Tajikistan. Among the concrete tasks of the new programme one is to raise awareness on drug abuse prevention among youth as well as among risk groups like IDUs, commercial sex workers and prisoners.

At present, UN project AD/UZB/G28 “Assistance in revival of activity at checkpoint “Khairaton” (Termez Bridge) at Uzbek-Afghan frontier” with the total budget of USD 2.6 million is executed. Main task of this project is to assist and support Uzbekistan’s initiatives to organize comprehensive functioning of Termez-Khairaton checkpoint in order to arrange road and rail traffic for carriage of cargoes and humanitarian aids to Afghanistan.