Source: 2000
Released by the Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs
Turkmenistan is not a significant producer or source country for illegal drugs or precursor chemicals. However, largely due to its rugged and remote 1,180-kilometer border with Afghanistan and an 800-kilometer frontier with Iran, Turkmenistan remains a crucial transit route for drug trafficking to Turkish, Russian and European markets and precursor chemicals to Afghanistan. Counternarcotics efforts in Turkmenistan are carried out by the Committee for National Security (KNB), the Border Guards, and the State Customs Committee. The Government of Turkmenistan is committed to supporting a vigorous counternarcotics effort but its law enforcement agencies are hampered by a widespread lack of equipment, resources and training. Although statistics are difficult to obtain, government officials and non-government organizations believe that domestic drug abuse, more often of opium and marijuana, is steadily increasing. Turkmenistan participates in the UN Six Plus Two narcotics initiative, although it did not sign the Regional Action Plan it helped to draft. Turkmenistan is a party to the 1988 UN Drug Convention.
Turkmenistans use as a 2-way transit country for drugs and precursor chemicals is aided by heavy commercial truck traffic with Iran, Caspian Sea ferry boat traffic from Turkmenistan to Azerbaijan and Russia, and international flights connecting Ashgabat with nine international airports around the world. The bulk of Turkmen law enforcement resources and manpower are directed at stopping the flow of drugs from Afghanistan, exposing Turkmenistan's considerable border with Uzbekistan to increased use by narcotics smugglers.
Policy Initiatives. Earlier this year the Turkmen parliament approved new legislation allowing police to legally search a residence only after presenting evidence of the presence of weapons, explosives or more than five kilograms of narcotics to a city, county or regional government-appointed commission, which then decides whether to issue a search warrant. The Turkmen criminal code allows for the death penalty in certain trafficking cases; however, a 1999 presidential moratorium on capital punishment remains in force.
Accomplishments. A national drug intelligence information center sponsored by the UN Office of Drug Control and Crime Prevention (UNODCCP) should be completed and operational beginning in 2001. It connects a central server in the Ministry of Internal Affairs with computer systems in the State Drug Control Commission, the Committee for National Security, the Border Guards, the General Prosecutor, and the Ministry of Health to facilitate collection, analysis and exchange of drug-related intelligence and enhance the effectiveness of Turkmen counternarcotics efforts. At the October 2000 UNODCCP/OSCE international conference on drugs, organized crime and terrorism, the Government of Turkmenistan formally approved its participation in the UNODCCP-sponsored precursor control project for Central Asia and signed the conference draft agreement on priority areas of cooperation.
Law Enforcement Efforts. The Government of Turkmenistan continues to give high priority to counternarcotics law enforcement. Despite a lack of modern equipment and sufficient transport, Turkmen border forces are remarkably effective in detecting and interdicting illegal crossings by armed smugglers. According to government reports, in the first six months of 2000 Turkmen law enforcement agencies detained 181 border violators and seized 1,111 kilograms of narcotics. In addition, Turkmen border forces intercepted 17 smuggling groups and were involved in 7 armed clashes in which 9 smugglers were killed. On March 29, 2000, Turkmen border forces on the Iranian frontier clashed with ten armed smugglers in which seven smugglers were killed and 701 kilograms of opium seized.
Corruption. Statistics or information concerning police corruption in Turkmenistan are difficult to obtain. However, low salaries combined with broad general powers, fosters an environment in which corruption could readily occur.
Agreements and Treaties. In 1996, Turkmenistan became a party to the 1998 UN Drug Convention, the 1961 UN Single Convention and its 1972 protocol, and the 1971 UN Convention on Psychotropic Substances. It has signed agreements on counternarcotics cooperation with its Central Asian neighbors.
Cultivation and Production. Turkmenistan is not a significant producer of illegal drugs, although small-scale opium and cannabis cultivation is thought to occur in remote mountain and desert areas. Each spring, the government conducts limited aerial inspections of outlying areas in search of illegal cultivations, which are eradicated immediately.
Drug Flow/Transit. Turkmenistan remains a primary corridor for transit of morphine base and heroin to Turkey and opium and heroin to markets in Russia and Europe, and for the shipment of precursor chemicals, mainly acidic anhydride, to heroin laboratories in Afghanistan. According to government officials, the quantity of drugs and precursor chemicals intercepted this year along the Afghan border, as well as the total number of drug seizures, has significantly decreased compared to recent years, because of the concentration of Turkmenistan's law enforcement efforts along this border. However, the nearly 1,800-kilometer Uzbek frontier remains thinly staffed by Border Guard forces in comparison to its boundaries with Afghanistan and Iran.
Domestic Programs/Demand Reduction. The Turkmen Ministry of Health estimates that approximately 6 to 7 percent of the population use illegal drugs, though unofficial estimates put the user population at 8 to 9 percent. The Ministry of Health operates six drug treatment clinics located in the capital Ashgabat and each of its five provinces. Addicts may receive treatment at these clinics without revealing their identity and all clinic visits are kept strictly confidential. In September 2000, the government permitted the implementation of a UNODCCP/UN AIDS project for the prevention of drug abuse, aids and sexually transmitted disease among Turkmen youth. The project calls for a drug abuse assessment of five to six Turkmen cities over a one or two month period.
Bilateral Cooperation. The USG seeks to assist Turkmenistan in updating its law enforcement institutions and body of law to more effectively counter the illegal drug trade. Turkmen officials participated in USG-sponsored training programs in 2000, including courses for narcotics interdiction for border forces, regional and in-country drug enforcement seminars, and law enforcement seminars at the International Law Enforcement Academy in Budapest, Hungary.
The Road Ahead. The USG will continue to cooperate with Turkmenistan in its fight against the illegal drug trade. Through international and non-government organizations and programs, such as UNODCCP and the American Bar Association, the USG plans to assist Turkmenistan enhance its judicial and legal institutions to combat narcotics smuggling organizations and crime associated with illegal drugs. The USG will encourage long-term demand reduction efforts and foster supply reduction through interdiction training, law enforcement institution building and the promotion of regional cooperation.
Although Turkmenistan has only a few international banks and a small, underdeveloped domestic financial sector, the country's several foreign-owned hotels and casinos could be vulnerable to financial fraud and money laundering by organized criminal groups. In addition, the national currency, the manat, has a black market (but universally accepted) exchange rate that is four times the official rate, thus creating conditions favorable to money laundering. Moreover, the low salaries and broad general powers of Turkmen law enforcement officials raise issues of possible corruption. The Government of Turkmenistan has not reported any suspected cases of money laundering.
Turkmenistan has no specific law addressing money laundering. However, Presidential Resolution 0210/02-2 of 1995 gives the central bank authority over all international financial transactions. Under this resolution, any firm making an electronic transfer of funds to an account abroad must provide documentation that establishes the source of the funds.
Recognizing Turkmenistan's susceptibility to money laundering, the US Secret Service has scheduled a course on financial institution fraud and money laundering that will be held sometime in 2001.
Turkmenistan is a party to the 1988 UN Drug Convention.