Pubdate: Wed, 21 Apr 1999 Source: Scotsman (UK) Copyright: The Scotsman Publications Ltd 1999 Contact: http://www.scotsman.com/ Forum: http://www.scotsman.com/ BUT THE DRUGS SQUADS DON'T WORK ... Politicians vow ad infinitum that the West will win the war on drugs. They should get real, writes Chloe Fox, because we've already lost it EIGHT o'clock on a rainy spring morning in Paris and French customs officer Roland has just come into his discreet city office from a night of surveillance. He has been waiting near a suburban warehouse for a drug pick-up that never happened. Cold, tired and worn-out, he discusses the night with his boss. A heated discussion produces two basic theories: that the information they had was old or wrong, or that the police were also working on the case and got there before customs did. The only point of agreement is that despite everyone's efforts, the state has lost the war against drugs - a long time ago. "Regionally, nationally, internationally ... everyone knows this. And it is lost irrevocably. We lost this war, oh, many years ago. Certainly the new Europe is a Europe without borders - which is good for smugglers, drug traffickers, petty criminals, but not for us," says Roland despondently. "It is actually getting worse now. New routes open up every week. These people are more organised than you would ever believe; I mean, they are a step ahead of us every time." The steps are not always massive but they can be significant. An example: mobile phones. In France, drug seizures at border checks plummeted five years ago when smugglers started sending their escort cars ten minutes ahead. If the escort spotted a guard, or border checks being carried out, they would simply call the smuggler and warn them off. Simple but devastating. With annual profits of UKP2.5 billion, the drug industry naturally sees any ruse a small price to pay for being one step ahead. Methods change, routes change, carriers change. The growth of the drug market can partly be explained by increasing demand, but also by the development of new and increasingly effective operating procedures. The industry's success is due to an ability to innovate and maintain operations - despite defections and arrest - while increasing operating efficiency. Money is being laundered more efficiently than ever before. The massive, almost unimaginable profits made by the industry are becoming part of legitimate economies all around the world. Interpol says it is undeniable that drug money, or "narco-dollars" threaten the stability of legitimate markets and political processes, diminishing public confidence in the state's ability to govern efficiently. "The illegal trade in narcotics is increasingly interwoven with the regular economy, at a national as well as international level," says Raymond Kendall, former Scotland Yard officer and now head of Interpol, which is based in France's second-largest city, Lyon, and co-ordinates the world-wide police fight against drugs. "This interweaving makes the combating of the drug trade on the financial front all the more difficult. Countries now face the increasing globalisation of crime and criminal organisations. Approximately 50 per cent of all seizure/arrest reports received at the Interpol General Secretariat are related to drug trafficking, and this is a growing area of the organisation's work." Drug trafficking can touch any economy, not just heavy drug-producing countries such as Colombia or Afghanistan. Three years ago in the French port of Le Havre, customs installed an enormous x-ray machine, big enough to fit a lorry. Within an instant, anything suspicious was identified and the truck would be searched. But the X-rays took time and time is money. So shipping companies moved to other less vigilant, more efficient ports, unconsciously following in the wake of the drug dealers. Result: a community temporarily drained of legitimate and illegal business. Police officers and customs officers seize an estimated 8 to 10 per cent of the drugs that are sent across the invisible European borders into France every year. Unfortunately, seizures are not on the increase - but opportunities for drug trafficking are. As restrictions on international travel are lifted and transport and communications improve, the loopholes for drug trafficking are widening. The United Nations International Drug Control Programme (UNDCP) says that at least 75 per cent of drug shipments would have to be seized to make an impact on the drug trade. It is enough to fill any law enforcement officer's heart with despair. Working in and around the French borders, 60 hours a week for UKP1,300 a month, Roland spends what little spare time he has trying to think one step ahead. Mostly working out of uniform and just inside the border, he tries not to stop "the obvious ones". "As we see it, there are certain classic routes for drug trafficking," he explains. "There is the North/South route, where heroin flows down from places like Poland to the south of Europe and then to Spain, from where it is shipped all over the world. Then you have the South/North route - cannabis from Morocco is shipped to France or Spain, and driven up through France, Italy and Germany toHolland." He has certain basic information at his fingertips which helps him out but it is never enough. Cannabis harvests take place in June, so by September traffickers are preparing to ship their commodity north. Until November, there is generally a customs blitz against vehicles travelling north through Europe fromMorocco. Last year during this time, Roland hit upon the idea of stopping cars with large families or handicapped occupants and came up with some surprisingly large hauls. "People are uncomfortable with the idea of stopping these kind of people," he chuckles. "Smugglers gamble on the assumption that we will be uncomfortable too. They take the risk, and last year we caught quite a few." He's not quite so cheerful when he considers the other drug trafficking routes that are expanding rapidly. "Turkey," he sighs. "Turkey is a big, big problem. They produce and export a lot of heroin, and have been doing so for some time. I think this is one of the reasons that other Europeans do not want them joining the European Union." Raymond Kendall agrees that Turkish drug distribution networks are a thorn in Interpol's side. "The distribution networks have changed, with the most noticeable ones being Turkish (heroin and cocaine), Colombian (cannabis, cocaine and heroin) and Nigerian (cannabis, cocaine and heroin)," he says. "But the consumer countries continue to be the same." The growth of the drug market can only be in part explained by increasing demand. The industry's explosion is also due to thedevelopment of new and increasingly effective operating procedures by the syndicates. So should the producers or the consumers be attacked first in this failing war against drugs? Different countries have remarkably different policies, which can make it difficult for Interpol to co-ordinate global anti-drug measures. "To fight this, it is imperative that a two-pronged attack is in place. It means that supply and demand should be tackled simultaneously," says Kendall. Unfortunately, countries such as France and the United States have legislation which requires them to concentrate on the consumer rather than the trafficker. While the politicians agonise over whether to change this legislation, the drug traffickers are merrily reaping in the profits. And it is, as Kendall says, the traffickers who profit. More than 90 per cent of drug profits go directly to the trafficker because the trafficking is the crucial link between production and consumption. At the end of the pecking order, the farmers of illicit drugs will see a paltry 2 per cent. Or perhaps the farmer is the penultimate end of the pecking order. Because all financial considerations aside, at the end of the food chain is the user. In human terms, users and their families pay the highest price. At the end of the day, people like Roland keep on doing their job because they believe in it. Roland says that "ordinary" people who live honestly and pay taxes should not have to pay the staggering social, cultural and economic price imposed by the drug industry. And Roland's team will try to carry out, in the midst of defeat, as honourably as they can. - --- MAP posted-by: Patrick Henry