Financial Crime World

Kyrgyzstan’s Drug Trade Entangles Officials, Gangs

The drug trade in Kyrgyzstan has become a serious problem, with organized criminal groups and government officials entangled in the lucrative illegal trade.

The Scale of the Problem

  • Up to 250,000 people in the country are estimated to be drug users
  • Local production is limited, but cannabis and opium poppies are grown mainly in the Issyk-Kul and Osh regions
  • An estimated 60,000 kilograms of heroin is smuggled through the country each year, with most passing through the Osh region

The Threat from Afghan Heroin

  • Most of the heroin smuggled through Kyrgyzstan comes from Afghanistan
  • Only a small percentage of overall heroin traffic is detected and seized
    • In 2005, just 0.34% of overall heroin traffic was intercepted
    • In 2006, just 0.43% of overall heroin traffic was intercepted

Corruption within Law Enforcement Agencies

  • Several high-ranking officials are involved in drug smuggling or turn a blind eye to facilitate the trade
  • Corruption allows the problem to persist and makes it difficult for authorities to combat the issue effectively
  • “It’s not just petty criminals anymore,” said A. Kniazev, a professor at Kyrgyz-Russian Slavonic University. “We’re talking about organized crime groups with political connections.”

Intra-Agency Struggles

  • Intra-agency struggles for control of drug flows have been reported
  • Some police officers arrested and later found to be victims of internal strife among various groups of policemen/traffickers

The Evolving Nature of the Problem

  • The drugs trade in Kyrgyzstan has evolved from a chaotic market in the early 1990s to an organized enterprise with sophisticated criminal networks and political connections
  • Corruption within government structures and law enforcement agencies has allowed the problem to persist

Contributing Factors

  • The country’s geopolitical location, insecure borders, presence of organized crime groups, corrupt and inefficient law enforcement agencies are all contributing factors to the illicit cross-border trade

Overlapping Networks

  • The networks of smuggling in legal goods and those engaged in trading illicit goods frequently overlap in Kyrgyzstan
  • Well-elaborated smuggling channels for Chinese goods can easily be used for drug trafficking or vice versa

Conclusion

The drug trade in Kyrgyzstan is a complex problem that requires a comprehensive approach to address corruption within government structures and law enforcement agencies.