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Chapter 1: Introduction
Transboundary narco-trafficking has been one of the most ancient and yet
persistently catalytic issue in the history of international politics. The literal meaning
of 'transboundary narco-trafficking' deals with illicit 'opium' commerce across the
international territorial land, air and maritime borders of a country. Illegal opium
cultivation and trafficking are normally viewed as global debacl"es in terms of drug
abuse and law and order matter for it debilitates the social, economic and political
institutions.
Opium is produced from 'Opium Poppy' plant!..Papaveraceae family having
three genus or species of:
1. 'Opium Poppy' (Papaver Somniferum)2,
2. 'Prickly Poppy' (Argemone Mexicana)
3. 'California Poppy' (Eschaschaolzia Californica).
So far, opium poppy has been the earliest known and most abused medicinal
plants. Though opium poppy crop is cultivated in quite a few countries all over the
world, Asia houses major opium producing countries. The opiate product is lvw
weight, high volume cash crop. Due to its addictive and lethal properties, the
hierarchy of prices of opium products from the farm gate price of opium producing
country to opium consuming country's retail street price is a hundred times the price
paid to the farmer. The gimmicks of opium trade are therefore intricate where the
opiate products transit from the producing country-to the transshipment country and
then to the opium consuming country. It is this compulsive nature of the opiate
product, that the opium trade has procured illegal market dynamics which have
achieved exhaustive dimensions and stupendous proportions. It is primarily the vast
financial implications of the opium trade and the crucial role of the opium
transshipment or narco-trafficking countries that narco-trade has achieved illegality.
The addictive property of opium and its derivatives ensures a steady supply of
revenue from opium addicts thus making opium crop one of the most notorious and
marketable crop (an average opium and heroin addict spends US$ 200 daily in order
Opium poppies were ornamental plants, popularly grown in United States until this plant was declared illegal in 1942's 'Opium Poppy Control Act'. 'Papaver' is the Greek word for "poppy" and 'Somniferum' in Latin means "sleep inducing".
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to maintain the addiction). To add to it, least crop investment ratio vis-a-vis crop
revenue generation has encouraged farmers to grow opium crop both in terms of
medical use and non-medical abuse. Therefore, opium crop has become a very
lucrative crop among the impoverished farmers of opium producing regions.
Moreover, the abusive property of opium has always been historically used as a
catalyst to steer the political undercurrents of a nation.
Opium has acted as a geopolitical weapon to control the regions of political
dynasties of various countries for centuries. Often the fall of great empires has been
corroborated to the geopolitics of opium. The United Nations estimates that the
annual illegal opium trade ranges up to US $ 400 to $ 500 billion per annum
(Doughlas Keh, 1998 and INCSR 1999).
Narco-trafficking countries or narcotics transshipment countries are those
countries where opiates are transported illegally from one country to another with
respect to the matrix of opium demand and supply. Clandestine narco-trade often
flourishes by inefficient and corrupt law enforcement agencies.The mode of nacre
trafficking encompasses all means of transport be it manually, by two wheelers or
four wheeler automobiles on land or by maritime movements through local femes,
steamers or ships to that of air trafficking by aircrafts.
Narco-trafficking is considered a threat to national security. The effects of
illicit drugs are seen as a threat to socio-economic development of a nation. Of all the
various effects on individuals, intravenous use of narcotics (heroin) is of great
concern as it is a harbinger of HIV-AIDS3 which is a much lethal threat to socio
economic development of a nation. Narco-trafficking is also considered as a
geopolitical tool, where one nation uses it against another for passive destruction. This
phenomenon can be traced into China during the 181h and 191
h century where Britain
encouraged opium trafficking to cause social decay to the ruin of once a great nation:
China. Illicit narco-trade survives in prui by locating and exploiting vulnerable areas
of a broad range of national institutions, the weakest area being the judicial sector for
there is no integrated transnational narcotics control policy to encourage and help
governments to strengthen their law enforcement, justice and financial system to
minimize narcotic penetration and manipulation by narco-trafficking organizations.
HIV-AIDS is a pandemic and incurable disease which is virally transmitted by sexual intercourse and blood transfusion.
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Narco-trafficking is one of the pillars of organized crime as well. Narco
trafficking has become an international problem with an intricate network of
trafficking routes combined with the increased sophisticated, organized global
criminal organizations. The enormous financial returns of narco-trade and the issues
of money laundering and narco-terrorism by narco-money, has escalated asymmetric
proportions on a globallevd. Narco-crimes on a local level have not only become a
threat to social security but also to that of global communities. Transboundary narco
trafficking plays an arterial role in the illegal narcotics trade filling the gap between
opiate producing and opiate consuming countries.
The rple of narco-trafficking ensures opiate supply, an output element in
narco-trade. This involves the movement of narcotics from the point of its production
to its refining, transit and wholesale distribution at all stages. The International
Narcotics Control Bureau (INCB) has identified major illicit drug producing and
major opiate transit countries as, "the ones in which, "1 000 hectares or more of illicil
opium is cultivated or harvested during a year". A major narco transshipment country
is one that is a significant direct source of illicit narcotic drug through which are
tran~ported such drugs or substance." (INCSR, 2005).
I. GENESIS: In order to understand the current exigencies of contemporary
narco-trafficking it is vital to understand its historical milieu regardless of the fact that
despite development, most societies have used opium either for recreation, medicine
or even for religion. Historical records suggest that the earliest citing of opium was in
3400 B.C. in lower Mesopotamia, Sumeria where opium was used for recreation, as it
was considered as a ')oy plant." By 1300 B.C., during the region of Thutmose IV,
Ankhenaton and Tutankhemen, opium was patronaged in Egypt as such, setting a
trend amongst the royal diet of Egyptians and Minoans. Crossing Mediterranean Sea
via Greece to Europe, opium was identified in Cyprus by 1100 B.C.
It was in 5111 century B.C., that opium was used as a medicine m Greek
pharmacopoeia. The Eastward movement of opium from the Mediterranean by 300
B.C. was by the advent of Alexander's opium introduction. Opium also spread
Eastwards to China from Egypt (by 400 A.D.) through Arab travelers along Asia's
trade routes to India, reaching China by 8111 century as recorded in Chinese medical
texts. The historical records in India dating 1200 A.D. in Shodal Gadanigarh,
Sharangdhar Samhita and Dhanyatri Nighalu suggest that the use of opium has been
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of medicinal significance. However, the gradual role of opium as a medicine to that of
a recreational euphoria made opium as a leading trade commodity in an 'expanding
intra-Asian trade'. By 1556-1605, during Akbar's regime, land under opium
cultivation was regarded as major source of revenue. Opium cultivation was
concentrated in two main areas upriver Gan_setic delta and Malwa, upcountry from
West Bombay. While opium cultivation was gaining popularity in the East, it had an
inverse effect in the West where opium disappeared suddenly from Europe. This
entire transit of opium through land trade marked a shift of approach.
The"Portuguese sea adventures however broke opium into East again by 1500
A.D. through a maritime route reaching China through East China Sea via India and
Macao. Maritime navigation of opium by Portuguese was implied by British as well
around 1606 but maritime opium trade was restricted to India only as war supplement
(both for diet and medicinal purpose) to the Raj put soldiers stationed under Mughals.
The Dutch in 1700 A.D. while analysing the British monopoly in India and the
Portuguese opium trade to China, encroached the Southeast Asian markets. It was
from 1767 onwards the British monopolised the opium trade in China by taking
command of the sea routes to China. While 1 t 11 century witnessed the monopoly of
British East India Company of opium trader into India, the 18111 century saw British
opium infiltration into China. The seven decade narcostanding in China by British
well demonstrated the opium contamination towards its political system.
While the Portuguese and British were into direct opium commerce with
China, the Dutch catered to opium trade in Southeast Asia especially in Indonesia.
"Dutch established a permanent port at Jakarta (in 1619) and began purchasing opium
from Bengal (in 1640) to supply Java's limited demand". The Bengal opium trade in
India was monopolized by a syndicate of Indian merchants up the Ganges River at
Patna who made cash advances to peasant farmers and sold processed opium to
Dutch, British and French merchants. This area was inadvertently India's richest
opium zone and was discovered by British in 1764 when it conquered Bengal". After
this discovery the British converted this limited opium trade to an expanding
European commerce. Soon, the intra-Asian trade networks of local merchants were
replaced by profitable long distance trade in low weight, high value goods. The
European involvement in opium commerce increased with the extraordinary
profitability of opium trade (Alfred Me Coy, 1972).
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European opium trade with China has not been healthy. On one hand, while
the whole business of opium was increasing, the increasing Chinese population
witnessed the per-capita increase of the opium addicts also. Despite making opium
illegal in 1796, nothing much happened for the next 40 years till stringent law
enforcement resulted in two opium wars between China and British. The First Opium
War occurred on 18th March 1839-1842, where Chinese were defeated by the British
culminating in the Treaty of Nanking between Queen of Great Britain and Emperor of
China and the war ended with Britain's seizure of Hong Kong. The Second Opium
War in 1856 marked a repeated Chinese defeat by British and French, as a result,
opium was legalized into China. The military defeat of Chinese by British over the
issues of opium gave vent for new market explorations and consolidation of opium
production zone in the Southeast Asia. The commerce of opium in China caused
Southeast Asian opium production in lower Myanmar to a full time high, supervised
by the British patronage from 1852 to 1856.
While transboundary opium commerce was expanding and strengthening, the
use of opium also underwent drastic changes with respect to its consumption. The
discovery of morphine from opium in 1803 and the synthesis of heroin from
morphine in 1874 caused opium trade establish further with respect to its demand
from opium addicts. The pioneering ban on opium in San Francisco in United States
of America, in 1874 was followed by the 'Opium Act' in 1878 by British was
considered as a historic move. This itself suggests the manic consumption of opium
and helplessness of its addictives properties. With this, we observe 191h century as an
era alternated with opium commerce enhancement and anti-opium legal drives, which
was state sponsored. The acquisition of Myanmar's Northeast region or Shan State by
the British for opium production in 1886 laid the seeds of an indelible opium
producing zone. This was followed by further measures to curtail opium consumption
in United States of America as United State Congress imposed tax on opium and
morphine. The residual event in late 19th century was the discovery of heroin as a
medicine in 1895 where it was made commercial for three years thus making it legal
for consumption. The first half of the 20th century experienced a parallel growth and
development of opium production and law enforcement respectively. Gradually, the
opium commerce created an opium producing area which was centered around the
Shan Plateau in N011heastem region of Myanmar, encompassing three countries of
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Thailand, Myanmar and Laos. This region came to be called as 'Golden Triangle'. By
1940's the Golden Triangle became a major player in profitable opium trade.
While Golden Triangle emerged as an ace region for opium production,
transboundary narco-trafficking developed a certain pattern. Despite temporary
curtailment of transboundary narco-trafficking during World War II in 1940's in the
Golden Triangle, the post effect of the II World War was that of a flourishing opium
trade. This was due to Britain's involvement in II World War that laid temporary hold
to its opium geopolitics in Golden Triangle.
After II World War, opium trade control changed hands from British
monopoly to United State of America's novel hold in Golden Triangle. The United
States involvement with Golden Triangle was more as a side-effect for its political
involvement in Southeast Asia especially in Vietnam, Laos and Myanmar. As a result,
the Golden Triangle emerged as a main opium production centre with narco
trafficking routes emerging from erstwhile Burma, Laos, South China, Cambodia and
Vietnam. When opium warlord Khun Sa of Shan State surrendered to State Law and
Order Restoration Committee (SLORC) of Myanmar, the image of Golden Triangle
shattered rapidly. As a result, the major vpium producing region of the world got
uprooted from Golden Triangle in Southeast Asia to that of Southwest Asia's. Golden
Crescent which comprises of contiguous countries of Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran,
where the political conditions were similar to that of the geographic nomenclatures.
II. OPIUM EXTRACTION PROCESS: Opium is produced from Opium Poppy
plant. It is an erect annual herb which flowers and fruits nearly year round in tropical
areas and elsewhere in spring and summer. Its flowers have 4-8 em long petals
ranging from white to purplish and are also found in pinks, violets, bluish or red.
Opium poppies flower after 90 days of growth and continue to flower for two to three
weeks. The petals last for two to four days revealing a bulbous green fruit which
continues to develop to about the size of chicken egg. These fruits are also called
"seedpods", "bulbs" or "poppy heads" which are oblate, globular or elongated. This
fruit pod is the main source from where the plant can produce opium alkaloids.
Flowering only once, the entire growth cycle for this plant is 120 days as its seeds
germinate rapidly in warm and moist conditions.
The opium poppy sapling emerges from the soil in less than six weeks with
lobed galucous green colored four leaf-set. With only one primary long smooth stem,
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the opium poppy plant grows into its full height ranging from 1.0 to 1.5 meters within
two months. The poppy pod skin encloses the wall of the pod ovary which is of three
layers namely outer, middle and inner layers. The milky latex (opium) is produced
within the orange wall and drains into the middle layer which secretes more than 95%
of the opium through a system of vessels and tubes within the pod (Diagram 1.1).
The pod is scored and harvested when the cultivators tap the opium from each
pod, while it remains on the plant. This scoring is also called "lancing", "incising'~ or
"tapping" which beings about two weeks after the flower petals fall from the upward
curved, dark green pods. Scoring of the pods is done very meticulously by a specially
designed blade-tool for opium extraction. The tool is like a set of three of four small
blades of iron or glass splinters that are bound tightly together on a wooden handle to
score two or three sides of pod in a vertical direction. Scoring is ideally done in late
afternoons where the incision desirably is one millimeter deep in order to avoid over
spilling of opium into ground and undue coagulation inside the pod. Late afternoons
usually avoid opium coagulation over the incision due to less sunlight and that it
oxidizes, darkness and thickens in the cool night air and early next morning the opium
gum is scarped from the pod surface by a three to four inch wide, short-handled flat . iron blade. The lower, mature pods are scored first before the taller pods to avoid
inadvertent spilling of opium.
"The single opium pod secretes 10 to 100 mg of opium, the average yield
being about 80 milligrams." (See Opium Poppy Cultivation and Heroin Processing in
Southeast Asia, DEA- 92004).
The pods continue to secrete opium for several days and farmers return to
these plants up to five or six times in order to collect additional opium until the total
depletion of the pod. The farmers usually collect opium in a container, which hangs
from the farmer's neck or waist. The larger, more productive pods are tagged with
colored strings or yam to collect seeds for the following year's planting. The pods are
usually cut from the stems, and dried. The seeds are removed and dried in the sun
before re-planting.
Another method of collecting opium seeds is from intentionally unscored pods
as scoring diminishes the quality of the seeds. The opium poppy grows best in
temperate, warm climates with low humidity. It requires only moderate amount of
water before and during the early stages, of growth as excessive moisture or
extremely arid conditions would affect the poppy plants growth, thus reducing its
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DIAGRAM 1.1: THE OPIUM POPPY PLANT
THE OPIUM YOPPY rapa~r.so~m
lEAf
) .HAA'I'ESTING WEEDtNG t TH\.N.Ni.N6
~ARAT:r~~•IW'~~moo1ro111rmi I
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-----Sour<£__~ C}.,i.,~·· .PSh'Zr CJJ.f\;-.,.,;;);;,, .Ylh<'t', f/~ 1?-«~w-/'1" /'7 ~.JJ.: .Jn.J.~/}tt~V/tf.JOJ-NA-7 ~ ·
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alkaloid4 content. Opium poppy is a "long-day" photo-responsive plant as it requires
long days and short nights before flowering. Opium grows best in sandy loam soil and
can also be grown in clay, sandy loam and sandy clay soil. Sandy loam soil has good
moisture-retentive and nutrient-retentive properties and also is good favourable for
root development of opium plant (but the month of growth can leach alkaloids
spoiling the harvest). In poorly drained soils, the poppy plants can become water
logged and die after a heavy rainfall.In this period of growth stage of opium, dull,
rainy or cloudy weather not only reduces the quantity but also the quality of the
alkaloid content of opium plant.
The opium poppy seed can be sown towards the end of Asian rainy season in
August-September. However, the method of opium cultivation differs from Golden
Crescent to that of Golden Triangle. The Golden Triangle being more rugged
compared to Golden Crescent, most opium-poppy fields are on the mountain slopes.
The average elevation of the mountain slopes is 1000 meters above sea level with a
slope gradient of 20 to 40 degrees for best water drainage.by slash-and burn
agriculture, (commonly practiced by dry-field farmers,) where fields are cleared for
opium-poppy cultivation. During March land is prepared by cutting, piling bushes,
vines and smalls trees and allowed to dry in summer. In April, these fields are set
ablaze. The ash resulting from burn off is rich in nutrients and enriches the soil
additionally. Till August-September, the farmers level the ground and sow opium
poppy seeds by October. About one pound (0.45359 kg) of opium poppy seeds is
needed to sow in one acre of land." Maize is often planted with opium poppies as it
not only keeps excessive weeds at bay, but also is useful for pigs and ponies but also
protects young opium poppy plants from heavy rains. By the processes of "thinning"
ideally, there are as many as 18 plants per square meter or 60,000 to 120,000 poppy
plants per hectare, with a range of 120,000 to 275,000 opium producing pods." Opium
is thus harvested in the last two weeks of February by the process of scoring.
Opium is cooked before it is smoked such that unwanted moisture, vegetable
matter and other impurities are detracted from it before it becomes a smoking product.
Hence, opium gum, collected from the opium poppy pods is placed in an open
cooking pot of boiling water in order to dissolve the opium alkaloids and then filtered
Any of the nitrogen containing organic bases derived from plants, usually physiologically active; common alkaloids include caffeine, cocaine morphine, papvenne, quinine, narcotic, codeine, atropine, noscapire, strychnine and the buine.
18
to separate the undisclosed impurities to drain clear brown "liquid opium". Cooking
opium is the first step in extracting morphine from opium. Morphine is 20% lighter
than opium and is purer than raw opium. Morphine is then converted to heroin which
is the purest form of opium and often most abused and narco-trafficked opiate.
Morphine is extracted from opium by few chemicals and water. As opium
gum is extracted from the fields, the extraction of morphine from opium gum is
carried out in clandestine "laboratories" located near opium poppy fields. The
conversion of opium into morphine and further into heroin is usually derived for
enhancing the purity levels and for convenient trafficking as well.
The process of extracting morphine and heroin from opium in Golden Triangle
is as under:
"I) I 0-15 kg of raw opium is added to a 55 gallon oil drum filled with 30 gallons of water and allowed to boil. The empty oil drum is placed on bricks about a foot above the ground and fire is built under the drum.
2) Periodic stirring is ensured to dissolve raw opium eventually into boiling water and to scoop non-solution to derive "liquid opium"
3) Salted lime or calcium hydroxide is added to the solution in order to convert water insoluble morphine into water soluble calcium morphanate to form'sludge'
4) While the solution is allowed to cool down, morphine is scooped and filtered by burlap rice sacks and reheated in large cooking pots.
5) Ammonium Chloride is added5 to the reheated solution and then allowed to cool for one or two. hours where the morphine base is formed and unreacted Codeine is settled to the bottom of cooking pot. 6
6) This solution is re-filtered through cloth and then wrapped and squeezed in cloth and allowed to dry till light brown.
7) This crude morphine base is further purified by its dissolution in hydrochloric acid and by the similar process of re-heating, cooling, filtering and drying, morphine hydrochloride (much refined) is derived.
8) This refined morphine hydrochloride is usually wrapped in paper or cloth into brick-sized blocks of 2 inches by 4-5 inches of 1.3 kg weight, to be dried and trafficked to heroin processing laboratories. (Approximately 13 kg of opium, from one hectare of opium poppies are needed to produce each morphine block of this size)".
The morphine blocks are then bundled and packed for transport to heroin
laboratories by human couriers or by pack animals. Pack mules are able to carry 1 00
kg payloads over 400 miles of rugged mountains trails in less than three weeks.
9)
6
"Conversion of heroin from morphine is a two way process where active anhydride is added to the pulverized morphine hydrochloride bricks and
This chemical is added in order to adjust the alkalinity to pH of 8 to 9. "Codeine is an opium alkaloid which is mildly water soluble and will be carried over with calcium morphenate in the liquid.
I9
I 0)
11)
12)
cooked for two hours at 185°F carefully ensuring that neither the solution boils nor is evaporated. Water is added7 along with activated charcoal and stirred in order to remove colored impurities. Sodium carbonate8 is also added such that heroin base precipitates. This is a 12 hour process. For each pound of morphine, about 11 ounces of crude heroin base is formed". The resultant heroin base is further processed as Heroin 3 (smoking heroin) and Heroin 4 (injectable heroin). Another 8 hour process is needed for the derivation of Heroin 3 (Heroin Hydrocholride) where hydrochloric acid is mixed with the crude heroin base along with caffine. The wet paste mix is stirred to dryness. Heroin 4 or injectable heroin is the purest form of heroin which is denoted by its pure white color. The precursor chemicals needed for this is acetic anhydride meager chloroform and activated charcoal (for decolorizing).
Approximately 1.1 kg of sodium carbonate per 0.5 kg of morphine is dissolved in hot water and added slowly to the mixture till effervescence is replaced by precipitates of heroin or re-crystallized heroin based is undertaken by skilled chemist to increase heroin quality which is injectable by interventions drug use (IVD) by syringes. About 5-l 0 kg dry or 20 kg heroin batches with filter paper are packed such that it is ready for trafficking." (Southeast Asian Heroin Processing,DEA documents).
"The International Narcotics Control Bureau (INCB) identifies m~jor illicit drug producing and major-drug transit countries as the one in which "1000 hectares or more of illicit opium is cultivated or harvested during a year". A major drug transit country is one that is "a significant direct sources of illicit narcotic drug through which are transported such drugs or substance".
III. OPIUM CONSUMPTION TECHNIQUES: Opium is consumed in different
ways (Table 1.1 ). Each technique of opium consumption differs on the basis of the
recovery of heroin. Heroin is the most processed form of opium. Its quality or purity
is further identified as Heroin 1, Heroin 2, Heroin 3 and Heroin 4. Opium
consumption ranges from being swallowed, chewed, and smoked to that of
intravenous drug use. Smoking opium or its derivatives like heroin are by two
methods called:
(a) 'Chasing the Dragon' Technique: Here, heroin is inhaled through a straw or
match box cover when the fumes of a heroin barbiturate mixture (which is
vaporized from a receptacle) is held over the nose and thus consumed.
(h) Tlte Ack-Ack Technique: Here, the method is when heroin is placed at the end
of a cigarette from which some of the tobacco has been removed. It is then bit
and inhaled.
Water is added at three times the volume of acetic anhydride. Sodium Carbonate is dissolved at 2.5 pounds per pound of morphine.
20
t
(c) Opium Swallowing Technique: This method produces maximum and direct
effect to the opium consumer as its effect is ten times more than any of the
opium consumption technique.
(d) Intravenous Injection: Here, heroin is directly injected into the vems of
S. No.
I.
2.
3.
4.
heroin consumer to cause 68% of the intoxicating experience. This method of
opium consumption is very lethal as often the needles are shared causing HIV- TH
AIDS threat. 363.450959 M2648 Tr
Table l.l \II \ll\~~1\1~~~~~11\\ll\ OPIUM CONSUMPTION TECHNIQUES - --
Opium Smoking Technique Heroin rate recovery*
Chasing the dragon 26%
Intravenous injection 68%
Ack-Ack technique 14%
Svvallow opium Ten times that of smoked opium
Source: Mo, Ben;amrn Pre-Nm and Way E. Lecony, 1966. *Analysis of the total urinary output of opiate of their subiectsfor three days following ingestion.
IV. STUDY AREA: The study areas are geostrategically located in Southv.-~st
Asia called The Golden Crescent and Southeast Asia called The Golden Triangle
which are the leading opium cultivation, production and trafficking regions of opium
trade (Map 1.1 ). This area consists of six countries namely: Afghanistan-Pakistan
Iran of the Golden Crescent and Myanmar-Thailand-Laos of the Golden Triangle.
These are the two illicit opium poppy cultivation, production and trafficking regions
located diametrically opposite to each other with India in between which is the only
largest licit opium poppy cultivation and production country. The key factor for the
emergence of this area is the absence of apparent legislature constraints on opium
production, the role of narco-trafficking as revenue raising technique for erstwhile
Taliban in Afghanistan or insurgents in Myanmar and the heavy demand for heroin
from Russia and Eastern Europe apart from West European market or other parts of
the world. 'The Golden Crescent' and 'The Golden Triangle' are the world's leading
source areas of heroin availability for the international market. This is due to the
stupendous growth of illicit opium poppy cultivation produc~.!J=!f;:tfficking /;:~eY.\ e t1 r l;
development of an imposing opiate processing infrastructure.y,~y~~
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In the Golden Crescent, Afghanistan has overtaken Myanmar as world's
leading and single largest source of illicit opium for the international illicit narcotics
industry, with its total potential illicit drug production being 4,563 metric tons in 2006
(INCSR 2006). The total land area under poppy cultivation of Afghanistan is three
times less than Myanmar. This is due to better soil, superior farming practices and
developed irrigation system that makes it 50% to 36% of the global opium production
respectively. Erstwhile Taliban regime in Afghanistan encouraged opium production
despite the war ravaged economic infrastructure of Afghanistan. It had controlled the
Afghanistan's opium growing areas. "The incentive to grow highly profitable opium
arose as continued fighting since Soviet pullout and widespread damage to roads had
made it difficult and costly for farmers to move legitimate agricultural crops to city".
From 1990 to 1999 there was hence a 300% increase of opium poppy cultivation.
Afghanistan's historical opium growing areas are Helmand, Khandhar, Uruzgan and
Nangarhar province. Pakistani illicit opium production has averaged about 145 metric
tons annually from 1989 to 1995. Since 1990's Pakistan has been aggressive on
imposing a ban on poppy cultivation and the traditional opium cultivation areas are
Bajur and Mohamand Agencies and Dir district.
Iran is a destination point for convoys where the opiate loads of Afghanistan
and Pakistan are dumped for further trafficking. Substantial amount of opiate products
are moved over land to Iran wherein opium processing is done. Narcotic shipment is
trafficked from areas in Afghanistan stage by stage to Iran, is usually in large heavily
armed convoys. These shipments are hence broken once in Iran. Thus Iran is the most
important conduit for Southwest Asian narcotic's export. Tehran's anti narco
trafficking efforts have surpassed Afghanistan and Pakistan as it itself has been
bedeviled by its in-house opium and heroin abuse problem. The Markan Coast adds to
Iran's importance as a chief narco-trafficking transit route.
'The Golden Triangle' comprises of Shan Plateau and Kachin Hills of
Northeastern Myanmar, the highlands of Northwestern Laos and the highlands of
Northern Thailand. It is notorious historical place of illicit opium production with
potential illicit opium production being 408 metric tons (INCSR 2006). It overlaps the
three states whose mountainous peripheries constitute Myanmar (formerly Burma),
Laos and Thailand. The emergence of the Golden Triangle from the tropical
mountains of Northern mainland Southeast Asia is an altogether 20th century
phenomenon which has emerged due to its geostrategic location and this tern1 was
22.
popularized in 1970's by Western journalists to designate one of the principal 'source
area' in the world for illicit opium and its derivatives like morphine and heroin.
Myanmar is known as world's second largest producer of illicit opium, after
Afghanistan with potential production in 2006 being 380 metric tons and opium
cultivation in 2006 being 40,000 hectares. The' surrender of warlord Khun Sa's
'Mong Tai Army' in January 1996 was hailed by Yangoon as a major counter
narcotics success, but lack of government will and ability to take on major narco
trafficking groups and lack of serious commitment against money laundering
continues to hinder the overall narcotic enforcement efforts.
The farmers, governments, mafias and gangs operate m order to take
unprocessed opium from the hills of Myanmar and later process, manufacture and
transport heroin to be sold on the streets in European and North American cities. The
process depends not only on the strength and sophistication of transnational organized
crime networks, but also on the political situation and complicity of certain authorities
under which they operate suggesting many possible narco-trafficking strategies.
During the last decade, Myanmar emerged as the single largest exporter of heroin
with more than 60% of the world's opium grown in the opium fields of Myanmar.
Laos is world's third-largest illicit opium producer with estimated cultivation
in 2006 being 5,500 hectares and an estimated potential production of 38 metric tons
(INCSR 2006). It is a transshipment point for heroin.
Till 2005, Thailand was a minor producer of opium and heroin and an illicit
transit point for heroin en route to the international drug market from Myanmar and
Laos. Eradication efforts have made Thailand "poppy free". Thailand is also a drug
money-laundering center. Thailand's banking system is used by narco-traffickers for
their financial transactions where money laundering accounts to a significant
proportion of Thailand's underground economy. The artificial economy being created
by money laundering has overshadowed the Thailand's government so much that it is
considering legalizing gambling in the country in order to recuperate its ailing
economy. (Thailand is not yet a member to the 1998 United Nation's Drug
Convention but a member of Asia Pacific group on money laundering). Thailand is a
fine example where the financial system is continued to be abused by criminals thus
adversely affecting the economy.
23
V. NARCO-TRAFFICKING STRATEGIES:
1. Golden Triangle: For three decades and more, United States has been a
dominant market of narcotic production, especially for the manufacture of Heroin 4
which is high grade heroin having the highest purity level. The market emerged
especially in the 1980's and 1990's due to the opium geopolitics motivated by United
States of America. Golden Triangle's heroin shipments were made through high-level
violators. The narco-trafficking from Golden Triangle is done ranging from
independent brokers and Asian shippers, to Chinese overseas ethnic criminals who are )
wholesale distributors of heroin in United States of America mainly dependent on
criminal organization for the entire heroin distribution. The Chinese criminal groups
are the most sophisticated groups of narco-trafficking in the world. The narco
trafficking routes destined to the markets of United States are in the form of heroin
shipments transiting through China, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore,
Taiwan and South Korea, then opiate derivatives of the Golden Triangle make their
market in United States of America.
On the other hand, the Southwest Asian heroin is consumed in Western
Europe and countries of Golden Crescent. The narco-traffickers, located in the Middle
East are ethnics of Lebanon, Pakistan, Turkey and Afghanistan for retail distributi')ll.
Narco-traffickers of the Golden Crescent conduct narco-trade only with people
of Southwest Asian origin and the narcotic users, narco-traffickers, the narco
distributors and narco-importers are usually people of Southwest Asian origin. The
prices of heroin and its purity levels directly determine narcotics trade and the
availability of narcotics in the market. For example, high purity levels of heroin
coupled with its low phase are direct indicators of heroin being readily available in the
markets of United States of America. In 2000, heroin's purity level has been reported
to be 36.8% compared to 7% in 1981 and 26% in 1991(DMP, US-DEA).This high
purity level heroin has high consumption in the Northeast of United States of America
especially in New York City, which has high heroin user density. It is also one of the
major hub where Southeast Asian heroin is imported and distributed.
In 2000, Drug Enforcement Agency of United Sates of America reported the
wholesale price of the Golden Crescent and Golden Triangle's heroiu averaged to be
US$ I, 15,000 per kilogram whereas heroin from the Latin American countries of
Columbia and Mexico averaged to be US$ 94,100 per kilogram. Since 1965, United
24
States of America remains to be a single largest market of the heroin produced from
the Golden Triangle.
The variables that determine transboundary narco-trafficking are directly
proportional to the purity level of heroin, heroin prices, narcotic buyer-seller
relationship, purchase frequencies, demand, quantities purchased and the
transportation cost and the drug enforcement agencies operations in the destination
country.
The narco-trade is a complex process. It involves opium poppy cultivation,
heroin manufacture, transport and sale of heroin. The enormous profits of heroin trade
make it an illicit co111111odity. The successive sale of heroin is directly proportional to
the political and economic situation of the places where it is produced and consumed.
Narco-trafficking strategies of the Golden Triangle have really been successful
so far due to the political patronage it has received. Farmers, governments,
transnational organized crime mafias and gangs of such mafias, operate from the
opium POPP.Y cultivation stage to manufacture, transport and marketing of Heroin 4
which has highest demand.
Opium production becomes a profitable farming in the mountainous regions of
Golden Triangle than compared to other conventional crops such as rice, corn, cacao
etc. due to the agricultural debacles in the rugged mountainous terrain. A farmer
cultivating opium becomes entrapped either into the net of trafficking organizations
for the traffickers who use extortion and violence for continuous opium production or
to the opium crop eradication programmes of the government. Usually the local
mafias or insurgent groups transport the raw material of opium poppy gum into the
local refinery for morphine processing than for large-scale international heroin
movements like transnational organized crime network controlled transboundary
narco-trafficking. The insurgent groups prevalent in the Golden Triangle use nacro
money for funding their outfits. The popular insurgent groups being United Wa State
Army, Shan United Revolutionary Army (SURA), Shan State Army and South (SSA
S) Map: 1.2 shows how the insurgent groups operating in the Golden Triangle have
been located near strategic transit towns in order to give patronage to the narco
traffickers. The originating station from where narco-trafficking commences is from
Myitkuna Northern Myanmar to Yangoon in South Myanmar while transiting Laos
and Thailand. Diagram 1.2 depicts the transboundary narco-trafficking strategy loop
25
I MAP 1.2: INSURG;~~~-~~-~~~~~~R~-.~~~~KI~G ORGANIZATI~N IN I MYANMAR, THAILAND AND LAOS I '
INDIA ) r-
)
I
.M y
.-v I
\
__...·
A
....... -·1 '· ,.f ·J
I
KACH/N .. 1\J STATE .)
! . ../ MYUK.YU~~ . ("
-I (
I ,_..., ..... ,-
/'
' ' ' I I
IJ'i
LA.SHIO •
5HAN STATE
M .A.
) CHIANG. MAl • ·"V·
'-I .,
\ L
(
CHINA
\ . . .., . \
.A\.·-..."' ..... : \ . •KE=I\I(;.WN~. r. . ,.... . )
<.
\.
1.}\0S
') ·~
(
) ~· . r· ( / ......
t.1 THAJLANT>
DIAGRAM 1.2
TRANSBOUNDARY NARCO-TRAFFICKING STRATEGY IN GOLDEN TRIANGLE
-::::=---...:....N--=-0~ TERMINATION OF OPIUM CULTIVATION
CULTIVATION OF OPIUM POPPY CROP AND EXTRACTION OF OPIUM POPPY GUM
OPIUM FARMER GIVES IN TO EXTORTIONISTS AND
SMALL TIME NARCOTRAFFICKERS
OPIUM CROP -:>--------'N'-'-0~ CONFISCATION AND
ERADICATION BY GOVERNMENT OR LAW
ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES
REFINING OPIUM GUM INTO MORPHINE IN CLANDESTINE LABORATORIES
PRODUCING MORPHINE CAKES IN LOCAL REFINERIES
CORRUPTION, BRIBING KEY GOVERNMENT OFFICERS, OUTPOST CLERKS AND LAND BORDER PATROLLING OFFICERS AT THE
MAJOR DRUG
PLAYERS OF ORGANISED
CRIME SYNDICATES
INTERNATIONAL LAND BORDER
IF TRAFFICKED BY INSURGENT----·:>----N~Oi r __ M_U_L_E_C_A_R_\_'_A_N_S _ _j--,
SPONSORED VEHICLES ·
HEROIN DESTINED TO BANGKOK, HONG-KONG. MANILA
DIRECT CARGO TRANSFER NO ON ISLANDS WHERE
~---~ MORPHINE IS FURTHER
LOADING OF 3 TONS OF MORPHINE INTO EACH
LOCAL FISHING TRAWLER
PROCESSING OF MORPHINE TO HEROIN 4 IN NEIGHBOURING CLANDESTINE LABORATORIES
PROCESSED TO HEROIN 4
BIG PRIVATE FISHING VEHICLES AND SUBMARINES
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
l ~
in Golden Crescent around which the flow of narco-traffickers is circuited in total
employment generation to at least 1, 70,000 people in general.
The insurgent sponsored vehicles or mule caravans are used as a mode of
transboundary narco-trafficking. The border enforcement authorities, border
checkpoint clerks and state administrators are given into corruption either passively or
actively in order to either use or lease the government infrastructure to help
transboundary narco-trafficking. Morphine is processed into heroin in vanous
processing plants; it is further trafficked to international distribution centers of
Bangkok, Hong Kong and Manila. The organized crime syndicates now take over
transboundary narco-trafficking while employing 1,70,000 people and above
internationally. Narco-trafficking in Golden Triangle is usually maritime. Local
fishing traders carrying as much as 3 tons of morphine either directly cargo transfer
into Hong-Kong touching the Chinese international waters or choose any island
deposit and pick up of narcotics. The imbalanced narcotic distribution depends upon
the economic demand of the end narcotic product. For example low grade heroin is
used by local people as it is less expensive than the markets of Heroin 4, having its
market in United States of America.
After the 1914 Harrison Act that banned legal sale of heroin in United States
of America, the Jewish and Chinese Mafias located in United States of Ar.~erica
emerged stronger as they expanded their organized crime activities into narco
trafficking as well. In 1940's narco-trade declined due to stricter import control
fostered by the Second World War and the migration trends by 1950's.
During the Vietnam War Era, the Golden Triangle and the narcotics trade
boomed by Central Intelligence Agency's (C.I.Al covert operation in Southeast Asia
in the suggestive geopolitical environment. For example, the American soldiers
stationed in Golden Triangle became emissaries of narco-trade when they returned to
America and thus the seeds of trans-continental narco-trafficking took roots from
Southeast Asia to United States of America. Transboundary narco-trafficking in
Gold~n Triangle is cross cultural and cross-racial with respect to the ethnicity of the
people involved. The etlmic groups involved in transboundary narco-trafficking in
Golden Triangle are as follows:
9 C.I.A. or Central Intelligence Agency is the independent intelligence agency of United State's Government formed in 1947 under auspices of President Harry Truman and the National Security Act.
26
S.No.
1.
2.
Table 1.2
ETHNIC GROUPS OF GOLDEN TRIANGLE INVOLVED IN TRANSBOUNDARY NARCO-TRAFFICKING
Economic activity Ethnic groups
Opium poppy Koch in, Palaung, Wa, Lau (Musser, Musoe), Li.su growers and (Lisor, Lisaw), Akha (1-kor, 1-kaw, Hmong (Meo, smokers Miao ), Mien (lu Mien), Yao Opium traders and Kachin, Palaung, Wa, Shan (Tai Yai), Yunnanese middlemen Chinese (Haw), Guo kung Chinese (Kokang), Lahu
(Nusser, Musoe), Lisu (Lisor, Lisaw) Akha (1-kor, 1-kaw), Hmong (Meo, Miao), Mien (lu Mien, Yao), Lao, Thai.
Source: Oprum Poppy Cultrvatron and Herorn Processrng rn Southeast Asra, DEA, 92004, September 1993.
2. Golden Crescent: Europe has been a dominant market of narcotics produced
in Golden Crescent or Southwest Asia where usually more than 90% of the opium
produced in Afghanistan makes its inroads to Europe. Its only after catering to the
Europe market,. the surplus opium goes to United States of America following the
Northern Routes from The Netherlands where opium is transported to United
K~rtgdom and then the land . border route gets terminated to maritime route from
London to New York. The UNO DC has reported that 55% of narcotic seizures are in
Europe, followed by 27% in Asia and 11% in America and around 3% of narcotic
seizures have been made in Africa. The direction of narcotics flow or trans boundary
narco-trafficking is absolutely proportional to the demand and the viable monetary
returns vis-a-vis opium prices compared to currency rates. For instance, even though
heroin manufactured from Golden Crescent is not high grade as compared to Golden
Triangle, the revenues generated from the narco-trade is more-or-less balanced with
low quality heroin and large consumers in Europe and high grade Heroin 4 consumed
by few consumers in United States of America.
It has to be observed that transboundary narco-trafficking is more on
traditional land trade routes in Golden Crescent and the number of transit countries
via land routes are many as compared to that of Golden Triangle. Altogether, there are
two major illicit opium poppy cultivation areas in the world namely: 'The Golden
Crescent and Golden Triangle', which collectively comprise of 91% and 9% of the
total illicit opium poppy cultivation in the world respectively (Fig. 1.1 ).
27
Fig. 1.1: Illicit Opium Poppy Cultivation Regions (hectares), 2005
Golden Triangle 9%
/ I )
I
\
Source: JNCBR 2005
Golden Crescent 91%
In 2006, Afghanistan has the maximum area under opmm cultivation of
1,07,000 hectares in Golden Crescent which comprises in Study Area-l followed by
Myanmar in Golden Tringle with opium cultivation of 40,000 hectares (Fig. 1.2),
located in Study Area-l!. It is to be noted that now Iran and Thailand are mere narco
trafficking countries where no opium poppy cultivation and production is reported. In
the Golden Triangle, Myanmar is the leading producer of opium of 380 metric tons
with Laos producing 28 metric tons.
28
Fig. 1.2: Illicit Opium Poppy Production of the Study Area (metric tons), 2005
5000
4500
4000
3500
3000
2500
2000
1500
1000
500
0 ~ I Golden Crescent Golden Triangle
lEI Afghanistan 4475
OPakistan 61
liD Myanmar 380
mJ Laos 28
Regions
Source: INCBR 2005
29
VI. NARCO-TRAFFICKING ROUTES:( Diagram 1.3)
(A) LAND ROUTES: The land narco-trafficking routes are as follows:
a) Traditional Routes (Table 1.3):
i) Ancient Great Silk Route: The most ancient trade route bridging the
Eastern and Western civilization has been that of the Great Silk Road.
It is basically a land route measuring 6,440 km. and has a network of
routes crossing Europe and Asia. The essential commodity of trade
was silk apart from Iranian precious stones, Byzantine clothes, Turkish
slaves, Afghanistan ceramics and Indian spices. Opium was also a
chief commodity for trade on the Great Silk Route. The main route of
the Great Silk route went through China along Gan-Su corridor then
through Tarim basin and the highlands of the Pamir and Tien Shan
Ranges into Central Asia, Afghanistan, Iran and Eastern shores of the
Mediterranean and still further to the top trading centers of the Near
East, North Africa and Europe (Map 1.3 a).
ii) Persian Royal Road Route: The ancient settlement~ of Sardes and
Lydia were the originating points of trade from that of Gordium,
Comana, Melitere, Arbela along the River Tigris and Euphrates to
Babylon in the South and culminating at Persia via United Arab
Emirates. The Persian royal road still continues to be the most used
narco-trafficking route of Iran and which is adjacent to Golden
Crescent (Map 1.3 b).
30
MAP 1.3: ANCIENT NARCO-TRAFFICKING ROUTES-b) THE PERSIAN ROYAL ROUTE
_.s~, w~. N;tr; '.14'f .,$(- h o6-C-.Ie
@ , Tt;IUtflrV ~YI"tL- ~!r ~J>m Pomr~
-- : lJzR.$1"11'' l?oy/\1. ~ ------ : Rl~
Table 1.3 ANCIENT NARCO-TRAFFICKING ROUTES
• GREATSILKROAD
S.No. Great Silk Originating from Transit points Destination Settlements Road point branches
I Southern • Termez Samarkand, Via, Dushan Be, Merv Branch Trabuatry, Kyzyi-Su Kashgar
to Alai (Turkmenistan,
Charkhil, (Ryooang) Bukhara, Cherchech
• Hills of Kunlun (Quemo), Minfeng Kashgar, Samarkhand, Mountains (Niya) Heaten India,
(Hotari) Mediterrane Uganda and an Coast Khira
(Uzbekistan),
r-- Otrar, 2 The Central • Tien Shan Loulan Korla Mari
Branch or Chucha Aksu (Russia) Tarar and
I Pamirs
Chim Kent Hojent Isfrara Kokand ·~~~h (Kazakhstan) r-- Fergana • Samarqand
Branch Dgul, r--The Northern • Zamin Rabat Tashkent, (Chim Branch Kent Jambul (Traz) Suyab,
I
S.No.
I.
2.
• Northern foot Kara Baita (Nuzket)
hills of Tien Balasugun (Burana Novo Kent, Shan Mountains Issyr-Kul cacross
San-Tash range) Balasugam, • Hami China
Borskon,
Tash-Rabat Osh Black sea and Uzgen
(Kyrgyzstan.)
• PERSIAN ROYAL ROAD: .This ancient highway measuring 2699 km was built by
Persian in DARIUS-I in 51h Century B.C. It had the following branches:
Persian Royal Road Originating from Transit Points Destination point Branches North West Route Sardis Turkey Baghdad
East Route Great Silk Route Iran United States of America
Source: www.livius.org, www.orexca.com
31
b) Contemporary Routes:
i) The Nigerian Narco-trafficking Routes: Nigeria is a maJor heroin
trafficking country from the continent of Africa. Processed opium in the form
of heroin of all the available purity level is pooled into Nigeria especially
because of its strategic location and its direct landward and maritime
accessibility to the continents from Asia, Europe, Africa and North America.
This convergence of heroin from Golden Crescent and Golden Triangle in
Nigeria makes it the ace transit country in the world. Maritime narco
trafficking routes towards South stand through Indian Ocean abrasing Cape of
Good Hope in Southern Africa to Nigeria along the West coast. This route
however is long in terms of distance but is the most popular narco-trafficking
route trom Uoiden Triangie to Nigeria as there are no transit points over the
ocean. It is also the safest route for most profitable Heroin 4 being
transshipped to Nigeria destined to Latin America and North America via
London. From Golden Triangle heroin is transshipped to Kenya on East coast
of Africa via Indian Ocean maritime wards. (Map 1.4)
Nigeria is also a transit country for the heroin emulated from Golden
Crescent that is coastal Pakistan and even India to Ethiopia in the East coast of
Africa. Till Ethiopia, the mode of narco-trafficking is maritime after which
landward narco-trafficking occurs. Converged heroin now is trafficked
directly to United States of America or from Nigeria heading for Latin
America via Mexico to United States of America.
Heroin trafficked from Golden Triangle reaches Nigeria via Middle
East through Egypt also. Hence Nigeria becomes a conduit especially for the
purest form of Heroin which is catered to the markets of United States of
America. It is in order to transship the purest form of heroin to United States
of America from Golden Triangle that Nigeria has become the major I
transshipment point of heroin. This is chiefly because of Nigeria's strategic
positioning both for landward and maritime narco-trafficking routes. Also the
distances narco-trafficked up to Nigeria both from Golden Triangle and
Golden Crescent are transcontinental hence transcontinental narco-traffickers
prefer to stop-over at Nigeria before they complete the narco-trafficking
expedition to United States of America. Due to the nodality of Nigeria in
terms of narco-trafficking, the crime rates and corruption rate of government
32
machinery is also rampant for ensuring the smooth and purest heroin
trafficking, which by now assumes the most risky, most expansive, most
illegal and most value added global trade commodity.
ii) Afghanistan's Narco-trafficking Routes: Afghanistan is the major opium
producing country in the Golden Crescent, major narco-trafficking routes
eminate from Northern Afghanistan and Southern Afghanistan with respect to
its land-locked nature. Maximum shared international land border with many
different countries, is in Northern Afghanistan where narco-trafficking is from
Badakhshan district which narco-traffics to Tajikistan and China. Opium
produced in Eastern Afghanistan in Nangarhar district (which is the leading
opium producing district of Afghanistan) is the nodal narco-trafficking point
of opium trafficked to Uzbekistan and to Helmand district where opmm
produced in Helmand is trafficked directly to Turkmenistan and opmm
trafficked from Nangarhar district is destined to Pakistan and Iran. In
Afghanistan, there is intra-district narco-trafficking which has pre-decided and
well established markets. It is to be however noted that in Badakhshan,
Nangarhar and Helmand, the average yield of opium is greater than 70
kg/hectare,(Map 1.5).
Narco-trafficking from Southern Afghanistan originates from Chutu
where heroin labs are also located. From Chutu there are three divergent
narco-trafficking routes (Map 1.6) namely:
1) To Oman via Southern Iran both laridward and maritime
2) To United Arab Emirates via Pakistan landward and then maritime via
Arabian Sea Gulf of Oman, Strait of Hormuz. Another landward and
maritime route is through Iran and Straight of Hormuz respectively.
This is Southward narco-trafficking route from Afghanistan.
3) To Turkey via Iran, is mainly the landward route emerging Westward
from Afghanistan.
The narco-trafficking routes from Northern Afghanistan are chiefly from
Herat and Kabul. Maximum volume of opium is trafficked from Herat than
compared to Kabul. There are five narco-trafficking routes emerging .(Table
1.4):
33
MAP 1.5: NARCO-TRAFFICKING ROUTES FROM NORTHERN AFGHANISTAN
I
KAZAKHSTAN
l L ~·~
') • ..J·
t.oo Kilo,..ct4~ / ! "PAKI~TAN 1oo 11i~'· ..... ,.-·..a
(
l ...... ....
MAP 1.6: NARCO-TRAFFICKING ROUTES FROM SOUTHERN AFGHANISTAN
~--------------------------~----------------.Jf
\ )
~ '-·-
0 I
0
•t )
too k;!......&tcrs
,..,o ;\.;Je.,
1
Table 1.4
NARCO-TRAFFICKING ROUTES OF AFGHANISTAN
S. No. Source Immediate Transit Major transit nodal country destination countries settlements
country 1. Afghanistan Kazakhstan Tajikistan, Dushanbe, Bishkek
Kyrgyzstan
2. Afghanistan Kazakhstan Tajikistan, Dushanbe, Tashkent
Uzbekistan
3. Afghanistan Kazakhstan Uzbekistan Termiz
4. Afghanistan Russia Turkmenistan Termiz, Herat, Mary,
Ashgabat, Turkmenistan
5. Afghanistan Iran - Herat, Tehran
Source: UNODC
iii) Chinese Narco-trafficking Route-The Black Corridor: This is the
Southern China's narco-trafficking route from Northeastern Golden Tri.mgle,
being Eastward divergent landward route touching the immediate provinces of
Yunah, Guizhou, Guangxi and Guangzhou from the seaports of which purest
high grade Heroin 4 is further narco-trafficked maritimewards to United States
of America (Map 1. 7).
iv) Narco-trafficking Routes from India: India is a major transit country of
narcotics as it is sandwiched between two major narcotic producing regions of
the world namely the Golden Crescent and Golden Triangle. It's the seventh
largest country and has shared international land boundary and also has a large
, coastline studded with many important trading ports. The strategic position of
India vis-a-vis its neighbour makes its positioning geostrategic as far as
transboundary narco-trafficking is concerned. (Map 1.8)
Heroin from Afghanistan in Golden Crescent makes direct inroads to
India via Pakistan from the cities of Multan and Lahore from Kandahar and
Kabul to New Delhi landward. Heroin is then trafficked by road to Jaipur,
Kota and Mumbai from where is headed to Nigeria. India is the only largest
country producing narcotics licitly in-order to medically sustain its vast
population which is the second largest in the world. Rajasthan, Madhya
34
MAP 1.7: CHINESE NARCO-TRAFFICKING ROUTE- THE BLACK CORRIDOR
/ )
G HINA
,.. \
\. ('
I 1...
( r-' THAILAN'D
\ , r·-·- . .._.r·---: . ~
~C.AMSO'DI.A ~
cCI' ~:§.-; .South
ChiM
-Sed
,
J
.ARABI
5 £ A
....... :::::'·"""'t r r ·, j '-,411 . .4rr • '· ,.- · 1
) JAMMU I
''~· ANP ./ · ( "R·1t'~s H ,.., t t<. f· "·
!'·""
c H A
B E T
·"'\.· ...... i ·.;::JNI\U'i~ .... .. -..
('' ...... '- • ./ ~ i... '. . "\ . )
BJ\:'1 oF
BEN-t;..A.L
z. B.. ~ ... . ), · ..
" ~; .. ,. StiE. •
J
I (..... '1,
1
-:z 0 ->
Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh are the only states that cultivate opium m
India. Transboundary illicit narco-trafficking once having crossed borders into
India gets superimposed upon the licit local trade movement of opium. In case,
the westward Mumbai route is blocked the narco-trafficking have an
alternative but longer Southern route to Nigeria via Kota-Gwalior-Vijaywada
Vellore-Chennai-Pondichery route towards Sri Lanka from where opium is
transshipped to Nigeria. The opium from Golden Crescent is used for
transboundary narco-trafficking whereas, opium from Golden Triangle is used
for local consumption once it reaches Patna via Northeast India through the
cities of lmphal, Kohima, Itanagar, and Dispur. Transboundary narco
trafficking takes place here meanwhile from Bhutan and Bangladesh.
Thus from all the above major narco-trafficking routes one can clearly
encapsulate the global narco-trafficking routes (Map: 1.9) indicating point of
divergent transboundary narco-trafficking routes from Golden Crescent and
Golden Triangle and point of convergent transboundary narco-trafficking
routes in Nigeria culminating in United States of America, United Kingdom in
the Continent of North America, and Europe respectively.
c) Major Narco-trafficking Routes:
"The major narco-trafficking routes have been identified as thus:
i) Tlte Traditional Route: Starting in Turkey to Western Europe, this
route is a traditional route for transporting 80% of heroin for European
consumption and is subdivided into the following:
• Northern Route: Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia,
Czech Republic, Germany. (By ferry-The Netherlands, Turkey and
Romania).
• Central Route: Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Austria,
Gern1any, The Netherlands or Turkey, Bulgaria, Former
Yugoslavia Republic of Macedonia, Federal Republic of
Yugoslavia (particularly Kosovo), Bosnia Herzegovina, Slovenia
and Italy.
• Southern Route: Turkey, Greece (by ferry) and Italy.
35
ii) The Contingency Route o_f Central Asia: A new corridor to the West.
The independent republics of Central Asia namely Uzbekistan,
Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kirghizistan and Turkmenistan which cover
three times the size of Western Europe play a predominant role in
narco-trafficking. The proximity of the opium-producer Southwest
Asian countries with their geopolitical and ethnic similarities makes
the Central Asian countries a fertile ground for narco-trafficking and
has apparently become a new corridor to the West." (UNODC).
(B) MARITIME ROUTES: The movement of opiates over water bodies
especially related to oceans. and seas is called maritime narco-trafficking. Often
controlled by organized crime syndicates this is the most cost effective mode of
transportation of narcotics in bulk. Large container ships and high speed ferries are
the maritime mode of transport. Maritime narco-trafficking has been an ancient reality
of opium trade for opium was treated as a trade commodity catering for medicinal
purposes ·and for recreation. Gradually as the addictive properties of opium were
discovered, the uninterrupted demand for opium compelled steady maritime narco
trafficking. Unlike the limitations of air and land transportation routes for narcotics,
maritime narco-trafficking is a very convenient, flexible and maneuverable means of
transportation (See Casson L., 1971 ).
Vital sea links in Asia dated back to that of Harappan culture around 3000
B.C. (a naval dockyard has been unearthed at Lothal in Ahmedabad, suggesting naval
commerce between Indus Valley Civilization and people of Egypt, Central Asia,
Ceylon and Persia). Bharat Rakshak, India Naval Legacy, 2003. In the 15th century
the maritime trade between Portugal and China was rampant due to maritime
commerce between Prince Henry, the Portuguese navigator and the Chinese Ming
Emperor Zhu Di. This maritime traverse extended from China Sea to Portugal via
Sumatra-Ceylon India, Arabia and East Africa. From 1405 to 1433, there were about
seven naval expeditions from China suggesting busy naval commerce apart from
China excellence in the construction of naval ships in the entire world. Chinese naval
prowess was exhibited to apex in the Ming Dynasty of 15th century under the emperor
Zhu Di (See Bosworth L. Michael).
Comparing the geography of Europe and Southeast Asia, the Chinese in the
151h century were in a precarious situation. For example, the Mongol threat to the
36
North was a continental threat, 'Annam' was both a continental and maritime,
location, unlike Spain which is that of a constricted peninsula or that of Britain began
an island dominated maritime trade. The drawback was that of Chinese government's
disinterest in maritime trade. Hence by 161h century, the Chinese borne naval overseas
trade collapsed. One aspect to be understood is that non-European maritime networks
were regional such as that of Arab and Chinese mariners whereas, the European
maritime trade networks were global. This was chiefly during the First Age of
Discovery under Prince Henry of Portugal ( 13 94-1460) (he was a navigator of the 151h
Century and was mainly responsible for launching exploration voyages attempting to
find sea routes centering Africa-Indian Ocean for trading with India and Far
East).These naval discoveries had rather become an imperative for Portuguese due to
the fact that the land routes towards Asia were blocked by the Ottaman Turks (the
Turks of Ottoman Empire belonged to 13th century to 1914 of the World War-I. They
were led by Sultan of Turkey and dominated Syria, Iraq, Egypt, Balkan States, parts
of Hungary and Russia).
Succeeding Prince Henry was Bartholomew Dias who rounded Cape of Good
Hope in 1487 followed by Vasco-DaGama's East route discovery in 1498. Thus by
1511, the Portuguese not only mastered maritime trade routes but also extended their
trade further East towar~s that of China and Japan. During the period 1508-1515, the
Portuguese used their naval power to control trade routes in Indian Ocean. Under
Alfonso d' Albuquerque, the Portuguese established naval bases in Indian Ocean and
dominated their trade from 1511 to 1641.
In Indian Ocean, the Portuguese restricted their maritime trade. Spain, under
the advent of the voyage of Christopher Columbus, had its areas of influence spread
across Atlantic Ocean and Pacific Ocean to the West Indies and Philippines
respectively. Countries especially France, Philippines, The Netherlands or England
had their naval trading outpost or colonies on other continents based on these
maritime routes.
Geostrategically it was Britain that took over supreme position in tenns of
global maritime trade. This was due to the fact that Britain was an island and wanted
to challenge France's oceanic dominion. It concentrated on building viable and
defence-centric naval vessels. It maintained its focus more on water-based warfare
rather than trade itself. It improvised its navigation technology, founded a Marine
Society in 1756 along similar lines. The supremacy of Britain naval power emerged
37
more as a survival technique from commercial and political colonial gains. Also by
this time, there was a global consciousness with the advent of the If Age of Discovery,
that is, The Industrial Revolution in 18th and 19th century. The Industrial Revolution
gained momentum by the introduction of steam power which led to the manufacture
of the steam-powered ships, boats and railways leading to enormous technological
and commercial progress and commerce were handled on a global level with prime
importance given to trade networks.
The economic undercurrents for Britain to maintain its position in Asia
protecting its prevalent Asian maritime trade routes was that of expanding its market
for its manufactured goods and exploration of Asia-Pacific trade as well. Britain's
commercial interest in China lay in the import of tea, seals and sea otter fur from the
Pacific. It is vital to understand the trade equations prevailing between Europe and
Asia based in the 18th century, in order to trace the matrix between opium trade
geopolitics between Europe and Asia. While much has been attributed to the surreal
Rise ofthe West in 18th century but the reality of the European economic and political
penetration oflndia has been different (See Chaudhari K.N.).
The core regions, especially uf industrial production, were in China and India.
West Asia and Southeast Asia also remained economically more important than
Europe. Likewise, China and India were the primary centers of the accumulation of
capital in the world system and China was in overall balance of trade surplus
throughout most of this period. Indeed, Europe was in deficit with all regions to the
East. West Asia was in surplus with Europe, but in deficit with India. India was in
surplus Westward but in deficit Eastward to Southeast Asia and China, where India
re-exported bullion received from the West. In political terms, the hegemonic
influence of China, India, and the Ottomans was considerably greater than that of the
European.
"In 1750, Asia had a GNP of$ 120 billion (in US $) while all the "West", meaning Europe and America had a GNP (before the Industrial Revolution) of$ 35 billion. Still a century later in 1860, the respective amounts were US $ 165 billion and $ 115 billion. Estimates, per capita production or income were almost the same in China and Western Europe in1400, indicating that standards of living were about at par world-wide" (See Gunder Frank Andre, 1995).
China's interest in trade with Europe was mainly due to its demand for silver
as silver was used as a mode of currency in China. The Chinese had a bimetallic
system of currency of copper and silver coins. 1000 copper cash equaled 1 silver Tael
38
(coin). In 1856, 1650s, copper cash coins equaled 1.8 Tael. It was hence this metallic
system of currency that enforced China into trade with European countries. The
imbalance of trade between China and Europe occurred with the introduction and
abuse of opium as trade commodity (See Gunder Frank Andre, 1995).
Europeans managed to maintain their presence in Asian markets by using their
profits and investment from American imports and exports which also included the
crucial Asian use of American silver. The American silver was a trade commodity in
triangular trade of 18th century between Europe, Africa and Caribbean.
However, in 1880, after the two Opium Wars, opium imports from India
touched apex and attained law of diminishing returns as opium legalization enabled
the native markets to dominate. Opium was cultivated in Szechwan and Yunnan
exceeded the imported amounts overall. "In 1881, opium imports in China amounted
to 6 million kg annually. Since about 30% of the weight was lost in preparing the
opium for smoking, this provided about 4.2 million kg of the smokable products.
From reports of the 19 British Custom Commissioners in China, it was estimated that
the average daily dose was about 12 gm, enough for about one million smokers of the
foreign product at ~r1at rate of consumption (Hart71881 ).
An opium addict consumed up to 6 gms pf-r day on "average" whereas a
chronic addict under treatment from opium consumed 12 gms daily (ingesting about
80 mg of morphine). Morphine is the primary principle narcotic in opium followed by
codeine. Smoking opium runs about 7-8% of morphine (See Burroghuhs William,
1978).
(C) AIR ROUTES: Transport of opium by mode of air planes is referred to air
narco-trafficking. It is the fastest means of opium transport. Despite the fact that air
narco-trafficking has the added advantage of narco-trafficking (from other modes,
such as land or water-bodies) for its feasibility over inaccessible areas such as that of
rugged topographic, desert or ice capped terrain, it cmmot be used to carry bulk .trans
shipment and it is also most expensive mode of narco-trafficking. Air narco
trafficking gained popularity in mid 20th century especially from 1955-1974 in one of
the opium producing state of Laos in Golden Triangle. The air trafficking of narcotics
assumed a very geopolitical role and once again opium was used as a weapon to
control the political undercurrents, in the Southeast Asian countries. This can be
39
attributed especially from 1958 to 1974 where American intervention in Vietnam War
had a geopolitical spillover in Laos.
The American presence in Laos was by the paramilitary operations undertaken
by C.I.A. for more than 13 years. These air operations in Laos not only trafficked
opium in and out of opium production regions, but also had tried to monitor the
political equations between Vietnam and Laos. Under the slogan of ousting the
communist regime of Pathet Lao in Laos by supporting the domestic anti-communist
elements, the United States of America, used opium as a weapon and performed the
task of air-infrastructure provider. Though the CIA paramilitary operation would not
prevent Laos succumbing to the communists, it definitely exposed the lethal nexus of
narcotics trade for arms, politics and narco-money. The paramilitary operations were
operated by Air America. Air America or Civil Air Transport was the C.I.A.
proprietary airlines flown during the Vietnam War which flew a variety of air
missions or Civil Air Transport (CAT). American geopolitics in Southeast Asia (due
to the Vietnam war) 10 also involved areal narco-trafficking in the Golden Triangle.
"By the summer of 1970, the airline had some two dozen twin engine transports, another two dozen short- take crfs and landing (STOL) aircraft and some more than 330 pilots, copilots, flight mechanics, and air-freight specialists flying in and out of Laos and Thailand." "Helicopter flight time reached more than 4000 hours a month in same year." (See Alfred Me Coy, 1972).
The role of Air America was restricted only upto air narco-trafficking but not
to any other dimension of narco-trade. "Air American helicopter collected the opium
harvests of 1970 and 1971, then flew the crop to V ang Pao' s, military Hmong tribal
base at Long Tieng in the mountains of Northern Laos, where it was turned into
heroin at the general's heroin laboratory. This narcotic transshipment was a pure
political function where the anti-communist drive was catering to encourage and
logistically facilitate the opium war lords of Golden Triangle and capitalize their anti
nationalist sentiment which was suiting the anti-communist operations of America
against Laos and thereby Vietnam. As a matter of fact the CIA was successful in
bringing North Vietnamese units to a standstill and even though ultimately the Laos
fell into the hands of communist, their major design of the ousting the communist
regime in North Vietnam was successful.
10 The Vietnam War was fought during 1957 to 1975, after the Government of South Vietnam reneged on its promise, at the 1954 Geneva Accord, to hold national election.
40
The role of C.I.A. in using opium as a geopolitical tool was very clear as its
focus remained on fighting the covert war in Laos but not that of policing the
narcotics trade. Yet, when the matter escalated, the C.I.A. took action against the
opium traders and assumed its role of policing the narcotic trade (this happened when
narcotics became a problem among American troops in Vietnam). Hence what
commenced as the role of Air America in 1950 August (when CIA secretly purchased
assets of Civil Air Transport (C.A.T.) to conduct covert air transport capability
operations under United State of America's policy objectives), also spilled over its
involvement in supporting the French War against communist insurgents in Indo
China. The United States of America's interest in Laos has been mainly due to its
geostrategic location in Southeast Asia which embarked it as the crux of this Cold
War in Southeast Asia and also enforced the Domino Theory Principle. 11 However
after the 1954 Geneva Conference, the independence of Laos removed the
geopolitical designs of America from Laos leading to the side effects of Golden
Triangle which by now emerged as the major opium producing area in the Southeast
Asian region of the world (See Leary M. William).
Laos was initially a low key Frencl1 protectorate and was ceded to France in
the late 191h century by the Siamese King who intended to keep Thailand a foreign
free domain country. This was established under a series of Treaties between 1893
and 1907. The main interest of France in Laos was opium export. The historic Geneva
Conference of 1954, confirmed Laos as an independent state but politically unstable
Laos had become a geopolitical tool of United States of America and led CIA and
Hmong tribesmen on one side, their mercenaries and Royal Lao Government on the
other side along with Cllinese backed communist Pathet Lao regime. By 1973, the
United States of America's strategic withdrawal from Vietnam also reflected in Laos.
While the Post Vietnam war era witnessed the emergence of Golden Triangle
in Southeast Asia, the focus of Cold War shifted to Afghanistan from that of Laos and
also did the geopolitics of opium which changed its domicile. The Soviet-Afghan War
( 1979-1989) resulted in the emergence of Golden Crescent in the Southwest Asian
region of the World. The mode of narco-trafficking in this region has been on
landward as well as maritime routes.
II This principle was first applied 1954 to Southeast Asia by US President, Dwight Eisenhower supposing a notion that if one country becomes a communist. other nations in the regions would follow suit analogous to Dominoes falling in a line.
41
Thus transboundary air narco-trafficking had historic geopolitical roots as it
has been used as a tool and a soft weapon to cripple and oust the political milieu of
nations.
VII. OPIUM GEOPOLITICS: Opium geopolitics commencement can be
attributed from India. In India, the spread of opium as a folk medicine and as a
recreational drug became recorded historically in Mughal Indian cities. Till 1600, the
opium spread from Eastern Mediterranean to China. An extended opium zone in Asia
was based on limited opium trade by the intra-Asian networks. However, this trend
was replaced by European opium commerce from 1640 to 1773 where opium was a
profitable low-weight, high value good. As an addictive drug, opium became basic
food stuff with inelastic demand. In 1729, when Chinese emperor banned opium
production in China, the British merchants procured defacto monopoly over opium
trade from 1773 to 1830. The British could achieve highest profits as opium was
considered a commodity of mass consumption than that of a luxury good. Thus under
British East India Company, opium became a major trade commodity. From 1729 to
1839 British export of opium increased form 13 tons to 2558 tons. Hi~h imperial
opium trade continued till 1907 where opiu~.n and its derivatives such as morphine and
heroin were equated with coffee and tea. Late 19th century witnessed a global anti
opium movement. From 1909 to 1925, the League of Nations adopted restrictions
over opium use initiating a major decline in legal opium production. This pre-war
complex multilateral diplomacy bestowed mixed result. One hand opium restriction
reduced both production and consumption, whereas on the other hand, the rise of
criminal syndicates took roots. The multilateral cooperation to arrest opium abuse
despite its drawbacks was a pioneering move as it did break a century long opium
abuse tradition and for the first time in 18th century illegal opium production and
consumption declined from 41,600 tons in 1907 to 16,000 tons in 1934.
After the II World War (1940-47), there was another benchmark for the
decline in opium consumption. Cold War opium politics post World War II era (1948-
1972) increased with steady increase in opium production. This was the period when
United States of America and Iran expanded their opiate consumption. In this period,
remote tribal areas were eternally intervened leading to the rise of opium warlords
who provided logistics, arms, political protection on the basis of opium production in
Myanmar and Afghanistan. From 1973 to 1979, United States of America's
42
administration under Bush and Reagan, made efforts to control narco-trafficking.
However, these efforts were misplaced as local enforcement models were implicated
on a global scale. The three opium wars under Nixon, Bush and Reagan saw an opium
increase from 1,000 tons to 4,000 tons from 1970 to 1989. Both licit and illicit opium
crop failure in a production zone creates shortage of supply, thereby leading to price
rise fostering increased production in the next crop cycle. United States of America's
administration, failed to analyse the intricate dynamics of the worldwide opium
marketing systems. These drug syndicates rose to power both in Golden Triangle and
Golden Crescent. The rise of Khun Sa in Myanmar and emergence Gulbuddin
Hekmatyar in Afghanistan witnessed these parallel power figures in opium trade as
well as opium politics. These drug lords thrived on a vast Western growing market.
The rise of Golden Triangle and Golden Crescent continued from 1989-1994
uninterruptedly leading to heroin abuse in new areas of Europe and Asia. What United
States of America failed on arresting global proliferation of opium, Turkey achieved a
short term opium reduction ·in opium supply by its local Bilateral (political)
Suppression. China's historical experience by opium coercion has been perfect as it
has reduced opium consumption and production, providing an example as how an
efficient state can combat narco-trafficking indirectly by contrrJlling opium supply.
State's role in controlling narco-trade and market response of opium
syndicates is however complex and directly proportional. State sponsored opmm
production can be well traced in Thailand as of 1960's, Laos in 1970s, Afghanistan in
1980s, and Myanmar in 1990's. Similarly, state control over opium producing regions
by restraining official consumption over narcotics will accentuate long term reduction
in narco-cultivation and nacre-trafficking. The multilateral efforts initiated by the
League of Nations in order to reduce to global opium production were successful as in
the period 1906 to 1934 when illicit opium production reduced from 41,600 tons to
16,000 tons respectively. However, the market's response to multilateral efforts of
opium reduction has not been even due to its complex market dynamics especially
dealing with its supply reduction reactions. Though supply side solution of opium has
been disarrayed with respect to illicit opium control, the opium demand reduction
strategy (such that of Chinese coercion and mass education in order to curtail opium
consumption), has been China's renewed efforts to arrest to opium debacle.
Opium addiction in China can be traced into the Ching Dynasty which was
established by Manchus from Manchuria at the end of 1800 with a territorial expanse
43
of 4 million miles and a population of 450 million people (See Walkank et a!., 1992).
The Manchu emperors under the region of Chien Lung (1736-1795) expanded their
domain into Turkmenistan, Burma, Tibet and even Nepal. However, the success of
Ching dynasty was threatened from the sea faring Western powers. Imperial China
had an orthodox stand and dealt severely with people promoting the adoption of
foreign ideas and over suggesting innovation. By the start of 191h century, the Chinese
population over 300 million was under economic pressure of unemployment (due to
Jack of industry or trade), leading to break down of Jaw and order and widespread
rural discontent (due to scarcity of land). This was underlined by a corrupt
bureaucratic and military system. The localized revolts started erupting in various
parts of empire. It was under such a political environment that the Western powers
started arriving in China. The Portuguese were the first in establishing their presence
in China by stationing at Macao and monopolizing foreign trade from Guangzhou
(Canton). This was followed by Spanish, then British and finally the French. Chinese
maritime trade was carried through tributes where foreign merchants were virtually
subjugated culturally and politically.
The Manchus gave high importance to the Northern frontier than that of its
Eastern and Southern coastal frontier. This was because the Manchus considered
Russians as the most powerful inland neighbour and had realistic political
negotiations with Russia. The Treaty ofNerchinsk (1689)12 and the Treaty ofKiakhta
(1727) 13 were drafted between China and Russia in order to curb the border tensions
between Siberia and Manchuria on the Northeast Chinese border and of the Eastern
wing of the Sino-Russian border (See Shard K. Soni, 2002). The Western maritime
trade was resisted by the Chinese and was strictly confined to Guangzhou province
apart from other 12 licensed Chinese merchants firms. The Chinese maintained its
stand on anti-Western maritime trade by claiming to be self sufficient with its
products being superior to the Western trade products. Chinese tea was one of the
most sought after trade commodity to Europe and America in 181h century, apart from
Chinese silk and porcelain. An unfavourable balance of trade occurred as the West
could not offer anything in substantially reciprocal to China due to the fact that China
12 This was the prior most treaty signed between Russia and China on August 27, 1689 in Nerchinsk to resolve the military dispute over Amur River. This treaty was later revised and Aigun Treaty ( 1858) and Beijing Treaty ( 1860) forming the present border between Russia and China.
44
was still in its pre-industrial stage. As a result a remedial third party trade was
developed by the British which exchanged their merchandise in India and Southeast
Asia for raw materials and semi-processed goods to China such as raw cotton and
opium which had a ready market in Guangzhou. Under Ching government, opium was
prohibited into the Chinese territory. Opium traffic became ceaseless under the
corrupt bureaucracy and profit seeking merchants, known as Cohong. A drastic opium
prohibitory law was adopted to the extent that an Imperial Commissioner Lin Zexu
was especially appointed in 1839 to Guanghou province to control the illicit opium
traffic in China which was encouraged by the British Lin Tse-Hsui played an active
role in an anti-opium drive by aiming to root out corrupt officials on a domestic front
and tackling Britain stringently on an international front. Lin-Tse-Hsu's efforts also
included correspondence to Queen Victoria of England representing Britain seizures
in opium trade. His argument included that Britain must recognize the fatal effects of
opium as it has seen in its own country and to its opium exports oriented countries
such as China as well.
Another bone of contention which also created rough relations with China and
Bfllain was the judicial treatment of the British citizens who were criminally accused.
The British refused to adhere to the handing over of British citizens to be tried on
criminal grounds by the Chinese, law enforcement authorities. This grievance of Lin's
take-no-prisoner's enforcement of Chinese laws, and also the lack of treaty relations
between Britain and China all reached a war contending situation. When the English
refused to withdraw from opium trade in China, Lin retaliated by not only seizing
illegal stocks of opium owned by Chinese dealers but also confiscated around 20,000
chests of illicit opium having 95 tons of opium and turning back English merchant
vessels in November 1839. This low-level conflict inspired the English to a full large
scale opium war by June 1940. The British won over by the "ill-equipped for-war
Chinese" The old-style Chinese weapons and artillery against the British gunships and
the technological superiority of British arms defeated Chinese repeatedly till the
Chinese were deliberated to agree for an infamous peace treaty of Nanking in 1842.
The Treaty of Nanking was considered the most humiliating and the most unequal
treaties from the Chinese standpoint weighing completely towards the British favour.
The British exercised their rudimentary demand of "extra territoriality" where all
13 Signed in 1728 (between Russia and Qing Empire) defining the order with China and
45
British citizens were handled under the British law for criminal accounts on Chinese
territory. The British established themselves as the "most favoured nation" while
trading with China under which the British gained access to five open ports for trade
such as Hong Kong, Canton, Shanghai, Foochow, Ningpo and Amoy. This clause
guaranteed Britain any type of trading rights without any trade restrictions such as
duties or tariffs. Thus from 1842, after Treaty of Nanking, the Chinese "most
favoured nation status" was extended to France and United States of America as well.
The Treaty of Nanking was designed for the British to increase their trade with
China but over the time, due to an enclosed trade bureaucracy and taxing system of
China, the anticipated huge profits by British did not materialise. The Britishers
condemned China for treaty violations as opium trade according to them had been
restricted. Under such an unfriendly environment another war like situation emerged.
In China opium has also been used as a trans-continental trade commodity. It
had not only been used for medicinal purposes but had been abused for recreation and
as a geopolitical weapon. Actually, opium was first introduced to China by 800 A.D.
by Arab travelers. Its use as an important form of medicine was not later than 1oth
century (Edkins, 1894). From 1620, Chinese had medicinal knowledge of opium but
late 1 ih century onwards, opium was being smoked excessively that it received the
Emperors prohibition orders by 1729 (Spinse, 1875). It was only by late 18th century
that the British individual entrepreneurs started shipping Indian cultivated opium into
China. The addictive tendency of opium ensured steady demand and profits from
opium trade. The population of most accessible trade areas such as ports, coastal areas
and navigable rivers had the most dominant opium addicts.
The late 17th century China was also under economic stagnation coupled with
a 100 million population getting steadily addicted to opium smoking. "In the early
16th century Chinese had imported 240 tons of opium annually and by 1836 the
imports had risen to more than 2,000 tons and were still rising. In 1836, there were an
estimated 12.5 million smokers in China (Wakeman F., 1978).
"Opium sales had risen from 2,330 chests in 1785 to 64,968 chests in 1810. In 1835, around 17,257 chests were forced into China once the British gained monopoly of opium trade. Opium profits soared to 40,000 chests by 1848 and 75% of India's opium was traded through Hong Kong with a value of 6 million pounds per annum." (Wakeman F., 1978).
establishing trade agreements.
46
The population of China had reached 430 million by 19th century. The reason
why opium found its inroads to China was more economic. The Chinese exported
silk, porcelain, tea and other luxury goods to the West in lieu of silver (due to the tael
currency system) in China. At the domestic front, inflation in China trebled the prices.
The Chinese land revenue system also contributed to this because land taxes
were assessed in silver but paid in copper. As a result the weight of taxes increased
without any correspondence to the increase in state income under these circumstances,
the Chinese nobility geared resistance to opium. Under the Imperial Commissioner
Lin, the Second Opium War became inevitable in 1856, where a joint Anglo-French
military operation was launched against China resulting in the capture of Tienstin in
Tianjin. The French joined the war on pretext of the assassination of a French
missionary and the British joined the war as the Chinese seized the British ship named
Arrow carrying opium trade. The war culminated in 1860 by the Treaty of Tienstin
which opened eleven more ports to Western trade granting more trade rights to the
Western powers at the cost of Chinese people. (Russia, France and United States of
America were also a party to the treaty called Treaty of Aigun signed on 28th May
1853, under which Russia gained control on the bank of Amur River, a non-freezing
area on the Pacific coast. However, the Second Opium War was enough to collapse
the Chinese Imperial Government for China could never match the naval as well as
the military superiority of the British.
Both the opium wars especially the second, led to the defacto legalization of
opium in China. 1880 onwards, post opium wars China started, growing opium poppy
extensively and importation of opium of especially in provinces like Szechuan, and
Yunnan. Once the domestic market picked up in China, it gained self-sufficiency at
the cost of the entire Chinese population and their indulgence in opium. Till late 18th
century onwards (about 1860), opium consumption was concentrated along cities, on
the coastal and along navigable rivers but gradually as the cultivation of opium
increased in Western provinces, the local consumption of opium was concentrated
around the opium cultivated area such as Szechuan and Yunnan.
As a result, the British geopolitics in China culminated with immediate effect
and legalization of opium curtailed opium abuse in China. The opium geopolitics in
China in 18th century was based on land based and maritime narco-trafficking and the
dawn of 201h century witnessed air narco-trafficking. The area of narco-trade was well
established in Southeast Asia as a well designated concept of the Golden Triangle to
47
highlight the covert air narco trafficking. By this time even the scale of geopolitics
had changed and opium surfaced not as an economic tool but as a military and
political tool as well.
In early 1986, opium geopolitics in Afghanistan commenced when the Arabs
speaking Pashtun and Dari were inducted into the Afghani jihad against Soviets.
Afghanistan was considered as a university introducing a new ideology and school of
thought. In every Islamic movement, there were Arab Afghans suggesting The Divine
Hand has been subjected to rigid tribal identities of Afghan societies. The coup d'etat
brought People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (P.D.P.A.) to power in 1978,
inspired the Mujahideen leaders to form their alliance in neighboring Pakistan and
Afghan became anti-communist. This situation suited United States of America for
many reasons.
While Afghan Islamists supported Pakistan against India, Pakistan gave refuge
to Afghanistan on the basis of Saudi Arabian aid. Meanwhile United States of
America confronted Soviet through Afghanistan as a surrogate. From 1986-1908,
American Support to Afghan Mujahidden reached US $ 1 billion. The Operation
Cyclone under Ji1nmy Carter in 1981 was about combined cash funds provided by the
C.I.A. and Saudi Arabia transferred into special accounts to I.S.I. director Gen Lt.
Akhtar Abul Rehman Khan. China, Egypt, Israel, Great Britain and United States of
America were main suppliers of arms to Afghanistan and these were however
outdated United States of America kept its embassy open in Kabul until Soviet
withdrawal in 1989. This became Afghanistan's blind-spot of America.
Afghan campaign was a payback for Soviet support for Vietcong that had
resulted defeat of United States of America in Vietnam. The Afghanistan's realization
of American strategy of flooding Afghanistan with arms became a blow back when
World Trade Centre was bombed on 26 February 1993. Afghanistan was a golden
opportunity for America to weaken the Soviet empire. The C.I.A. by this time had
enough experience in Korea, Cuba and Vietnam by now to get result in the right way
with no one taking a long term view. Afghanistan was against Soviet with the military
aid from America. Soviet withdrawal from Afghan in 1989 saw American's sudden
withdrawal from Afghanistan. America did so in stages. In 1992, measures to
neutralise Arab Afghans started. This happened when the Inter Services Intelligence
(I.S.I), Pakistan's intellgence service, was pushed to mass arrest of Arabs and also
when Arabs left as Afghans started fighting with each other. Arab's withdrawal from
48
Afghanistan was also due to the pressure on Pakistani security forces from
Washington, Cairo and other countries. With this, Arab veterans (about 5000) started
drifting away to Third World Countries particularly Yemen, Algeria Sudan, Bosnia,
Chechina and Tajiks.
The Islamic agenda of jihad in Afghanistan was applauded and revitalized by
the democratic parliaments of West. The Americans won the proxy war against Soviet
at the cost of Islam in Afghanistan.
Unfortunately, Afghanistan could not translate the Mujahideen 14 jihad to
peace. After the Soviet withdrawal, chaos spread throughout Afghanistan as it was
confused whether the war against Soviets was religious or political. At this stage from
1992 to 1996, the Najibullah government sought the intervention of United Nations.
The shaky coalition of Mujahideen became disunited, government disparate,
disillusioned and disintegrated causing lawlessness. It was here and then when
Taliban (Tclib is an Arabic word meaning student), emerged.
The Taliban's young leaders were essentially Afghan refugees of the
Mujahideen war against the Soviet Union or displaced war stuck population stuck in
Afghanistan. The "Umma" movement had bought with it, strict application of Muslim
Law as the daily life of the refugee camps had been dominated by Madarsas (Islamic
religious schools that had been established in Afghan refugee camps in "Pakistan in
1980s). The Taliban leader, Sheikh Mohamed Omar Akhund took advantage of the
weakening leadership of President Burhamuddin Rabbani. From taking over as
policing from Mujahideen in 1992, the Taliban took gradual control of Afghanistan
Westward and Northward. On 27 September, 1996, Taliban seized Kabul. Taliban
followed a purely military course of action in order to avoid failure ever since 1996,
despite the fact that war seemed endless. The cause was however different as
Taliban's regime was oppressive and dictatorial.
However under Taliban, Afghanistan plunged into medievalism. The anti
Soviet jihad proved as a false dawn to the Islamists, for the Arabs particularly because
jihad could not prevent the Islamist's strategy of getting rooted into tribal structures.
Also· the reward for religious obedience or the strict persistence of Islam was
unforgettable as Afghanistan found itself devastated and war-torn. The inherent
susceptibility to tribalism, in Afghan emerged immediate after victory against Soviets.
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However, political stability could have been achieved for an accurate dawn of
peace and rehabilitation could have occured in Afghanistan, only if the leaders
struggled for principles instead of power keeping them above tribal warfare for a
greater political agenda. It could be reasonable to argue if Afghanistan became a
failed state instead of a buffer state on the lines that its accepting jihad was more
graceful than letting America overtly involve inside Afghanistan against Soviets.
Rather than seeking centralized state power for them, Afghanistan chose to
prevent the expansion of the Soviet power.
Moreover, jihad was geopolitically used (See Roy Olivier definiton onji~ad as
an affair between the believer and his God and not between the believer and his
enemy: where there is no obligation to obtain a result and that its an act of faith,
1994). Hence, Afghanistan became more like a bear trap, trapping Soviets, for
America, finally neutralizing the Cold War of the superpowers. The side-effect of
which can be attributed to the emergence of Golden Crescent in Southwest Asia.
The following chapter examines the socio-economic issues of transboundary
narco-trafficking while keeping in mind its geopolitical nexus.
14 Umma: the global community of Muslims, which transcends nationality and nation sates and limit all Muslims into a single community.
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