U.S. and Hong Kong (2003)

International Law Enforcement Cooperation Fights Narcoterror

Further information about the hearing is available at http://judiciary.senate.gov/hearing.cfm?id=764

Following is the text of Casteel's prepared testimony:

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DEA Congressional Testimony
May 20, 2003
Statement of Steven W. Casteel
Assistant Administrator for Intelligence
Before the Senate Committee on the Judiciary

Narco-Terrorism: International Drug Trafficking and Terrorism -- A Dangerous Mix"

Executive Summary

Prior to September 11, 2001, the law enforcement community typically addressed drug trafficking and terrorist activities as separate issues. In the wake of the terrorist attacks in New York City, Washington, DC, and Pennsylvania, these two criminal activities are visibly intertwined. For the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), investigating the link between drugs and terrorism has taken on renewed importance. More importantly, it has heightened the visibility of DEA's mission - one that was present even before September 11th.

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Russian Organized Crime

Analysis conducted by the DEA Moscow Country Office indicates that Russian Organized Crime (ROC) groups are expanding their scope of criminal operations worldwide, to include drug trafficking and money laundering activities. These groups are forming alliances with other criminal entities such as the Italian Mafia, Mexican and Colombian drug trafficking organizations, Japanese yakuza, Chinese triads, and Nigerian smuggling groups. Through global connections, ROC groups increasingly facilitate drug shipments in Latin America and Asia to the United States and Europe, and are involved in weapons-for-drugs exchanges. In addition, they have been attracted to the profitable business of heroin smuggling from Afghanistan. ROC groups are also expanding illicit operations to include "club drug" trafficking and production, and trafficking of precursor chemicals used to manufacture heroin and synthetic drugs.

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United Wa State Army

The United Wa State Army (UWSA) is the single largest heroin and methamphetamine producing organization in Southeast Asia, according to DEA and foreign law enforcement entities. While not a designated foreign terrorist organization, the UWSA cultivates, manufactures, transports and distributes massive quantities of heroin and methamphetamine from its base of operations in the northeastern Shan State of Burma to international markets including Thailand, Hong Kong, China, Australia, Canada and the United States. In the early 1990's, the UWSA signed a cease-fire agreement with the Government of Burma (Myanmar) and was given virtual autonomy over the region under their control. Essentially, the UWSA is a government within a government, primarily funded by drug trafficking activities.

In 2001, Burma was the world's leading producer of illicit opium, cultivating an estimated 865 metric tons of opium, with the potential to produce 86 metric tons of heroin. In addition, an estimated 800 million methamphetamine tablets are produced annually in Burma. The overwhelming majority of both heroin and methamphetamine refineries currently located in Burma are operated/controlled directly by the UWSA or indirectly by independent traffickers paying protection fees to the UWSA.

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International Role of DEA

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The heart of DEA's international operations may lie in the Sensitive Investigative Unit (SIU), a program that began as a result of collaboration with Colombia and has since been used as a model for the formation of such units in other countries. This group of specifically trained and vetted police officers, which carry out highly sensitive investigations directly impacting upon the United States, have been directed to target the command and control centers of the world's most significant drug trafficking organizations. There are currently 29 distinct SIU's operating in nine different countries around the world (Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador Peru, Bolivia, Brazil, Pakistan, Thailand, Dominican Republic and Uzbekistan). They are organized based on their Investigative responsibilities, which include high level Investigations of major drug trafficking organizations, chemical Investigations, and money laundering.

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--The SIU in Thailand completed a multi-national investigation involving the DEA and law enforcement agencies in Thailand, China and Hong Kong that culminated in April 2002 with the seizure of 354 kilograms of heroin and the arrest of 13 traffickers with ties to United Wa State Army.

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