Customs and Drugs

2003

WORLD CUSTOMS ORGANIZATION

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WCO ANNUAL REPORT 2003

Content

Content
FOREWORD 2

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 2003 4

THE WCO, CEN TEAM AND THE RILO NETWORK 6

INTRODUCTION 10

GLOBAL OVERVIEW OF MAJOR DRUG TYPES 11

REGIONAL OVERVIEWS - EUROPE 16

REGIONAL OVERVIEWS - ASIA/PACIFIC 28

REGIONAL OVERVIEWS - THE AMERICAS 31

REGIONAL OVERVIEWS - AFRICA 36

REGIONAL OVERVIEWS - MIDDLE EAST 38

SPECIAL ITEMS 40
RISK MANAGEMENT .......................................................................................................................... 40
AFRICAN SEAPORTS PROJECT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
PRECURSOR CHEMICALS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
UNODC'S "PARIS PACT" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
DRUGS IN AFRICAN MAIL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
LARGE COCAINE SHIPMENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
HEROIN IN WALNUTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
METHOD OF CIRCUMVENTING EMIT TEST . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
COCAINE CONCEALED ON BOARD AIRCRAFT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
COCAINE IN NATURAL GRANITE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

STATISTICAL APPENDIXES 48
WCO RILO NETWORK 55
WCO MISSION STATEMENT 56
WCO VISION STATEMENT 56
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 56
© D/2004/0448/7 - All rights reserved.

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WCO ANNUAL REPORT 2003
Foreword
It is my very great pleasure to introduce the
l a t e s t e d i t i o n o f t h e Wo r l d C u s t o m s
Organization’s “Customs and Drugs” Report
for the year 2003.
The interdiction of illicit narcotics remains
one of the key areas for Customs adminis-
trations worldwide. The World Customs
Organization and its Member administra-
tions still regard the fight against the illicit
trafficking of drugs to be one of their fore-
most priorities.
This Report contains many facts and figures.
While most of them show that the problem
of drug trafficking is increasing, these statis-
tics tell only half the story. There is also the
personal contribution of individual Customs
officers, which leads to the seizures of drugs
at international frontiers, often in very diffi-
cult circumstances. Every success in the fight
against trafficking in illicit drugs is due to
2
Foreword
the professionalism of those officers. I
would like to offer all these officers my sin-
cere thanks for their excellent work and
great dedication.
2003 was a record year for Customs seizures
of cocaine. The number of cocaine detec-
tions rose significantly. The volume seized
peaked at 64 tonnes, representing a 35% in-
crease over the previous year. This increase
was reflected throughout all regions as re-
ported by our network of Regional
Intelligence Liaison Offices (RILOs). The
amount seized in the Western European re-
gion indicates that this region continues to
be one of the largest markets in the world.
Almost 87% of the cocaine was seized in
Western Europe.
The situation in Afghanistan has changed
significantly over the last few years. Opium
production almost vanished in 2001, due to
the Taliban ban on opium poppy cultiva-
tion. In the meantime opium poppy cultiva-
tion has resumed. Afghanistan was again the
world’s largest supplier of opium in the year
2003. Studies of the European seizures indi-
cate that the traditional “Northern Balkan
Route” overland via Turkey, Bulgaria,
Romania, Hungary and Austria is playing a
more dominant role than it did in 2002. The
“Southern Balkan Route” to Italy via Greece,
Albania or FYR Macedonia decreased in im-
portance. Seizure reports from the Russian
Federation indicate that the “Silk Road
Route” is playing an increasing role.
The volume of amphetamines seized rose by
45% to 4.8 tonnes compared to 2002. The
main market is to be found in the Middle
East, where the majority of seizures were re-
ported by Saudi Arabia. Turkey and Syria
were reported as the main destination coun-
tries for Bulgarian amphetamines.
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According to reports from Bulgarian
Customs Bulgaria has become a production
country over the past few years. In Western
Europe, where the United Kingdom and to a
lesser extent Scandinavia, appear to be the
main markets, the Netherlands remains the
main source of amphetamines seized.
Concealments of amphetamine in freight
were more significant than in 2002.
Those readers conducting research into
drug trafficking will find detailed analyses
for each WCO region outlining various
methods, means of transport and trends
which have been identified. I believe that
this approach will greatly assist Customs ad-
ministrations and other professionals in
their daily work.
The interdiction of illicit drugs cannot be
achieved in isolation. Governments are in-
creasingly calling for joint efforts on the part
WCO ANNUAL REPORT 2003
Foreword
of all law enforcement agencies. Close co- Network (CEN) database. These increased
operation and the exchange of information efforts will help us to improve our overall
with other international organizations is understanding of the illicit drug problem
being continuously developed. In this re- and, more specifically, to adjust and refine
gard, we highly value our partnership with the enforcement strategies that are so impor-
the International Criminal Police tant in tackling drug trafficking.
Organization (INTERPOL), the International
Narcotics Control Board (INCB) and the Yours sincerely,
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
(UNODC) and other international bodies in
the fight against illicit trafficking in drugs
and precursor chemicals.
I would like to extend my sincere thanks to
Member administrations for their contribu- Michel Danet
tions and assistance in preparing this annual Secretary General
Report, and I strongly encourage everybody World Customs Organization
involved to make even greater efforts to re-
port all drug interceptions, trends and
methods in respect of trafficking in illicit
drugs to the World Customs Organization,
by using the WCO Customs Enforcement
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WCO ANNUAL REPORT 2003
Executive Summary 2003
Executive Summary 2003

Crystal methamphetamine – also called
« shabu » or « Ice »
Member States in 91 different countries provided data. More than 11,000 seizures
were reported by Customs or joint Customs & Police Units. We received almost 700
cases from the Canadian Customs this year.
Afghanistan remains the largest source of
opium in the world. The use of the tradi-
tional “Northern Balkan Route” increased in
importance, while that of the “Southern
Balkan Route” decreased. Heroin seized in
the Russian Federation mainly arrives from
Kazakhstan via the Silk Road Route.
Unfortunately, no seizures were reported by
Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan,
Kazakhstan or Uzbekistan. This situation
may even more heavily underline the in-
creased use of the Silk Road Route.
Opium being trafficked from Iran to Kuwait
was detected in air traffic, and all cases refer
to couriers who had swallowed drugs,
while Iranian opium detected in the United
Arab Emirates was detected in the of-
fenders’ clothing.
The quantity of cocaine seized rose to 64
tonnes worldwide, while the quantity seized
4
in Western Europe is the highest quantity
ever. It is interesting to note that cocaine
shipments departing Haiti are solely de-
tected in Canada, and Guyana plays an in-
creasing role as a transshipment country for
the Canadian market.
Spain seized 31 out of the 64 tonnes seized
worldwide. Secondary distribution of co-
caine is taking place from Spain and, to a
lesser extent, the Netherlands.
Morocco remains the main source country
for cannabis resin, especially for the
Western European market. The quantity of
cannabis resin seized was the highest for
three years, and the highest ever reported in
Western Europe. The drug is transported
from Morocco to Spain in freight vehicles or
in cars by ferry, or by small boats. The drug
is then transported overland to France, the
United Kingdom, the Netherlands and to
other European countries.
The volume of herbal cannabis is the lowest
reported in the last three years and comes to
a total of 74 tonnes. African countries used
Drug GB14/06 14/06/04 11:00 Page 5
to be main source countries for herbal
cannabis in the mid-1990s, and especially
large quantities were leaving South Africa.
This has changed over the last few years,
and South Africa was reported as the source
country for only 1 tonne in 2003 compared
to 18 and 13 tonnes in 2001 and 2002 re-
spectively.
Jamaica is the source country for the United
Kingdom, while Morocco and Albania are
the source countries for continental Europe.
A 45% rise in amphetamine seized took
place in 2003 in comparison with 2002.
The main market is to be found in the
Middle East, namely Saudi Arabia. Western
Europe, and especially the United Kingdom,
is another large market. Bulgaria has be-
come a production country for ampheta-
mine during the last few years, and the
quantities reported by Eastern and Central
Europe rose significantly from 31 kg in
2002 to 319 kg in 2003.
The reported volume of MDMA rose to its
highest level ever due to the seizures reported
from Canada, where the quantity seized rose
from almost 1.9 to 5.6 million tablets. The
main source country is the Netherlands, while
Germany and Belgium are increasing in im-
portance. It is interesting to note that the
number of MDMA seizures made in the mar-
itime sector rose from six to ten cases. Only
Canada and Australia reported seizures above
100 kg transported by vessels. The
Netherlands and Belgium can be seen as the
main centre for global ecstasy production.
Illicit production of methamphetamine is
mainly taking place in China and Myanmar,
but more recently also in the Philippines.
The volume of methamphetamine seized
decreased slightly to 732 kg worldwide. The
Asia/Pacific region accounts for 98% of the
quantities seized, which were seized mainly
in Japan, Australia and Myanmar. Less than
one kilogram was seized in Eastern and
Central Europe and in Canada, while eight
kilos were seized in Western Europe. In par-
ticular, Italy reported nine cases of four kilo-
grams, and all seizures were of the type
crystal methamphetamine or so-called
“shabu” or “ice”.
WCO ANNUAL REPORT 2003
Executive Summary 2003
Khat is mainly produced in Eastern Africa
and legally transshipped to the Netherlands
and the United Kingdom, from where sec-
ondary distribution takes place and where
khat is a legal substance. Khat is then trans-
ported mainly to Canada, Germany and to
the Nordic States, either by air or overland
via Germany to Denmark and the
Scandinavian countries.
The Norwegian Customs reported a new
trend, namely dried khat. The active cathin
is kept intact during the drying process,
making the khat possibly five times stronger
than fresh khat. After being harvested, khat
rapidly loses its freshness and has to be
moved to its users within 48 hours. This
new trend might show a change in traf-
ficking patterns in 2004.
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WCO ANNUAL REPORT 2003

The WCO, CEN Team and the RILO Network

The WCO, CEN Team and the RILO Network

To ensure the implementation of the WCO Global Information and Intelligence a. Role of the Secretariat
Strategy and consistency of the Global RILO Network, the RILOs operate ac-
cording to common guidelines specifying the role of the WCO Secretariat, the The WCO Secretariat, as the responsible
focal co-ordination point for the RILO net-
RILOs and National Contact Points (NCPs). Further information can be obtained
work, monitors the consistency of RILO ac-
in the WCO document EC0134E2. tivities with the “Recommendation of the
Customs Co-operation Council on the
Operation of the Global Network of
Regional Intelligence Liaison Offices
(RILOs)” as adopted by the Council and
these guidelines. The Secretariat shall:

1. Ensure the central management of the

Customs Enforcement Network (CEN)
by using, operating and maintaining the
system as the global Information and
Intelligence tool for the RILO network.
2. Ensure that the CEN is further im-
proved taking into account new devel-
opments and requirements.
3. Use, administer and monitor the infor-
mation being kept within the CEN on a
global level.
4. Carry out periodical global strategic and
tactical analyses based on the informa-
tion in the CEN.
5. Keep RILOs informed about projects,
measures and developments relevant for

Iranian Customs seized 6.4 kg of opium
their region.
in a parcel destined for the United 6. Organize a global RILO meeting on a
Kingdom. The opium was concealed regular basis.
inside the 12 flower vases. 7. Outsource special tasks to RILOs in
(Photos courtesy of Iranian Customs) order to receive their assistance in car-
rying out matters of priority identified
by the Secretariat or WCO bodies.
8. Task RILOs to represent the Secretariat,
where appropriate.
9. Provide training and technical assistance
to the RILOs and their Members within
the limits of financial and human re-
sources.
10 Co-operate with other international law
enforcement agencies on a strategic level.

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b. Tasks of the RILOs
The RILOs, as the responsible regional focal
point for the RILO network, monitor the
consistency of their Members activities
within the rules of the WCO Global
Information and Intelligence Strategy, this
RILO Recommendation and these guide-
lines.
By using information provided to them,
they should:
WCO ANNUAL REPORT 2003
The WCO, CEN Team and the RILO Network
1. A r r a n g e f o r t h e n o m i n a t i o n s o f 14. Promote and maintain regional co-oper-
National Contact Points (NCPs) within ation with other law enforcement agen-
their region. cies and organizations, in accordance
2. Organize and send invitations to annual with any rules or provisions being estab-
NCP meetings. lished by the Enforcement Committee or
3. Provide technical and other assistance to the Council.
NCPs. 15. Assist Customs administrations with
4. Check that regional seizure information their analyses in specific cases, and facil-
is being entered into the CEN on a reg- itate the exchange of case-related opera-
ular and timely basis. tional information in accordance with
5. Validate regional seizure information relevant legal provisions and in agree-
being entered into the CEN. ment with the responsible national or re-
6. Produce regional tactical analyses to gional authorities.
support Customs law enforcement au-
thorities.
7. Collect, evaluate and disseminate infor-
mation on Customs offences through the
CEN.
8. Produce a periodic intelligence bulletin
containing :
• Seizures of global and regional
relevance;
• Regional trend analyses;
• Regional analytical reports.
9. Provide the Secretariat with an annual
report on their activities.
10. Produce and disseminate intelligence
alerts and intelligence profiles.
11. Design and implement target-oriented
intelligence analysis projects.
12. Design and support regional intelli-
gence-led operations.
13. Facilitate mutual administrative as-
sistance.
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WCO ANNUAL REPORT 2003

The WCO, CEN Team and the RILO Network

c. Tasks of the National Contact

Point (NCP)

In order to secure the information exchange at

a regional level and the quality of the informa-
tion captured within CEN, the NCPs should:

1. Collect seizure data, including all re-

quired details relating to Customs of-
fences, from all possible sources at
national level.
2. Enter seizure data electronically into the
CEN, or submit the data to the RILO by
fax or mail.
3. Obtain photographs of significant
seizures or of new/interesting conceal-
ment methods for incorporation into
the CEN concealment database and for
the production of alerts.
4. Analyse national seizure information to
identify new or unusual smuggling
methods, consistent patterns, smuggling
St. Lucia
trends and other information of interest,
and enter results into the CEN or for-
ward this information to the RILO.
5. Obtain national alerts and forward them
to the RILO for regional dissemination.
6. Distribute at national level intelligence
reports, alerts and other relevant publi-
cations received from the WCO and
RILOs.
7. Initiate and participate in special re-
gional projects conducted by RILOs to Chile
identify new transborder smuggling
threats and trends.
8. Promote and maintain national co-oper-
ation with other law enforcement agen-
cies or organizations.
9. Task the RILO with specific analytical WCO CEN Team Belgium
RILO Eastern and Central Europe Poland
studies and participate in the process of
RILO Western Europe Germany
evaluating effectiveness. RILO CIS countries Russian Federation
RILO Asia and the Pacific China
RILO South America Chile
RILO North Africa Morocco
RILO West Africa Senegal
RILO Central Africa Cameroon
RILO East and Southern Africa Kenya
RILO Middle East Saudi Arabia
CCLEC Caribbean St. Lucia

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WCO ANNUAL REPORT 2003

The WCO, CEN Team and the RILO Network

Russian Federation

Germany

Poland
Belgium

China

Morocco
Saudi Arabia

Senegal

Cameroun
Kenya

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WCO ANNUAL REPORT 2003

Introduction

Introduction
The Annual “Customs and Drugs” Report is prepared by the World Customs
Organization (WCO) and is intended for the use of WCO Members and other law
enforcement agencies. This year’s Report again considers the analysis of seizures
on a regional basis and includes a brief global overview on each of the main drug
categories in order to provide information on the current production and trafficking
trends not identified by regional analysis.
The seizure data have been compiled from
the WCO Customs Enforcement Network
(CEN) database, which has been operational
since July 2000. Today, 137 countries, in-
volving more than 1,000 users, have access
to CEN. More than 70,000 cases of Customs
fraud have been entered by Member States
or by their respective RILO. WCO Member
States and the RILOs have contributed to
this Report by entering cases and by vali-
dating seizure data.
All figures and conclusions have been com-
piled from the CEN as reported by 19 March
2004. Data which have been provided later
than this date will have arrived too late to be
included in this Report. We are aware that
there are significant gaps in the information
available.
To p e r m i t c o m p a r i s o n s b e t w e e n t h e
seizures, we have converted all amounts of
tablets into kilograms by using the conver-
sion rate of one tablet to one third of a gram.
Seizures reported in ampoule, capsule, unit,
etc. are considered as being reported in
tablet form and are therefore also converted
into kilograms using the conversion rate
mentioned above.
This Report and the analysis and trends that
emerge from it are only as credible as the in-
formation from which it has been drawn. It
is stressed that considerable care is needed
when drawing conclusions from the statis-
tics in the drugs field. For example, a suc-
cessful drug enforcement operation which
results in the dismantling of a major traf-
ficking syndicate may not necessarily result
in a significant seizure of drugs, although its
impact may be important in terms of dis-
rupting critical supply lines.
Exceptionally large seizures might boost the
analysis, and therefore the statistical appen-
dices give an overview of the largest seizures
made in the main drug categories.

This Report includes only seizures made by

Customs, joint Customs & Police Units or
by other law enforcement agencies having
Customs powers. As the reporting limits are
not the same in all regions, the highest
common limits have been used, enabling
comparisons to be made. The limits are
shown in the table below.

Drug type Minimum limits

Cocaine 100 grams

Opiates 100 grams
Cannabis 1 kg
Khat 10 kg
Psychotropic
substances 50 grams

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WCO ANNUAL REPORT 2003

Global overview of major drug types

Global overview
of major drug types
This section gives an overview of the RILO region 2002 2003
worldwide situation in respect of the
Asia and Pacific 694 781
main drug categories. More specific
Caribbean 174 87
detail regarding regional seizure statis- CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States region) 341 298
tics, patterns and trends can be found Eastern and Central Europe 211 168
in the regional breakdowns in later sec- Middle East 113 118
North Africa 235 204
tions of this Report. A breakdown of the North America 2 697
number and quantity seized can be South America 583 568
found in the “Statistical Appendices” Eastern and Southern Africa 13 38
section of this Report. West Africa 4 5
Western Europe 7,332 8,063
Total 9,702 11,027

As has already been stated in the introduc-
tion, the analysis has been carried out by
taking into consideration the common min-
imum limits in the regions, and only seizures
related to Customs or joint Customs/Police
seizures have been analysed. A total of
11,027 cases were analysed and compared
with figures from 2002.
disappeared in 2001 because the Taliban
regime imposed a total and highly effective
ban on it. Whereas it was believed that pro-
duction would switch to Afghanistan’s
neighbouring countries, this did not turn
out to be the case. A decrease in production
in Myanmar is estimated to have continued.
Little production is taking place in Lao PDR,
Colombia, Mexico or Pakistan.

Opiates The total quantity of opium produced illic-

United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
(UNODC) report in their “Global Illicit
Drug Trends 2003” that Afghanistan is again
the world’s largest supplier of opium.
Opium production in Afghanistan almost
Afghanistan opium production 1996-2003 (in metric tonnes)
itly would be sufficient to manufacture 360
tonnes of heroin. Actual figures would al-
most certainly be lower than these estimates.
The Asia/Pacific region reported an increase
of over 1 tonne to 2.3 tonnes of heroin in
2003, and Pakistan has seized 87% of the
quantities seized in this region.

Examination of the European seizures indi-

4,565 cates that the traditional “Northern Balkan
Route” overland via Turkey, Bulgaria,
3,600 Romania, Hungary and Austria is playing a
3,276 3,400
more dominant role than it did in 2002. The
2,804 2,693 so-called “Southern Balkan Route” to Italy
2,248
via Greece, Albania or FYR Macedonia
(FYROM) decreased in importance in 2003.

The African continent, especially Nigeria,

was targeted by Pakistani heroin shipments,
185 but also Ethiopia and the Côte d’Ivoire were
mentioned as destination countries. Most of
1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 the couriers en route to the African conti-
nent had swallowed the heroin.
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WCO ANNUAL REPORT 2003

Global overview of major drug types

Bulgaria, Venezuela, Ghana, Aruba and Main departure countries for cocaine shipments – 2002-2003
Mexico are the main source/transshipment
countries for the Canadian market.
No. of seizures Quantity in kg
Departure 2002 2003 2002 2003
Even though the number of opium seizures Unknown 127 149 7,459 19,854
rose by nine to 151 cases in 2003, the quan- Venezuela 257 363 5,008 10,536
tity decreased from 780 to 494 kg in 2003. Colombia 124 82 6,310 6,098
Unsurprisingly, the main departure coun- Brazil 496 657 5,104 3,879
tries are Iran and Pakistan, while the drug is Suriname 509 758 2,412 2,812
mainly destined for Canada (81 kg) and Peru 465 406 8,099 2,541
Turkmenistan (54 kg). The destination Curacao 1,369 1,324 3,211 2,386
country was reported as unknown for Trinidad and Tobago 32 71 174 2,051
Cuba 4 8 8 1,910
140 kg. In 2002, only 100 grams of opium
Spain 61 105 571 1,776
were intended for Turkmenistan, while this
figure rose to 54 kg in 2003. Again, the
drugs arrived via the Silk Route. Number and quantity in terms of means of transportation – 2002-2003

No. of seizures Quantity in kg

Cocaine Means of transport 2002 2003 2002 2003
Vessel 96 83 23,933 42,008
UNODC states in the “Global Illicit Drug Air 4,163 3,842 13,982 15,323
Trends 2003” that Colombia has become the Vehicle 326 410 8,331 2,800
source of almost three-quarters of the Unknown 14 30 690 2,236
world’s illicit cocaine. A reduction in pro- Mail 521 1,054 479 1,688
duction has been seen for the second year in Rail 190 223 235 283
Pedestrian 13 12 23 46
a row, and if this trend persists, there could
Other 7 4 297 2
be a major change in the dynamics of the
Grand total 5,330 5,658 47,971 64,386
world cocaine supply.
Number and quantity in terms of means of concealment – 2002-2003
Peru and Bolivia have decreased their produc-
tion significantly, and Bolivia now produces
less than one-tenth of the world’s cocaine. No. of seizures Quantity in kg
Concealment 2002 2003 2002 2003
In transport 266 336 17,492 34,730
The total quantity of cocaine seized in 2003 In luggage 2,066 2,156 10,646 9,965
was 64 tonnes, a rise of over 35% in com- In freight 311 621 14,684 9,433
parison with 2002. Almost 87% of the co- Recovered from sea/beach 4 14 1848 4,295
caine seized was made in Western Europe, Other 43 56 318 2,733
followed by almost 8% in the Caribbean and On the person 2,078 1,877 2,311 2,249
3.2% in South America. In mail 524 545 522 549
Not concealed 4 199
South America again remained the only sig- In premises 32 32 109 188
nificant source of cocaine. It can be seen Unknown 6 17 40 45
Grand total 5,330 5,658 47,971 64,386
that the quantities departing Venezuela are
double the amount of 2002, while the level Countries such as Trinidad and Tobago, Western Europe is the main market for co-
of Colombian cocaine remained almost Cuba, Dutch Antilles, Jamaica and Grenada caine and more than half of the cocaine
stable at 6 tonnes. Unfortunately, in almost in the Caribbean are becoming more impor- seized by weight worldwide was intended for
30% of the total quantity seized, the country tant as transshipment countries. Spain, followed by 18% for the Netherlands
of origin is not known or not reported. and almost 7% for Belgium. The quantities

12
Drug GB14/06 14/06/04 11:01 Page 13

In September, 250 kg of cocaine was
detected at Bologna airport.
The drugs were concealed in an
airfreight consignment of two large
augers arriving from Sao Paulo/Brazil
via Frankfurt/Germany.
(Photos courtesy of Italian Guardia di Finanza)
intended for the United Kingdom also rose
by 1 tonne to 3.6 tonnes in 2003.
More than 1 tonne of cocaine was intended
for the Canadian market, and the main
sources by quantity are Haiti, Guyana,
Ecuador and Saint Lucia. It is interesting to
note that only Canada reported seizures ar-
riving from Haiti.
Quantities destined for Eastern and Central
Europe also more than doubled to 482 kg in
2003. The same is true for the Asia/Pacific
region, where the quantity rose from 37 to
78 kg in 2003. In Eastern and Southern
Africa, the quantity quadrupled to almost
100 kg and all, except for one case from
Kenya, were reported by South Africa.
Ships or boats are the main means of trans-
portation and increased significantly in im-
portance during 2003. The use of aircraft
rose in terms of quantity even though the
number of cases decreased slightly. The av-
erage quantity transported by vehicles de-
creased from 25 kg to 7 kg.
Drugs were mainly concealed in the struc-
ture of the means of transport. All ten
seizures above 1,000 kg detected in 2003
were found on board ships or boats. Eight
seizures were carried out in Spain, one in
Belgium and one in Martinique. Spain and
the Dutch Antilles mainly reported larger
quantities which were recovered from either
the sea or the beach.
WCO ANNUAL REPORT 2003
Global overview of major drug types
UNODC states in their “Cannabis Survey
2003 – Morocco” that potential cannabis
resin production was estimated at 3,080
metric tonnes.
The volume seized in Pakistan remained
very high, even though the quantities fell
from 18 to 15 tonnes in 2003. Many of the
seizures in Pakistan were reported as in-
ternal seizures, and no intended destination
was given. One large seizure of 1,514 kg of
drugs was detected in a maritime freight
consignment of paint in Kuwait, while an-
Cannabis other seizure of 662 kg was also made in a
maritime freight consignment, the seizure
Cannabis resin
taking place in Saudi Arabia.
In 2003, 355 tonnes of cannabis resin were
seized worldwide, the highest quantity in Herbal cannabis
three years. The chart shows the quantities
seized over the years. The volume of herbal cannabis seized
worldwide came to a total of 74 tonnes. This
Morocco remains the main source country is the lowest quantity reported in the last
particularly for the Western European re- three years.
gion. The resin is transported from Morocco
to Spain in freight vehicles or in cars by Thailand was reported as the main source
ferry, or by small boats. The drug is then country for herbal cannabis. The quantity
transported overland to France, the United decreased by 5 tonnes to 11.5 tonnes in
Kingdom, the Netherlands and the other 2003 compared to only 320 kg in 2001.
European countries. Secondary distribution Belgium detected 6.4 tonnes in a container,
takes place from Spain, the Netherlands, while the quantities seized in 2002
France and Belgium. amounted to 10 tonnes. Japan seized
Cannabis resin and Herbal cannabis seized in tonnes – worldwide
Cannabis resin
419 Herbal cannabis
361 355
337
292
269
210
196
122
99
61 74
1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003
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Drug GB14/06 14/06/04 11:01 Page 14

WCO ANNUAL REPORT 2003

Global overview of major drug types

smaller quantities of herbal cannabis from
air passengers, while the United Kingdom
seized smaller quantities sent by mail.
The quantity of herbal cannabis arriving
from Jamaica decreased from 11.7 to 8.6
tonnes in 2003. One large seizure exceeding
four tonnes was detected in the course of
export controls in Jamaica. The maritime
freight consignment was bound for the US,
and the drugs were among a consignment of
yam. The United Kingdom remains the
main destination country for herbal
cannabis originating in Jamaica.
In recent years, it is possible to note an in-
crease in herbal cannabis originating in
Morocco. While only 557 kg were reported
in 2002, the quantity for 2003 rose to 7,413
kg even though the number of detections re-
mained at the same level, with six each year.
The main modus operandi is to conceal the
drug in the means of transport. This ac-
counts for 28 tonnes in 2002 and 2003
each. A sharp decrease is seen in the
number of detections made in the freight
area. The quantities fell from 55 to 21
tonnes, while the number of detections de-
creased, involving 82 and 71 cases in 2002
and 2003 respectively. The number of large
seizures in particular decreased by 6 cases to
14 in 2003, while the volume fell from 63
tonnes to 41 tonnes. Twelve countries re-
ported seizures above 1,000 kg in 2002.
Only six countries reported seizures ex-
ceeding 1,000 kg in 2003.
Albanian herbal cannabis continued to de-
crease from 14.4 tonnes in 2000 to only 1.7
tonnes in 2003, while the quantities in 2001
and 2002 remained stable at 8.8 tonnes a
year. Only Greece and Italy reported
seizures involving drugs from Albania.
Psychotropic
substances
Psychotropic substances in particular were
reported in various units such as capsules,
ampoules, tablets, doses, etc. These units
have been considered as tablets and all
amounts were converted into kilograms by
using the conversion rate of one unit to one
third of a gram, to permit comparisons be-
tween seizures.
Amphetamine
The quantity of amphetamine rose from 3.3
tonnes to almost 4.8 tonnes, a rise of 45%
compared to 2002. The main market is to be
found in the Middle East, where Saudi
Arabia reported almost all amphetamine
seizures. Kuwait reported one seizure to-
talling 410 tablets.
Western Europe is another market for am-
phetamine. The United Kingdom, where
MDMA - Main departure countries 2002-2003
Quantity (kg)
2,429
5 2
0 5
0 0
744 kg were seized, is reported as the main
market within the region. In Eastern Europe,
Turkey and Bulgaria are the main countries,
where 158 and 153 kg were seized. The
Bulgarian Customs reports that Bulgaria has
become a production country for ampheta-
mine during the last few years. The quanti-
ties seized in Eastern and Central Europe
rose significantly from 31 to 319 kg in 2003.
Burkina Faso reported their annual totals of
amphetamine, and the quantity rose signifi-
c a n t l y f ro m 3 3 3 t o 7 9 7 k g i n 2 0 0 3 .
Unfortunately, no detailed information on
the seizures was provided, so trafficking pat-
terns cannot be identified.
MDMA ecstasy
The volume of MDMA rose to its highest
level ever totalling almost 4,800 kg. The
reason for the increase is that Canada re-
ported in 2003 all seizures, 1,675 kg of
MDMA being reported, thus affecting the
annual totals of previous years.
In Western Europe, the quantities de-
creased slightly from 2,400 kg to 2,108 kg
in 2003, and the number of seizures fell
from 380 to 272.
In the Asia/Pacific region, the quantities
No. of departures
0

4 2
0 2002 0
In the mid-1990s, African countries were 0
2003
0
0
the main source countries for herbal 1,492
3 1
cannabis, especially large quantities leaving 0
0
5
0
0
South Africa. The volume of herbal cannabis
leaving the country continued to decrease 2
0
1
0
from 18 and 13 tonnes in 2001 and 2002 to 0 638 0
0
455 400
only 1.1 tonnes in 2003. The quantities 1 303 346 5
found originating in Ghana rose from 400
0 459 0
0 152 109 176 0
6
and 1,400 kg in 2000 and 2001 to 3.3 and 0 0
274 233 33 16 39 35 36 16 17 22 3 5
4.1 tonnes in 2002 and 2003.
Netherlands Unknown Belgium Germany France Malaysia
14
Drug GB14/06 14/06/04 11:01 Page 15
MDMA seizures of more than 100 kg transported by vessels in 2003
CEN ID Date Country
72832 19 Aug. 03 Canada
72831 22 Aug. 03 Canada
63268 4 Oct. 03 Australia
53763 15 Apr. 03 Australia
50408 5 Feb. 03 Australia
58305 14 July 03 Australia
almost tripled from 312 kg to 912 kg in
2003, even though the number of cases re-
mained stable at a level of 55 cases each
year. In 2003, the Australian Customs suc-
ceeded in carrying out four seizures, each of
more than 100 kg of MDMA. All four cases
were made in maritime freight consign-
ments, twice involving vessels arriving from
Belgium, once from Malaysia and once from
the Netherlands.
The Netherlands remains the main origin
country for MDMA, and the steep increase is
due to the reports from Canada, identifying
the Netherlands as the source country for
1,596 kg of MDMA. The quantities de-
parting from the countries neighbouring the
Netherlands, such as Germany and France
increased considerably.
It is interesting to note that the number of
MDMA cases transported by ship or boat
rose from six to ten cases in 2003. Only
Canada and Australia reported seizures of
more than 100 kg transported by vessels in
2003, mainly involving vessels leaving the
Netherlands and Belgium, which appear to
be centres of global ecstasy production.
Methamphetamine
The volume of methamphetamine seized
worldwide decreased by 18 kg to 732 kg in
2003, while the number of detections rose
from 65 to 78. The Asia/Pacific region ac-
counts for 98% of the quantities seized,
which shows that methamphetamine is pri-
mary, a big problem in this region. Japan,
Australia and Myanmar have the most im-
portant roles if the quantities seized are con-
Location Route Quantity Concealment
Montreal NL-CA 809 kg In freight
Pearson NL-CA 750 kg In freight
Sydney BE-AU 195 kg In freight
Fremantle MY-AU 170 kg In freight
Brisbane BE-AU 135 kg In freight
Sydney NL-AU 115 kg In freight:
sidered (89% of the quantities seized in
RILO AP region).
INCB states in its report, that illicit produc-
tion is taking place mainly in China and
Myanmar, but more recently also in the
Philippines. Furthermore, methampheta-
mine is the most widely abused drug in
Japan, the Republic of Korea and Thailand.
The precursors for methamphetamine con-
tinue to be smuggled into Myanmar and the
Philippines out of China and India.
China was reported as the source country for
69% of the quantities seized, which supports
the statements from INCB. 43% or 312 kg
were destined for Japan, while Australia ac-
counts for 32% or 233 kg seized in one single
large seizure. The Republic of Korea seized
53 kg in 2003, making an increase of 33 kg.
Less than one kilogram altogether was
seized in Eastern and Central Europe and in
Canada, while eight kilos were seized in
Western Europe. Italy in particular reported
nine cases involving four kilograms, and all
seizures were of the type of crystal metham-
phetamine or so-called “shabu” or “ice”.
Khat
The number of khat seizures reported in
CEN rose from 139 to 662 cases, due to an
overall increase and particularly due to 340
cases reported by Canada. The volume rose
significantly from 9 tonnes to 39 tonnes, in-
cluding 20.5 tonnes detected in Canada.
Khat is produced mainly in Eastern Africa.
From there, it is legally exported to the
Netherlands and the United Kingdom,
WCO ANNUAL REPORT 2003
Global overview of major drug types
Cover load
No cover load
No cover load
Machinery
Electronic appliances
Other
Machinery
where khat is not an illegal drug. These two
countries are the sources for secondary dis-
tribution. The main destination countries
are Canada, the Nordic States and Germany.
The Norwegian Customs reported “dried
khat” as a new trend. Samples of the dried
khat have been sent to a laboratory for fur-
ther analysis, and results showed that the
active cathin is kept intact during the drying
process, making the dried khat possibly five
times stronger than fresh khat. The dried
khat is either smoked in a mixture with to-
bacco or drunk as tea. Khat rapidly loses its
freshness after harvesting and has to be
moved to its users within 48 hours. This
new trend might show a change in traf-
ficking patterns in 2004.
Except for the seizures made in Canada, all
seizures were detected in Western Europe. A
detailed analysis can be found in the respec-
tive regional overviews in this report.

A new trend was reported by Norwegian
Customs – dried Khat.
(Photo courtesy of Norwegian Customs)
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WCO ANNUAL REPORT 2003

Regional overviews – Europe

Regional overviews – Europe

Overviews Main departure countries in the RILO regions Main destination countries in the RILO regions

Because of the high number of detections Eastern and Central Europe Eastern and Central Europe
and the differences in sources, use and traf- Turkey 1,320 kg Germany 567 kg
ficking patterns, we have considered the Romania 143 kg Romania 363 kg
data from the three European RILOs sepa- Serbia and Montenegro 125 kg Albania 286 kg
rately when reviewing the seizures. Bulgaria 89 kg France 132 kg
Albania 66 kg Serbia and Montenegro 104 kg

W ESTERN Western Europe Western Europe

Albania 369 kg Italy 643 kg
E UROPE Netherlands 283 kg United Kingdom 458 kg
Turkey 272 kg Germany 286 kg
Pakistan 161 kg France 129 kg
Opiates Greece 118 kg Switzerland 83 kg

Heroin
The number of heroin detections rose by 45 the freight consignments were not reported Asian routes. The number of seizures and
to 397 in 2003, while the quantity found in half of the cases. However, the cover t h e q u a n t i t y o f h e ro i n a r r i v i n g f ro m
decreased by almost 1 tonne to 2 tonnes in loads which have been reported involve Pakistan rose significantly from 9 seizures
2003. The decrease in the quantity seized is wooden furniture, wooden doors and food and 52 kg in 2002 to 30 seizures and 161 kg
due to exceptionally large seizures detected consignments of bananas and coconuts. in 2003. The heroin mainly arrives by air or
in 2002. None of the seizures made in 2003 Textiles were used twice as cover loads. by mail. Almost 101 kg were concealed in
exceeded 100 kg. the offenders’ luggage, while almost 56 kg
An examination of the seizures reported in were detected in air freight consignments.
The quantities found in freight consignment 2002 and 2003 shows that the traditional Two of the consignments were transiting
fell dramatically in 2003 to 123 kg com- “Norther n Balkan Route” via Turkey, Paris, France, where they were seized, and
pared to 1,016 kg in 2002, even though the Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary and Austria were en route to Benin. Two air freight con-
number of detections remained stable at a plays again a more dominant role than in signments were bound for Cameroon and
level of 12 cases a year. The cover loads of 2002. The so-called “Southern Balkan were seized in the United Kingdom and in
Route” to Italy via Greece, Albania or Switzerland.
Number and quantity seized in Western Europe FYROM appears to have decreased in im-
2000-2003 portance during 2003. Other opiates
During 2003, the Western European region
Quantity (kg) reported 19 cases totalling 47 kg of opium, a
When law enforcement agencies have great
No. of seizures reduction in quantity of more than 50%
successes in seizing drugs on a specific
over the previous year. Germany reported
4 routing, it is usual for criminals to shift to 11 cases in 2003 totalling 42 kg. The main
397 0
0 new routings. We thus see a shift in 2002 source countries are Iran and Turkey.
340 352
338 from the dominant routing via the
3
0
0
“Southern Balkan Route” to the traditional The United Kingdom reported one seizure
3 “Northern Balkan Route” in 2003. of 2.2 kg of morphine.
0
0 2
0 0
0
2 In Italy we see a slight decrease in the
0
0 1 heroin originating in Albania, amounting to
0 0
0 369 kg in 2003. Heroin leaving Greece rose
1
from 35 kg in 2002 to 118 kg in 2003.
2,815

2,839

2,944

1,993

0
0
0
0 0
Most of the heroin intercepted in Western
2000 2001 2002 2003
Europe arrived via the Balkan or Central
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Drug GB14/06 14/06/04 11:01 Page 17

WCO ANNUAL REPORT 2003

Regional overviews – Europe

Quantities seized in the countries on the 2 itineraries (in kg) - 2002

Grand total “Northern Balkan Route” 941

Grand total “Southern Balkan Route” 1,438,5

160
3

1.203 520
4

62

5,5
168
254

Quantities seized in the countries on the 2 itineraries (in kg) - 2003

Grand total “Northern Balkan Route” 2,068

Grand total “Southern Balkan Route” 852

286

11

568
4

1.199
783 3,5

0
66

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WCO ANNUAL REPORT 2003

Regional overviews – Europe

Cocaine
Number and quantity seized in Western Europe
2000-2003
December 2003, Italian Guardia di
Finanza seized an amount of cocaine in
Quantity (kg) Spain and the Netherlands are the two most the fibers of woven baskets.
6 important reported countries of departure
0 No. of seizures (Photos courtesy of Italian Guardia di Finanza)
0
0
in Western Europe, which indicates that
0
secondary distribution is taking place on a
5
0 5 large scale from these countries. note that the United Kingdom seized 94% of
0 0
0
0
4,934 0
0 Unfortunately, the departure countries for the quantity and accounts for 89% of the
4 4,601
0 4 17 tonnes of cocaine were not reported. cases arriving from Nigeria. The cocaine is
0 0
0 0 usually concealed in the offender’s luggage
0 0
3
3,662 Cocaine from Nigeria is becoming more sig- or on the person, such as being taped to the
0 3
0
0
0
0
nificant. In 2002, 25 shipments totalling 145 body or swallowed.
0 0 kg were seized. In 2003, these figures rose to
2
0
0
2
0
63 shipments and 234 kg. It is interesting to Nigeria was also reported as a destination
0 2,606 0
0 0
1
0 1
Western European cocaine seizures 2002-2003
0 0 Major countries in terms of quantity
0 0
0 0
13,558

37,220

35,504

55,776

No. of seizures Quantity - kg

0 0 Country 2002 2003 2002 2003
2000 2001 2002 2003 Spain 477 349 13,744 30,959
Netherlands 2,360 2,641 8,117 15,952
United Kingdom 501 436 2,185 3,235
France 452 574 2,360 2,033
As shown in the graph, both the number of Italy 129 118 1,434 1,317
cocaine detections and the total quantity Germany 447 480 1,921 934
seized in Western Europe were the highest Portugal 104 119 1,763 572
on record in 2003. 2001 had already been a Belgium 13 51 3,658 426
record year in this respect. The figures also Switzerland 54 78 109 146
indicate that demand for the drug is still Denmark 6 18 6 75
Total above 4,543 4,864 35,303 55,654
high and INCB states that many European
countries report an increase in the abuse of
cocaine.
Main departure countries 2002-2003

These were the ten countries seizing more

than 99% of the cocaine seized in Western No. of seizures Quantity - kg
Europe in 2002 and 2003. Switzerland and Country 2002 2003 2002 2003
Venezuela 216 360 4,928 10.261
Denmark seem not to have an important
Colombia 114 75 4,304 5,724
role, but the quantities seized in these coun-
Brazil 399 495 3,516 3,390
tries are increasing. Suriname 481 732 2,302 2,755
Curacao 1,367 1,325 3,208 2,386
Unsurprisingly, most cocaine arrives from Trinidad and Tobago 31 64 171 1,967
South America, especially from Venezuela, Cuba 4 6 8 1,883
Colombia, Brazil and Suriname. Trinidad Spain 61 105 5,708 1,772
and Tobago and Cuba are together with the Dutch Antilles* 174 78 411 1,345
Dutch Antilles becoming a more significant Ecuador 108 77 4,574 1,035
region for departures of cocaine shipments. Total above 2,955 3,317 29,130 32,518
*Dutch Antilles – not specified
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WCO ANNUAL REPORT 2003

Regional overviews – Europe

country for 116 kg in 2003. Four minor Cannabis

seizures were made at Frankfurt, Germany,
in express mail with three shipments origi-
nating in Argentina. Another four seizures
were made in Amsterdam, and the drugs
were mainly transported by air passengers,
twice from Venezuela and once from
Curacao. One seizure was made in the
postal sector.
The greatest number of detections is made
at airports, accounting for 68% of the total
number of seizures. The larger quantities ar-
rive by ships or boats, and the cocaine is ei-
ther concealed in the freight consignment or
on board the vessels.
Cyprus reported one seizure of eight kilo-
grams of cocaine. The drug was concealed
in a freight consignment, and the commer-
cial vessel arrived from Brazil and was en
route to South Africa.
Crack cocaine
Nine seizures of crack cocaine were reported
in Western Europe in 2003, totalling 17 kg.
Most seizures were made at Amsterdam air-
port, Suriname being mentioned as the
source country for three shipments.
Cocaine in solution
Cocaine in solution was detected 12 times,
amounting to 44 kg, involving a reduction
of 12 kg and of eight seizures in compar-
ison with 2002. The United Kingdom was
responsible for 8 of the 12 seizures, while
the biggest seizure took place at Madrid air-
port in Spain. The cocaine is usually dis-
solved in rum or wine bottles, but toiletries
such as lotion or shampoo bottles are also
being frequently used. Eight different de-
parture countries were reported during
2003, with Saint Martin, the USA, Guyana
and Jamaica being the most important in
terms of quantity.
Cannabis resin seizures in Western Europe, involving a total of more than 500 kilos in 2003
No. of seizures
Country 2002
Spain 650
France 104
United Kingdom 31
Germany 124
Netherlands 26
Belgium 11
Ireland 5 8
Denmark 7 12
The quantity of cannabis oil increased from
15 to 135 kg in 2003. The number of detec-
tions rose from 1 to 12, carried out mainly
in Spain. Nine seizures were made of
cannabis seeds or plants.
Cannabis resin
2003 was a record year for cannabis resin
seizures in Western Europe. A total of 278
tonnes were seized in 2003 compared to 217
tonnes in each of the years 2001 and 2002,
while 238 tonnes were seized in 2000. There
was an 18% increase in interception rates to
1,224 cases, Spain accounting for 66% of the
number of seizures made.
Morocco remains the main source for
cannabis resin, accounting for 74% of the
quantity seized. Due to its geographical lo-
cation, Spain remained the main gateway to
Western Europe, with 18% of the quantity
leaving there, even though the cannabis
resin originates in Morocco. France reported
a record quantity, totalling 57 tonnes in
2003, compared to 38 tonnes the previous
year. Germany also experienced the highest
level in years, with a quantity of 6 tonnes.
India is another source country for cannabis
resin seized in Western Europe. 722 kg were
Quantity seized in kg
2003 2002 2003
808 126,321 186,959
128 38,155 57,315
30 18,363 17,893
112 1,960 6,258
42 22,055 6,164
9 6,661 1,270
387 730
170 603
seized in 2003 compared to only 97 kg in
2002. Five of the 27 seizures arriving from
India were detected in France, involving a
total of 389 kg. Seven seizures amounting to
15 kg were seized in postal traffic at
Frankfurt airport in Germany, with two con-
signments in transit for Israel. Israel de-
t e c t e d f i v e c a s e s i n m a i l f ro m I n d i a
amounting to 10.5 kg.
Spain seized 97% of the 157 tonnes of
cannabis transported by ships or boats.
Major distributions take place by means of
small boats or ferries to Spain. Road trans-
port is used from there to France and to
other Western European countries. Road
transport accounts for 42% of the quantities
seized and, together with 55% carried out in
the maritime sector, it can be seen that other
means of transport have a minor role.
Concealment in the means of transport or in
freight consignments accounts for 76% of the
quantity. It is interesting to note the enor-
mous increase in drugs recovered from either
the sea or the beach. The number of detec-
tions increased from 30 cases to 41 cases in
2003, these accounting for 49 tonnes, com-
pared to only 7.5 tonnes in 2002.

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Regional overviews – Europe

Herbal cannabis Herbal cannabis - departure countries Psychotropic drugs

The volume of herbal cannabis intercepted for more than 1,000 kg in 2003
in Western Europe in 2003 decreased signif-
icantly in comparison with 2002. The up- Departure 2002 2003 MDMA (ecstasy)
ward trend in the period from 2000 to 2002 The volume of MDMA intercepted in Western
came to an end. Thailand 15,679 11,437 Europe continues its downward trend to the
Ghana 2,443 4,167 lowest figure in recent years at almost 2.1
The quantities seized during the last five Netherlands 1,665 3,445 tonnes. The number of interceptions also de-
years are extremely low in comparison with Jamaica 7,989 3,224
creased over the years, from almost 400 cases
Albania 2,307 2,242
the annual totals of more than 100 tonnes in 2000 to only 272 cases in 2003.
Nigeria 7,071 1,625
seized in the mid-1990s.
Honduras 0 1,441
Herbal cannabis seizures 1999-2003 Germany 403 1,324 MDMA seizures in Western Europe
in tonnes South Africa 13,012 1,042 2000-2003

59
country for a maritime freight consignment
58 Quantity (kg)
seized in Antwerp, Belgium. No further
seizures from Honduras were made. No. of seizures

46
All the Albanian herbal cannabis was seized
4
in Italy. It is interesting to note that no other 0 4
37 0 399 0
country in Western Europe had detected 0 378 0
34 347
drugs from that country, and Albania might 3
0 3
be considered as a high risk source country 0 0
0 0
272
for the Western European market. During 2
0 2
the last two years, annual totals of Albanian 0 0
0 0
herbal cannabis were around 2.2 tonnes.
1
This is considerably lower in comparison 0 1
0 0
with the nine and seven tonnes in 2000 and 0 0
2,627

2,651

2,400

2,108

1999 2000 2001 2002 2003
The number of seizures remained stable at
444 and 440 for 2002 and 2003 respec-
tively. During 2002 and 2003, 17 cases ex-
ceeded 1,000 kg. Only six of these seizures
were made in 2003. Fewer exceptionally
large seizures were seized last year, which
explains the decrease in the quantity seized.
The main country of origin is Thailand, fol-
lowed by Ghana, Jamaica, Albania and
Nigeria. South Africa was reported as one of
the main source countries in 2002, but the
quantities departing decreased from 13
tonnes in 2002 to only 1 tonne in 2003.
Honduras was mentioned as the source
2001 respectively.
Belgium detected 3.7 tonnes in a container
arriving from Ghana, while another ten
seizures took place in 2003, and six minor
seizures were found in the postal sector.
INCB estimates that Switzerland cultivates
between 300 and 500 hectares for the pro-
duction of 50-200 tonnes of herbal cannabis,
which is enough to satisfy local demand.
Switzerland was not reported as a source
country for any herbal cannabis seizures.
The quantity seized in Switzerland rose from
122 kg in 2002 to 260 kg last year.
Herbal cannabis has a minor role in the
Nordic States, where only 93 kg were
seized in comparison with 1,282 kg of
cannabis resin.
0 0
2000 2001 2002 2003
The Netherlands remains the main source
country for MDMA with 70% of the ship-
ments starting there in comparison with
only 64% in 2002. The quantity leaving the
Netherlands decreased enormously from
1,325 kg in 2002 to 570 kg in 2003.
Belgium had a dominant role as a source
country in 2002, from where 433 kg were
reported as having been exported. Law en-
forcement agencies have been combating
MDMA smuggling from the Netherlands
and Belgium over the last few years. As a re-
sult, there seems to be a shift to other coun-
tries which function as departure countries
for MDMA.

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Regional overviews – Europe

Main departure countries for MDMA in kg Main departure countries for MDMA in kg Amsterdam. Two couriers were found to
2002 2003 have around 3.6 kg each taped to their
bodies en route to Indonesia.

In 2003, 51 countries were mentioned as

destination countries of MDMA, demon-
strating that MDMA smuggling is becoming
a global problem.

The numbers and quantities detected in air

traffic decreased dramatically from 1,068 kg
in 2002 to only 225 kg in 2003. There is a
particular decrease in the seizures carried
out at airports in the Netherlands, Germany
1,325 Netherlands 97 France 570 Netherlands 311 France and France. Of the ten largest seizures of
433 Belgium 10 Italy 8 Belgium 90 Italy more than 15 kg of MDMA detected within
109 Germany 368 Germany
the last two years, only one case was re-
ported in 2003.

These five countries represent 94% of the which were contained in the parcels. More The use of vehicles remained stable in terms
quantity of the cases in which the source than half of the quantity was seized in of the number of cases, but the quantities
was given. Unfortunately, the source December 2003. It is interesting to note that transported rose from 1 tonne in 2002 to
country was not reported for 592 kg of three seizures were made in air freight con- 1.56 tonnes in 2003. A total of 1,235 kg was
MDMA. signments declared as electrical appliances, destined for the United Kingdom in 2003,
such as a electronic cloth dryer (19 kg), air which is double the amount seized in 2002,
As in previous years, the United Kingdom humidifier (5 kg) and a washing machine even though the number of cases remained
remains the largest market for MDMA, with (3.5 kg). stable, amounting to ten cases per year.
61% of the quantity seized destined for that
country. The USA was one of the larger mar- The Republic of Korea, Indonesia and Mali
kets in 2001 and 2002, but there was less were all mentioned as destination countries
destined for the USA in 2003. The MDMA for one shipment of 7 kg each. A German
which was bound for the USA was mainly Customs officer at Frankfurt airport arrested
detected at Amsterdam airport, either in the a courier with 7 kg of MDMA taped to his
postal sector or in the possession of air pas- body. Another courier was arrested at Paris
sengers. Belgium is another departure airport with 7.2 kg of MDMA destined for
country for MDMA destined for the USA, Mali. The courier had departed from
followed to a lesser extent by Germany and
the United Kingdom.
MDMA - numbers and quantities seized in air traffic
The number of seizures seized in the
Netherlands (26 cases, 43.8 kg and 22,102 2002 2003
tablets) and Belgium (one case, 5,000 Country No. of seizures Quantity - kg No. of seizures Quantity - kg
tablets) destined for South Africa rose signif- Netherlands 55 348 23 108
icantly in comparison with the six cases to- Germany 19 127 8 52
talling 26 kg and 11,200 tablets made in France 19 191 4 25
2002. Most of the seizures were made in ex- Belgium 22 23 16 18
press mail parcels, and the MDMA was United Kingdom 0 0 4 12
Total above 115 689 55 215
mainly concealed in the soles of shoes
Grand total 135 1,068 62 225
21
Drug GB14/06 14/06/04 11:01 Page 22

WCO ANNUAL REPORT 2003

Regional overviews – Europe

Amphetamine Top 3 source countries Top 3 source countries

The level of amphetamine seizures increased in Eastern and Central Europe - kg - 2002 in Eastern and Central Europe - kg - 2003
for the third consecutive year, and the quan-
tity seized in 2003 is almost that of the level Western Europe Western Europe
of 2000. The number of cases per year fluc- Netherlands 658 Netherlands 541
tuated over the five year period between France 4 France 347
125 and 150. Germany 31 Germany 153

Amphetamine seized in Western Europe Eastern and Central Europe Eastern and Central Europe
2000-2003 in kg Poland 29 Poland 49
Lithuania 30 Lithuania 24
Estonia 53 Estonia 3
1,510 1,466

875 922 while there was an increase of 11 in the

number of seizures to 23 cases in 2003.

2000 2001 2002 2003
Even though the number of detections made
in the United Kingdom fell from five to
three cases, the quantity seized rose from
324 kg in 2002 to 744 kg in 2003. British
Customs officers succeeded in detecting 300
kg of amphetamine in a freight consignment
arriving from France. Another large seizure
amounting to 246 kg was detected in a
horse box, leaving the Netherlands.
The Irish Customs reported three cases of
amphetamines totalling 51 kg in 2003, in
comparison with no seizures in 2002. The
largest seizure of 46 kg was made inside a
lorry. The declared goods were items of fur-
niture. Another 4.4 kg were recovered from
the sea at Kilmore quay.
Concealments in the freight area became
more significant in 2003. The table shows
the five largest seizures made during 2003.

The Netherlands is the main source country Unfortunately, the cover loads were rarely
by number and quantity, even though the reported, making it impossible to draw any
number fell from 51 to 43 cases and the conclusions in this respect.
quantity fell from 658 to 541 kg in 2003. It
is interesting to note that Bulgaria was not
mentioned as a source country for any am- Top 5 – Quantity seized in freight consignments in 2003
phetamine seizures made in Wester n
Europe. Estonia was a source country for Id. CEN Date Country Location Routing Transport Quantity - kg
Finland and Sweden in 2001 and 2002.
This was much less the case in 2003, when 67978 1 Dec. 03 GB Coquelles FR-GB Truck/Lorry 300
only 2.5 kg departed from Estonia in 2003 56101 26 Mar. 03 GB Manchester UN-BE-GB Truck/Lorry 90
in comparison with 53 kg in 2002. 59489 22 July 03 GB Hull NL-GB Vessel 79
51555 19 Feb. 03 FR Calais DE-BE-FR-GB Truck/Lorry 50
51552 1 Feb. 03 FR Calais NL-BE-FR-GB Truck/Lorry 20
As in the case of MDMA, the United
Kingdom is also the largest European
market for amphetamines. The quantity
destined for the UK market rose from 321 to
825 kg in 2003. Scandinavia is also a large
market. Especially in Norway the quantities
seized rose from 35 to 119 kg in 2003,
22
Drug GB14/06 14/06/04 11:01 Page 23
Methamphetamine
Only 14 cases of methamphetamine were re-
ported in 2003, amounting to 5 kg and
10,569 tablets. Italy reported nine cases,
which totalled more than 4 kg. It is inter-
esting to note that most of the seizures were
made at Milan airport in connection with ar-
rivals from the Philippines, transported by
air passengers or by post. The methampheta-
mine seized in Italy was in the crystal form of
so-called “shabu”, which could be the start of
a quickly growing illegal market of this kind
of substance in Western Europe. Smaller
amounts of crystal methamphetamine were
also seized in Germany.
Crystal methamphetamine or so-called ‘ice”
has been common in the Asia/Pacific region
for many years.
Benzodiazepines
Diazepam, better known as Valium, and flu-
nitrazepam, known as Rohypnol, belong to
the benzodiazepine family. Benzodiazepines
are sedatives that cause dose-related depres-
sion affecting the central nervous system. In
2003, Member States, especially the Nordic
States, reported huge quantities of diazepam,
flunitrazepam and buprenorphine. For this
reason, we have looked at these three psy-
chotropic substances in more detail.
The volume of diazepam decreased from al-
most 600,000 tablets in 2002 to 86,490
tablets in 2003, while the number of detec-
tions rose by 19 to 64 cases. The figure for
2002 was also affected by two large seizures
of more than 300,000 tablets. The main
source country is Thailand. The Norwegian
WCO ANNUAL REPORT 2003
Regional overviews – Europe

The GdF seized 505 kg of cocaine in an
airfreight consignment originating from
Customs seized 75% of the volume of di- Venezuela and bound for Spain. The
azepam, while Norway and Sweden ac- declared candles were made of cocaine.
counted for 84% of the cases reported. (Photos courtesy of Italian Guardia di Finanza)
Flunitrazepam is the active substance in
Rohypnol and is internationally listed as a
controlled substance. As in the case of di- Main countries seizing khat - in kg
2002
azepam, Norway and Sweden reported most
of these cases. The source countr y is
Lithuania, accounting for 62% of the quan-
tity seized, followed by Romania (14%).
Norway, Sweden and Denmark are the main
markets for Rohypnol.
Buprenorphine is a semi-synthetic opiate de-
rived from thebaine. It is an analgesic
(painkiller) and has gained a great deal of no-
toriety for its ability to cut short severe opiate
addiction, including heroin and methadone
addiction. The most common brand names
2,480 Germany 660 Finland
are Subutex, Temgesic or Buprenex. 1,760 Norway 973 Denmark
1,302 Sweden 230 Ireland
The number of reported buprenorphine
cases fell from 36 cases to 14 in 2003, when Main countries seizing khat - in kg
only 17,747 tablets were seized, which is 2003
only half the quantity seized in 2002.
Almost all seizures made in 2003 were re-
ported by Finland. France is the main
source country, the drug arriving mainly via
air passengers or via mail.
Khat
The volume of khat more than doubled,
reaching 18.5 tonnes in 322 detections, 188
cases more than in 2002. The quantities re-
ported from the Nordic States in particular
were subject to increases.
5,341 Germany 1,634 Finland
4,456 Norway 1,599 Denmark
The main source country for khat seized 3,363 Sweden 1,035 Ireland
23
Drug GB14/06 14/06/04 11:01 Page 24

WCO ANNUAL REPORT 2003

Regional overviews – Europe

was either the Netherlands or the United

Kingdom. The khat from the Netherlands is
E ASTERN AND CENTRAL
The Eastern and Central European region re-
ported 65 heroin seizures totalling 2,271 kg
normally transported by car to Germany
and Denmark, while khat from the United
E UROPE in 2003, an increase of 28% by quantity in
comparison with 2002. The table shows the
Kingdom is transported by air to six countries which seized more than 50 kg
Scandinavia. Khat is illegal in Denmark, in 2003. Detections made in other countries
Opiates
which was mentioned as a secondary distri- have a lesser role in 2003, as the table shows.
bution country for almost 3 tonnes of khat
in 46 incidents. Khat leaving Denmark is al-
most exclusively seized in Helsingborg,
Main interceptions of heroin seizures above 50 kg
Sweden, after use of the ferry connection
between the two countries.
1,200

More than 80% of the khat was destined for

a Nordic State. Countries such as the USA,
Ireland, France, Italy and Germany reported
minor quantities.
2002
2003
The use of air freight consignments rose
from 589 kg in four incidents to 3,098 kg in Grand total 2002 1,767
Grand total 2003 2,271
15 cases in 2003.

Fresh khat is normally chewed while it is

still fresh. Transportation from the source
country (mainly from East Africa) to the
consumer markets must therefore take place
595

within 48 hours.
568
520

The RILO for Western Europe reported a

new trend detected in Norway, namely dried
khat. Samples of the dried khat have been
sent to a laboratory for further analysis, and
the results were that the active cathin is kept
intact during the drying process, making the
287
255

dried khat possibly five times stronger than

fresh khat.
168
160

72

66

61
59

17
10
Turkey

Bulgaria

Hungary

Serbia and Montenegro

Greece

Slovenia

Other countries

24
Drug GB14/06 14/06/04 11:01 Page 25
The largest seizure during the last two years
was made in Ipsala, Turkey. A Turkish-regis-
tered truck was selected for a more detailed
inspection, leading to 286 kg of heroin being
found in the load area of the trailer. The
freight consignment was bound for Albania.
Heroin is almost exclusively transported by
road vehicles. A consideration of the ten
largest heroin seizures shows that most
seizures were made in Turkey and that the
drug was concealed in the structure of
trucks or their trailers on nine occasions.
The use of freight consignments rose to five
cases, as compared to three in 2002, while
the annual totals remained stable at 235 kg.
More detailed information on the routing
can be obtained from the respective regional
section of this Report.
Cocaine
There were 21 cocaine seizures reported in
Eastern Europe, accounting for a total of
482 kg and representing eight seizures
more than in 2002 and almost double the
quantity seized in 2002. The figure for
2003 is boosted by a single large seizure of
397 kg of cocaine detected at Gdynia sea-
port in Poland. The container ship arrived
via Hamburg, Germany, originating in
Maracaibo and Puerto Cabello in
Venezuela. The cocaine was concealed in-
side the freight consignment, which was
declared as machinery.
The second largest seizure made in 2003
was detected in Tallinn, Estonia, where 45
kg were found in the engine room of a com-
mercial tanker by the crew. Again, the vessel
arrived from Venezuela.
The Hungarian Customs reported 13 seizures
totalling almost 28 kg of cocaine. This is a
huge increase in comparison with the pre-
vious year, when four seizures totalling
WCO ANNUAL REPORT 2003
Regional overviews – Europe
3.8 kg were made. Venezuela, Peru and Albania continued to be the main source
Brazil are the main source countries for co- country for herbal cannabis, accounting for
caine shipments destined for Hungary. Most 86% of the quantity seized or 1,699 kg, even
seizures were carried out in air traffic, the though the number of departures fell from
offender having swallowed the drugs. nine in 2002 to only three in 2003. Greece
and Italy continued to be used as the main
gateways for Albanian herbal cannabis en-
Cannabis tering Western Europe. A large quantity of
Albanian herbal cannabis was seized at Italian
Cannabis resin seaports, indicating that the route from
During the last two years, the number of Albania via Greece to Italy is still a favourite.
cannabis resin seizures remained un-
changed at ten seizures per year, while the
quantity rose from 269 kg in 2002 to 457 kg Psychotropic drugs
in 2003. Bulgaria, the Czech Republic and
Turkey reported two seizures each. One Amphetamine
seizure each was reported from Estonia, The four largest amphetamine seizures were
Greece, FYROM and Poland. Bulgaria ac- made in Bulgaria, mainly at the land frontier
counts for 50% of the quantity seized.
Albania was the main source country, in-
volving five shipments and 318 kg, while
Turkey remains the main destination
country, accounting for 67% of the quan-
tity seized.
Cannabis resin is almost exclusively trans-
ported by use of road vehicles, and the
places of concealment are usually in the
structure of the vehicle.
Herbal cannabis
Herbal cannabis was seized in nine of the
Eastern European countries, the total
amount being 1,962 kg as a result of 30 de-
tections, 4 tonnes and 24 cases fewer than in
2002. The 2002 figures were affected by two
large seizures totalling over 5 tonnes of
herbal cannabis seized in Kakavia, Greece.
There were no similar seizures in terms of
quantity in 2003. The Greek Customs suc-
In April Bulgarian Customs seized
ceeded in carrying out two large seizures of almost 60 kg of amphetamine in the
more than 800 kg in 2003. Both seizures water tank of a mobile home. Drugs were
also found under the dashboard and in
were made in Kristalopigi. In one case, the
the right mudguard.
drugs were concealed in the ceiling and in
the refrigeration compartment, while the (Photos courtesy of Bulgarian Customs)
other seizure was carried out inside a freight
consignment of charcoal.
25
Drug GB14/06 14/06/04 11:01 Page 26
WCO ANNUAL REPORT 2003
Regional overviews – Europe
Amphetamine seizures of more than 20 kg carried out in 2003 in Bulgaria
CEN ID Date Location
53688 2 Apr. 03 Andreevo
51486 16 Mar. 03 Svilengrad
59434 30 June 03 Andreevo
59470 25 July 03 Andreevo
between Bulgaria and Turkey at Andreevo.
The most common way of smuggling large
amounts of amphetamine involves the use
of fuel or water tanks.
Bulgarian law enforcement agencies dis-
mantled three illegal amphetamine labora-
tories during 2002, while six laboratories
were dismantled in 2003. Approximately
1 tonne of amphetamine base, ampheta-
mine powder and tablets was seized during
these operations. The black markets for am-
phetamine produced in Bulgaria are Turkey
and Syria. None of the amphetamine seized
in the Western European region originated
in Bulgaria nor had it transited that country.
The Polish Customs detected amphetamine
in two cases. In one case, the drugs arrived
by train from Germany. The other consign-
ment was bound for the Netherlands. The
Czech Republic carried out three postal
seizures of amphetamine in tablet form.
The letters were bound for the USA.
MDMA (ecstasy)
Turkey reported four seizures of MDMA, to-
talling 282,242 tablets, slightly more than in
2002. The source country was reported as
the Netherlands in two cases, while Bulgaria
and Turkey were each mentioned once. The
Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Poland
and Romania reported one seizure each, in-
volving between 300 and 4,130 tablets.
26
Route Means of transport
YU-BG-TR Mobile home
BG-BG-TR Railway train
BG-TR-SY Car/passenger van
BG-TR-SY Car/passenger van
C OMMONWEALTH OF
I NDEPENDENT S TATES
(CIS)
Unfortunately, it was not possible to receive
seizure data in time from other countries
than from the Russian Federation, which re-
ported 298 cases above the minimum limits
in 2003 as compared with 341 in 2002.
Opiates
Heroin
Russian Federation reported 98 heroin
seizures totalling 602 kg in 2003, in compar-
ison with 101 seizures in 2002 involving
only 176 kg. The largest seizure reported
amounted to 144 kg and was made at
Troytsk in September 2003. A vehicle which
had arrived from Uzbekistan was found to be
carrying the drugs, which were concealed in
wooden crates containing pears. The other
seizure of more than 100 kg was carried out
at the Orenburg land frontier. The Russian-
registered van which had arrived from
Kazakhstan was found to be carrying the
drugs concealed in the doors and ceiling.
Kazakhstan is the main transshipment point
for Russian heroin. Almost 350 kg in 10
cases left Kazakhstan, in comparison with
only 5 kg in four cases in 2002. Uzbekistan
was reported as the departure country for
the above-mentioned case of 144 kg of
heroin. Heroin leaving Tajikistan decreased
Quantity Place of concealment
59.5 kg In water tank,
under dashboard
39.7 kg Passenger
compartment
33.7 kg Fuel tank,
in rear seat
22.3 kg Fuel tank
in terms of number and quantity.
The involvement of Tajikistan, Uzbekistan
and Kazakhstan indicates that the Silk
Road route still has an important role in
that region.
Almost 80% of the quantities are trans-
ported by vehicles which are also used as
the places of concealment. Detections made
in rail traffic rose significantly to 81 kg
(48 kg in 2002).
Opium
The number of opium seizures decreased
slightly to 16 cases in 2003 and totalled
only 7 kg in comparison with 118 kg in
2002. The figures for 2002 were affected by
two large seizures accounting for more than
105 kg of opium.
In eleven cases, the departure country was
not reported. Ukraine, the Russian
Federation and Azerbaijan were mentioned
as departure countries in 2003.
All means of transport are used for smug-
gling opium. Four cases each were detected
on board trains and road vehicles, while
three seizures each were made on board air-
craft and sea vessels. The opium was con-
cealed on the offender in eleven cases.
Opium poppy straw
Opium poppy straw was seized in 21 cases
and totalled 86 kg, representing a decrease
in the number of cases and a slight increase
in the quantity seized in comparison with
Drug GB14/06 14/06/04 11:01 Page 27
2002. Nineteen cases and almost 99% of the
quantity arrived from Ukraine.
The largest seizure of 32.6 kg was made on
24 December 2003 in Moscow. The opium
poppy straw was concealed inside the spare
wheel of the vehicle. A Ukrainian male was
arrested.
On four occasions, road vehicles were used
to transport 46 kg, while almost 15 kg were
seized on three occasions in air traffic. The
most common way of smuggling opium
poppy straw involves concealing it in the of-
fenders’ luggage.
Cocaine
The Russian Federation reported six cases
amounting to 42 kg of cocaine in 2003, in
comparison with only two cases and 2 kg
seized in 2002. This might indicate that co-
caine is becoming more common in the
Russian Federation, even though the num-
bers of seizures are too low to allow any
conclusions. Cuba, Ecuador and Finland
were reported as being the departure coun-
tries for two shipments each, while Cuba
and Ecuador were the source countries for
95% of the quantities seized.
Cannabis
Cannabis resin
Only nine seizures were reported in 2003
in comparison with 23 the year before. A
closer consideration of the quantities
seized also shows a decreasing trend, with
only 35 kg seized in 2003, 78 kg less than
in 2002.
Herbal cannabis
Herbal cannabis remains the most com-
monly abused drug in the Russian
Federation. In 2003, the Russian authorities
detected 75 cases, involving the seizure of
more than 6 tonnes of herbal cannabis, a
slight decrease from 2002.
In terms of the number of cases, most of the
herbal cannabis originates in Kazakhstan,
even though 95% of the quantity was re-
ported as the departure country being un-
known. Most herbal cannabis is transported
b y t r a i n , f o l l o w e d b y ro a d v e h i c l e s .
Unfortunately, the means of concealment
WCO ANNUAL REPORT 2003
Regional overviews – Europe
are reported as being ‘other’ for 95% of the
quantities seized, and so no conclusions
may be drawn in this respect.
Psychotropic drugs
Seizures of psychotropic drugs are not so
common in the Russian Federation.
The quantity of benzodiazepam rose by 120
kg to 183 kg in 2003, but the figure is af-
fected by a large seizure of 175 kg made in
an air cargo consignment arriving from
Skopje, FYROM, en route to Yerevan,
Armenia.
There were only few seizures of ampheta-
mine and methadone and no seizures at all
of MDMA (ecstasy). The numbers of
seizures do not allow any further conclu-
sions to be drawn.

Dutch Customs seized 7,712 litres of
piperonal inside the flase bottom of
electric water cookers. The consignment
arrived from Yantian in China.
(Photos courtesy of Dutch Customs)
27
Drug GB14/06 14/06/04 11:01 Page 28
WCO ANNUAL REPORT 2003
Regional overviews – Asia/Pacific
Regional overviews – Asia/Pacific
Overview
The RILO for Asia/Pacific received seizure
information on 139 cases, made by agencies
other than Customs. A total of 302 cases
were reported under the current minimum
limits, and the total quantity of drugs
reached 25 kg. These seizures could unfor-
tunately not be taken into consideration.
The number of cases taken into account and
reported by the Asia/Pacific region rose from
694 to 781 seizures in 2003.
Opiates
A record seizure of 8,100 kg of opium
poppy straw was carried out in Lahore,
Pakistan. The poppy straw was found on
premises.
Opium
The number of opium seizures remained
stable, totalling 72 cases in 2003, while the
quantity decreased from 478 kg in 2002 to
only 323 kg in 2003. Most seizures were re-
ported by Iran, even though Pakistan’s
seizures involved greater quantities (145 kg
in 2003), after 364 kg the year before. Iran
and Pakistan are the main departure coun-
tries for shipments of opium, and most
seizures were destined for Canada, the
United States and the United Kingdom.
Tw o s e i z u r e s w e r e d e s t i n e d f o r
Turkmenistan and amounted to 54 kg.
Chinese Taipei was reported as a destination
for 9.2 kg in two cases, no seizures having
been reported in 2002.
The largest numbers of opium seizures were
made in postal traffic, whereas the largest
quantities were detected in vehicles. Almost
232 kg were concealed in the means of
transport.
Heroin
The CEN database records 338 heroin
seizures in 2003 in comparison with 204 in
2002. The quantities seized rose significantly
28
from 1,280 kg in 2002 to 2,370 kg in
2003. Pakistan accounts for 75% of the
number of seizures and for 87% of the
quantity seized, while only 284 kg or 22%
were reported for Pakistan in 2002.
Pakistan remains the main source country
for heroin.
The African continent was a prime target in
2003. A total of 21 shipments accounting
for 26 kg were seized in Pakistan en route
to Nigeria in comparison with only eight in
2002. Ethiopia was the destination country
for 17 shipments, involving a total of 16
kg, seized before departure from Pakistan.
The same trend is shown for the Côte
d’Ivoire. A total of 15 cases or 25 kg of
heroin was destined for this country in
comparison with a single seizure in 2002.
It is interesting to note that most of the
couriers en route to Africa had swallowed
the heroin.
Nigeria, Ethiopia and Côte d’Ivoire did not
report any seizures to the CEN database.
Five postal shipments were bound for the
United Kingdom and four for the USA. All
seizures were made in Pakistan.
Cocaine
The number of cocaine detections rose from
20 in 2002 to 26 in 2003, and the quantity
rose from 36 kg in 2002 to 78 kg in 2003.
Indonesia reported this year three seizures,
which accounted for almost 30 kg, com-
pared with none in 2002. In one case, the
courier arrived via Singapore from the
Netherlands, the cocaine being concealed
inside a pipe for a paraglider. The other
seizure, exceeding 10 kg, originated in
Singapore, the cocaine being concealed in a
blanket.
Besides Brazil and the Netherlands as source
countries accounting for 28 kg, Peru and
South Africa were reported as the source
countries for four shipments, representing a
total of 12 kg and 9 kg respectively in 2003,
in comparison with none in 2002.
Cocaine shipments from Peru were detected
in Hong Kong, China, (two cases), Sydney,
Australia and Auckland, New Zealand; three
cases relate to seizures made in air traffic,
while one parcel was sent by express carrier
to Sydney.
All seizures from South Africa were carried
out at the airports of Sydney (three) and
Perth (one), and the cocaine detected in
Sydney was found on the couriers’ bodies.
The couriers all lived in South Africa, but
had different nationalities – South African
(born in 1969), the British (born in 1944)
and Italian (born in 1941).
The Chinese Customs reported two cases to-
talling 5 kg in 2003 in comparison with
none in 2002. 4.5 kg of cocaine was found
in the lid of a suitcase belonging to a Thai fe-
male and a Nigerian male, both in their late
30s. They had begun their journey in Brazil,
travelling via Hong Kong, China and ending
in Shenzhen.
Customs officers at Auckland, New Zealand,
reported a seizure of 7 kg mixed within the
fibreglass shell of the false bottom of a suit-
case. The male couriers, citizens of South
Africa and Israel, had departed from Lima,
Peru, and travelled via Santiago Chile
Papetee Tahiti Roratonga Cook Islands be-
fore arriving in Auckland, their final desti-
nation being Australia.
Cannabis
Cannabis resin
The number of cases of cannabis resin
seizures rose, while the quantity seized de-
creased by almost 3 tonnes to 17.5 tonnes in
2003. Pakistan and Japan reported 82% of
the seizures, although Pakistan accounts for
94% of the total quantity seized.
The main source countries for cannabis resin
are Pakistan, followed by India and Nepal.
Drug GB14/06 14/06/04 11:01 Page 29
The largest seizure reported from this region
was carried out by Pakistan. Almost 2.5
tonnes were found inside the specially built
cavities of a water tanker.
The INCB states in its report that the north-
west of India has emerged as a significant
source of cannabis resin. Cannabis resin
from Nepal is also smuggled into India over
land. Cannabis resin originating in India
and Pakistan transits through Bangladesh on
its way to Europe.
Herbal cannabis
The Asia/Pacific region reported a slight in-
crease in the number of seizures, while the
quantity also rose from 14 tonnes in 2002 to
16.3 tonnes in 2003.
The Indian Customs discovered 6.4 tonnes
of herbal cannabis inside two road tankers.
Most of the herbal cannabis in this region is
transported by road vehicles, which ex-
plains why the most-used modus operandi
is to conceal the drugs in the structure of the
mean of transportation.
Many seizures were made at airports, but
the quantities were quite small and did not
exceed 300 kg in 2003.
The INCB states that most of the herbal
cannabis which is smuggled into
Bangladesh is destined for the illicit market
in that country.
Psychotropic drugs
Amphetamine
No seizures of amphetamine were re-
ported during 2003.
Methamphetamine
The number of detections of methampheta-
mine rose from 47 (713 kg) in 2002 to 57
(723 kg) in 2003. 35% of the seizures were
made by the Japanese Customs, repre-
senting 43% of the total quantity seized.
The largest seizure of methamphetamine
was carried out in Japan in March 2003, in-
volving 260 kg being found in a freight con-
signment. The drug was concealed in the
pedestals of porcelain dolls. In May 2003,
the Australian Customs detected the
second-largest seizure carried out in 2003,
which amounted to 233 kg of methamphet-
amine in a sea freight consignment arriving
from China. The drug was concealed among
Pan Yu Rice sticks.
China was reported as being the source
country in 70% of the cases of methampheta-
mine seized in 2003 in comparison with only
7% in 2002. Unfortunately, 14% of the quan-
tity was reported with the departure country
unknown. The main destination country is,
as already mentioned, Japan, both in terms of
the number of cases and of quantity. The
Republic of Korea was reported as being a
destination country in 15 cases both in 2002
and 2003, and the quantity rose from almost
20 kg in 2002 to 53 kg in 2003. China re-
ported 7 cases in 2003, which amounted to
11 kg. It is interesting to note that all but one
seizure had arrived from Myanmar.
WCO ANNUAL REPORT 2003
Regional overviews – Asia/Pacific

German Customs seized 3.9 kg of white
heroin hidden inside cricket balls, which
were manufactured in Pakistan.
The balls containing the heroin could not
be distinguished from normal balls by
weight.
(Photos courtesy of German Customs)
For the first time, Canada was reported as a
source/transshipment country for metham-
phetamine bound for Japan. All seizures
were made at Tokyo International Airport,
and the drugs were mostly concealed on the
offenders’ bodies.
The number of shipments leaving Myanmar
increased, while the quantity decreased by
almost 50% to amount to 12 kg in 2003.
One shipment only had left the Philippines
in 2002, while the number rose to nine in
2003 and the quantity rose from less than
1 kg in 2002 to 15 kg in 2003.
The INCB states in its annual report that
methamphetamine continues to be mainly
manufactured in China, Myanmar and, to a
lesser extent, in the Philippines. The
seizures reported to the CEN database also
show that most seizures originate in China,
Myanmar and the Philippines.
56% of the seizures are carried out in air
traffic, and the methamphetamine is mainly
concealed in the offenders’ luggage or on
their bodies. 75% of the quantities are
seized in the maritime sector, while three
seizures were carried out in freight consign-
ments. Two seizures amounting to 10.5 kg
were carried out in air freight, both having
been carried out by Japanese Customs offi-
cers at Tokyo airport.
29
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WCO ANNUAL REPORT 2003

Regional overviews – Asia/Pacific

MDMA (ecstasy) Top 5 – in terms of number of departures Top 5 – in terms of number of departures
Australia, New Zealand and Japan carried 2002 2003
out 72% of the 57 seizures made in 2003,
three seizures more than in 2002. The quan-
tity seized in the region rose dramatically
from only 179 kg and 431,486 tablets in
2002 to 697 kg and 711,836 tablets in
2003. To enable comparisons to be made,
the tablets were converted into kilograms
using the following conversion: 1 kg =
3,333 tablets.

Australian Customs officers detected 75% of

the MDMA seized in this region, followed
by Japan (11%), New Zealand (8%) and 17 Netherlands 3 France 19 Netherlands 5 France
Indonesia (2%). 4 Belgium 3 Malaysia 7 Belgium 5 Malaysia
4 United Kingdom 7 United Kingdom
The Netherlands is the main source country
for MDMA seizures in terms of the number Top 5 – departure in terms of quantity Top 5 – departure in terms of quantity
of shipments, accounting for 19 of the 55 2002 2003
seizures carried out in 2003. Belgium and
the United Kingdom were the departure
countries for seven cases each, while France
and Malaysia accounted for five cases each.
In respect of quantities, Belgium became the
most important departure country for
MDMA shipments, accounting for 357 kg or
almost 40%, in comparison with only 8 kg
or 2% in 2002. The Netherlands continues
to have a very important role for MDMA
shipments to the Asia/Pacific region. In
2003, 239 kg left the Netherlands in com-
parison with only 150 kg in 2002. 150 Netherlands 12 France 239 Netherlands 35 France
8 Belgium 6 Malaysia 357 Belgium 176 Malaysia
Malaysia played a more important role as a 6 United Kingdom 54 United Kingdom
departure country for MDMA shipments.
One large shipment of 170 kg was detected
at Fremantle seaport, Australia. The MDMA case, the maritime freight consignment had numbers of cases do not allow any further
was detected in a freight consignment left Guang Zhou, China, transiting Hong Kong, conclusions.
within the walls of a freezer unit. China, the United Kingdom being the country
of final destination. The methaqualone was The Asia/Pacific region also reported a small
Methaqualone – (Mandrax) concealed inside air conditioners. number of seizures of methadone and LSD.
In 2002, China reported a seizure of 3,860
kg of methaqualone which had been de- India reported a single seizure of 57 kg of
tected in a freight consignment of electronic Mandrax in 2003.
appliances. The shipment had left Shekou,
China, transiting via Hong Kong, China, Other drugs
and with destination unknown. This year, In total, 79 seizures of other psychotropic
the Chinese Customs again reported a very substances such as alprazolam, phenter-
large seizure amounting to 4,260 kg. In this mine, etc. were reported in 2003. The low
30
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WCO ANNUAL REPORT 2003

Regional overviews – the Americas

Regional overviews – the Americas

N ORTH Drug type: 2001 2002 2003

A MERICA Heroin
Opium
68 kg
27 kg
43 kg
43 kg
33 kg
62 kg
Cocaine 1,257 kg 881 kg 959 kg
Unfortunately, no seizure reports or sum- Herbal cannabis 2,845 kg 2,683 kg 694 kg
maries of information regarding 2003 could Cannabis resin 3,117 kg 100 kg 10,536 kg
be provided by the US Customs. MDMA (ecstasy) 1,871,365 1,894,581 5,583,274
comp. comp. comp.
This year, Canada provided the WCO with Khat 10,800 kg 17,751 kg 20,547 kg
all seizure data electronically, and the data
were successfully up-loaded into the CEN 2002 and 62 kg in 2003. Iran, Turkey and from Ecuador, and the goods were again de-
database. Seizure data from 2004 will be en- Germany were the main countries of depar- clared as being personal and household ef-
tered manually by the Canadian Customs. tures. Opium is either transported by air or fects. The one kilogram cocaine slabs were
This is a great step forward. in postal traffic. Four of the ten seizures car- located inside a grand piano.
ried out in postal traffic had left Germany.
The table shows the quantities seized in Five of the six seizures carried out in road
Canada in the period 2001-03 for the main The largest seizure of opium took place in traffic were carried out at the land frontier
drug types. Vancouver where 18 kg were detected in with the USA and accounted for 73 kg of
pallets. The shipment originated in the cocaine.
UAE, the one time during the two years that
Opiates this country was mentioned as a departure As in previous years, Jamaica remains the
country. main origin country for seizures carried out
The volume of heroin has decreased for the in air traffic. It is interesting to note that al-
third consecutive year. In 2003, only 33 kg most half of the quantity originating in
were seized in 20 incidents, the largest Cocaine Guyana was detected in Canada. Guyana is
heroin seizure accounting for 13.7 kg. A not only a major source country for cocaine
Canadian female courier arriving in Toronto In 2003, Canada reported 135 seizures of shipments bound for Canada (171 kg), but
from Bulgaria was arrested after heroin was cocaine totalling 959 kg. In particular, the
found in a double-sided suitcase. Bulgaria, two largest seizures carried out in 2003 are
Cocaine from Guyana
Venezuela, Ghana, Mexico and Aruba are of great interest.
the main countries of departure for larger
Quantity (kg)
heroin shipments. The largest seizure of cocaine, amounting to
172 kg, took place in Halifax. A maritime sea No. of seizures
5
Again this year, heroin was mainly trans- freight container declared as containing per- 0 5
0 0
ported by air passengers. Some seizures sonal effects originating in Haiti was selected 47
were carried out in postal traffic, and for a more detailed inspection. During the 4
0 4
heroin was transported in road vehicles examination, Customs officers noticed that 0 0
358
over the land boundary with the USA in the drawers of the nightstands (six alto- 3
gether) were locked and nailed shut. The 0 3
only two incidents. 0 0
nightstands contained cocaine to an esti-
2 21
In October 2003, Customs officers in mated value of 21.5 million Canadian dol- 0 21 2
0 0
Vancouver discovered 18 kg of opium in a lars. It is worth noting that all five shipments
sea freight consignment originating in the leaving Haiti were detected in Canada. Haiti 1
0 1
UAE. should be considered a high risk country for 0
74
0
5
transshipments of cocaine transports. 34
Overall, 22 cases of attempted opium smug- 20
0 0
gling were detected. The quantity of opium Another large seizure of 105 kg took place 2000 2001 2002 2003
rose steadily from 27 kg in 2001 to 43 kg in in Brampton. The container had arrived
31
Drug GB14/06 14/06/04 11:01 Page 32
WCO ANNUAL REPORT 2003
Regional overviews – the Americas
also for the United Kingdom (150 kg) and
to a lesser extent Barbados (20 kg).
Couriers and postal traffic accounted for
22% of the cases, but in terms of quantity,
have only a minor role.
Cannabis
The quantity of cannabis resin fell from over
20 tonnes in 2000 to only three tones in
2001. While only 100 kg were detected in
2002, 10,536 kg were detected last year.
This figure is affected by a large single
seizure of 10.5 tonnes detected in Halifax
Marine Operations. A damaged container
originating in Pakistan was selected for ex-
amination. The hashish was found wrapped
in green plastic and concealed within layers
of “Friskies” cat food packages. All of the
packages appeared to be professionally
sealed, and the hashish was marked with a
square “Night Crystal” emblem.
Thirty seizures of herbal cannabis totalling
almost 700 kg were seized in 2003. Two
seizures amounting to more than 300 kg
originated in China, while most of the
seizures left Jamaica and amounted to
255 kg. Herbal cannabis leaving Jamaica
was mainly found in the offender’s luggage,
but the drug was concealed in the false
floors of an air cargo container in one case.
Eight seizures mainly originating in Jamaica
and totalling 92 kg were seized in air traffic.
Psychotropic drugs
Canada reported four seizures of ampheta-
mine totalling less than half a kilo. LSD was
detected eight times and amounted to
10,508 doses. There were few seizures re-
ported concerning benzoflunitrazepam, ben-
zodiazepam, methamphetamine etc., and
only the number of seizures of MDMA and
khat reported allows further analysis.
32
MDMA
In 2001 and 2002, the quantity of MDMA
remained stable and amounted to 1.9 mil-
lion tablets. In 2003, more that 5.5 million
tables were seized. The figure is affected by
two major seizures which took place in
August: the largest-ever seizure of MDMA
accounted for 2.7 million tablets, followed
by the second-largest seizure ever in Canada,
accounting for 2.5 million tablets. Both of
these seizures were carried out in marine
containers which were declared as being
shipments of potato starch. Both shipments
had left the Netherlands, and the estimated
street values for these two consignments
were 181 million Canadian dollars.
The Netherlands remains the main source of
MDMA, while Germany and Belgium had a
more significant role in 2003. Most of the
MDMA was transported by aircraft, so that
the main modus operandi was to conceal
the drug in the structure of suitcases, such
as in false sides or double bottoms.
Khat
Most khat originates in Eastern Africa
(Somalia and Kenya) and arrives legally in
the Netherlands and the United Kingdom,
from where it is smuggled to Canada. Almost
90% of the quantities seized arrived from
these two European countries, in compar-
ison with 85% of the number of detections.
Only four seizures, accounting for only 303
kg, originated directly in the producer
country Kenya.
The main modus operandi in terms of the
number of seizures and quantities seized in-
volve the concealment of khat in the of-
fenders’ luggage. Seizures were also carried
out in air cargo shipments and in mail con-
signments.
Khat is usually packaged in plastic bags or
wrapped in banana leaves to retain its
moistness and freshness. It is often sprin-
kled with water during transport to keep the
leaves moist.
Canada reported 340 cases totalling 20
tonnes of khat.
S OUTH
A MERICA
In the WCO’s Annual Report 2002, it was
stated that the number of seizures reported
in the South America region was low in
comparison with 2001. Many seizure re-
ports were afterwards entered into the CEN
database, and the quantities reported rose
from the 7 tonnes stated in the Annual
Report to 11 tonnes. The same may also
apply this year. The number of seizures re-
ported by the deadline for inclusion in this
Report again reveals a lack of seizure data
from the South American region. Care must
therefore be observed when drawing con-
clusions. The reader’s attention is drawn to
the fact that this year’s Report includes only
seizures identified as having been carried
out by Customs or joint Customs/Police
Units or by law enforcement agencies
having Customs powers.
South America reported 568 seizures related
to drugs smuggling during 2003, a decrease
of 74 cases in comparison with 2002.
Most seizures were reported by Peru, Brazil,
Chile, Argentina and French Guyana.
The Colombian Customs entered 55 cases
in 2002 and 14 cases in 2003, amounting to
30 and almost 8 tonnes of cocaine respec-
tively. They were the successes on the part of
the Colombian Secret Service, the army, the
navy, etc. which could therefore not be
taken into consideration.
Cocaine
UNODC reports that Colombia had, in the
period between 1993 and 1999, become the
Drug GB14/06 14/06/04 11:01 Page 33
source of almost three-quarters of the
world’s illicit cocaine. In 2002 and 2003,
there was a significant reduction of coca
bush cultivation in Colombia, while Peru
and Bolivia have also seen a downward
trend in production. It is believed that the
successful eradication efforts in Colombia
may lead to the growth of illicit coca bush
cultivation in neighbouring countries such
as Ecuador and Venezuela.
INCB estimates that the potential total man-
ufacture of cocaine remained at approxi-
mately 800 tonnes in 2002. In 2002,
Colombian authorities destroyed more than
1,400 illicit chemical and drugs laborato-
ries, and cocaine laboratories have also been
dismantled in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil,
Chile, Ecuador and Venezuela.
Peru, Brazil, Chile, French Guyana and
Argentina reported 487 cases related to co-
caine smuggling, and more than half of
these cases were reported by Peru. The
quantity seized in this region fell dramati-
cally from over 11 tonnes in 2002 to only 2
tonnes the year after. Half of the cocaine
seized in 2003 was carried out in air traffic,
followed by seizures carried out at the fron-
tiers, especially that between Peru and
Chile.
In October, Customs officers at Callao sea-
port, Peru, detected 561 kg of cocaine. The
freight consignment was destined for
WCO ANNUAL REPORT 2003
Regional overviews – the Americas

Dutch Customs detected 33 kg of
cocaine concealed between the roots of
living plants. The consignment had
arrived from Guatemala.
(Photos courtesy of Dutch Customs)
Guatemala via Panama.
A closer look at the seizures involving co-
Cocaine from/to Guatemala
caine from or to Guatemala shows that this
country has a more dominant role than in
previous years. There are indications that Quantity (kg)
Guatemala is a secondary distribution
country for cocaine shipments mainly to 7
No. of seizures
0
Western European countries. 0
6 625
French Guyana reported 33 cases 0
0
amounting to 74 kg of cocaine. Most of the
cocaine had arrived by air from Suriname 5
0 5
and was en route to Western European 0 0
countries, namely the Netherlands and
4
France. In most cases, the couriers had 0 4
0 383 0
swallowed the drugs, taped it to their bodies
3
or concealed it in the soles of their shoes. 0 3
0 0
There were few seizures of cocaine con-
cealed in luggage or detected in mail con- 2
0 2
signments. 0 18 0
16
1 11
Almost 6 tonnes of cocaine base were seized 0
0
9 1
0
in a single case in 2002, while only smaller 58
quantities were seized during 2003. 28
0 0
2000 2001 2002 2003
Opiates
by air passengers or by mail carriers, and the
In 2002, the Peruvian Customs reported main destination countries were Argentina
eleven seizures of opium totalling almost and Mexico. Peru is the main departure
40 kg in comparison with only 6 cases ac- country.
counting for 33 kg in 2003. There were also
seven cases involving almost 50 kg of heroin
seized. The opiates were mainly transported
33
Drug GB14/06 14/06/04 11:01 Page 34
WCO ANNUAL REPORT 2003
Regional overviews – the Americas

Chilean Customs found 14.5 kg of herbal
cannabis inside rope spools.
(Photos courtesy of Chilean Customs)
Cannabis
Chile, Argentina and Peru reported a total of
36 seizures in 2003 and a total of 1.2 tonnes
of herbal cannabis in comparison with al-
most 6 tonnes in 2002.
The main sources of herbal cannabis were
Argentina, followed by Paraguay, and the
main country of destination was Chile.
Almost all cases involved road vehicles as
the means of transportation so that the main
place of concealment of the herb is inside
the vehicles.
There were no seizures of cannabis resin re-
ported in 2003.
Other drugs
There were two seizures of MDMA (ecstasy),
involving 8.8 kg and 5,500 tablets. One
seizure took place in Brazil and the other in
Argentina.
34
C ARIBBEAN
Overview
This year, we received seizure information
from Bermuda, Barbados, Dutch Antilles,
Cuba and Jamaica. Furthermore, the French
Customs reported six cases from
Guadeloupe and three from Martinique,
these being French territories.
The reason for the number of seizures being
lower this year in comparison with 2002 is
that we received detailed information on 114
seizures carried out in Aruba in 2002. In
2003, we received detailed information only
on the largest seizures carried out in the
Dutch Antilles, which accounted for nine
cases, but the quantities still indicate what is
happening in the region. We are aware that
we are missing a great deal of detailed seizure
information in the region, and we hope to
minimize the gap in the forthcoming Report.
Cuba reported six cases during 2003, while
no seizures were reported in 2002.
Cocaine
A total of 32 cases were reported during
2003, and these accounted for more than
4.7 tonnes of cocaine. The Dutch Antilles
reported six large seizures amounting to
62% of the quantity seized. All the re-
ported seizures were found either on the
beach, floating in the water or fished up by
fishermen.
Martinique Customs seized more than
1 tonnes of cocaine on board a yacht. The
itinerary was from Grenada to Spain via
Martinique. The cocaine was concealed in
the water tanks.
Bermuda reported six seizures carried out in
air traffic, and all cases arrived either di-
rectly from the United States of America or
via Jamaica. In most cases, the cocaine was
either swallowed by the offender or con-
cealed inside the effects carried. Three
seizures were carried out on board vessels at
St. George seaport. It was not specified
whether the vessels were cruise ships or ves-
sels transporting goods.
Three of the five seizures reported by
Barbados were en route to the United
Kingdom. The cocaine was inserted into the
offender’s rectum in two cases, and the drug
was concealed in a video camera in one.
Cuba reported five cases involving 17 kg of
cocaine. In most cases, the cocaine had been
concealed in the false bottoms of suitcases,
concealed in the effects carried in the of-
fender’s suitcase or had been swallowed by
the offender.
The numbers of seizures of crack cocaine
rose from a single seizure in 2002 to five in
2003, totalling little more than 2 kg. All
these seizures were reported by Bermuda,
which was also reported as the destination
country.
Bermuda and Barbados reported a single
seizure each of cocaine in solution. In
Barbados, 3.55 litres of liquid cocaine was
seized in “Eldorado” rum and also inside
bottles of lotion. The courier was bound for
the United Kingdom. In Bermuda, Customs
officers detected more that 0.6 litres of co-
caine on board an aircraft. It was concealed
inside the shampoo and conditioner bottles
in the bathroom.
Heroin
Seven seizures and a total of almost 38 kg of
heroin were reported in 2003: three from
Bermuda, three from Guadeloupe and one
from Cuba. More that 30 kg were reported
from Guadeloupe, Colombia and the Dutch
Drug GB14/06 14/06/04 11:01 Page 35

WCO ANNUAL REPORT 2003

Regional overviews – the Americas

Bermuda Customs seized 300 grams

Antilles being the source countries. Almost
7 kg of heroin which originated in Nigeria
and was bound for the USA were found by
Cuban Customs officers.
of cannabis hidden inside the spools
of ribbon sent by a courier express
company.
(Photos courtesy of Bermudian Customs)

Cannabis
The volume of herbal cannabis rose from
4 tonnes in 2002 to 5.8 tonnes in 2003.
More than 5 tonnes (3 cases) were reported
by Jamaican Customs. Bermuda and
Barbados reported respectively 16 and 20
cases totalling 104 and 143 kg respectively.

No seizures of cannabis resin were reported.

Other drugs

Hungarian Customs dismantled 112 kg
No seizures of psychotropic substances were
of heroin in the false floor and ceiling of
reported in 2003. a Romanian Peugeot delivery van. The
heroin was destined for Germany.

(Photos courtesy of Hungarian Customs)

C ENTRAL
A MERICA
Unfortunately, no seizure reports have been
entered into the CEN database by any
Central American country.

35
Drug GB14/06 14/06/04 11:01 Page 36
WCO ANNUAL REPORT 2003
Regional overviews – Africa
Regional overviews – Africa
Overview
The reporting of seizures carried out in the
African region remains inconsistent. In total,
246 seizure reports were entered in the CEN
database, which reflects almost the same
number as in 2002. Ten Member states re-
ported drugs seizures in 2003. This means
that there can only be limited intelligence
obtained from an analysis of the data on the
CEN database. Morocco accounts for almost
80% of the number of seizures reported in
the region, and cannabis resin accounts for
the majority of seizures.
Opiates
Heroin was the only type of opiate detected
in Africa in 2003. The number of heroin
seizures rose from four in 2002 to nine in
2003, while the quantity decreased from
37 kg to 16 kg in 2003.
South Africa states in its report that, al-
though no heroin was seized, information
was received indicating that heroin is being
smuggled into South Africa.
All heroin seizures were made at airports,
whereby the heroin was mainly swallowed
by the couriers or concealed in the luggage
carried.
Mauritius and Kenya reported four cases
each, while one seizure was carried out in
Tanzania. India was reported as the country
of departure three times. Kenya was targeted
as the final country of destination three times.
INCB states that illicit opium poppy cultiva-
tion continues on the Sinai peninsula in
Egypt, but cultivation is limited and de-
clining. It is assumed that no illicit heroin
production is taking place there.
36
Cocaine
The number of reported cocaine seizures
rose from 7 in 2002 to 12 in 2003, while the
quantity rose from 32 kg in 2002 to 98 kg in
2003. Ten of the twelve seizures were re-
ported from South Africa, while one seizure
each was reported from Morocco and
Kenya. South Africa has a market for co-
caine as well as an increasing market for
MDMA. Seven of the ten seizures carried out
in South Africa originated in Brazil. These
seven cases accounted for 87% of the quan-
tities seized in the African region. South
Africa can be considered as being the main
destination country in this region for co-
caine shipments from South America. Only
two seizures were bound for the European
market, namely to Spain and the
Netherlands.
The largest cocaine seizure made in 2003
was a seizure of 50 kg carried out at
Johannesburg Airport. The South African
courier had come from Brazil, and the co-
caine was detected in the false compart-
ments of an “Eminent” suitcase. A seizure of
20 kg of cocaine was also carried out at
Johannesburg Airport. The air freight con-
signment had left Brazil, and the cocaine
was concealed inside picture frames.
Three cocaine seizures were carried out in
postal traffic during 2003. All seizures were
made in a Johannesburg mail centre. Two
cases originated in Brazil, while one had
been sent from South Africa. One seizure
was bound for Australia, the second for
South Africa, the third for Lesotho.
Moroccan Customs officers seized almost
500 grams of cocaine in a passenger car en
route to Spain. The drug was concealed in
the dashboard of a Moroccan Honda
Accord. The male Moroccan was arrested.
Belgium Customs detected cannabis
inside African masks
(Photos courtesy of Belgium Customs)
Drug GB14/06 14/06/04 11:01 Page 37

WCO ANNUAL REPORT 2003

Regional overviews – Africa

Herbal cannabis Cannabis resin originating in Morocco UNODC and INCB state, as in the previous
2002 - 2003 year, that Morocco remains one of the
The INCB Annual Report 2003 states that world’s leading cannabis resin producers.
Southern Africa continues to be the major Destination 2002 2003
source of herbal cannabis. The major pro-
ducers are South Africa, Malawi, Lesotho, Spain 128,584 186,259 Psychotropic
Swaziland and Mozambique. Netherlands 21,165 28,750 substances
France 9,544 18,368
United Kingdom 5,426 6,142
Detections of herbal cannabis remained at a The INCB report states that the abuse of
Germany 1,899 4,307
level of eleven cases, while the quantity Morocco 8,126 4,190 methaqualone (Mandrax) continues to be a
more than doubled to almost 8 tonnes. The Belgium 4,631 3,642 matter of concern in countries in Eastern
figures are affected by a single large seizure Italy 881 2,231 and Southern Africa, particularly in South
of more than six tonnes which took place in Ireland 31 851 Africa. One large single seizure of almost 4.4
Larache, Morocco. Switzerland 11 669 tonnes of Mandrax was seized in South
Portugal 1,057 278 Africa in 2003.
Burkina Faso reported another large seizure Denmark 5 33
of 492 kg. Lesotho, Côte d’Ivoire, Mali and Burkina Faso reported its annual totals of
Mauritius also reported seizures which We s t e r n E u r o p e f o l l o w e d b y t h e amphetamine seizures for the years 2002
varied in quantities between 4 kg and 22 kg. Netherlands, France, Germany, Switzerland, and 2003, involving 300 kg and almost 800
Italy and Belgium. kg respectively.

Cannabis resin
The UNODC’s survey 2003 on cannabis
states that Morocco has become one of the
main producers of cannabis resin and that it
primarily supplies the European market.
The potential cannabis resin production was
estimated to be 3,080 metric tonnes, while
the amount of cannabis cultivation has been
increasing over the past few years.
Morocco, and to a lesser extent Tunisia,
were the only countries in the African region
reporting seizures of cannabis resin. Even
though the number of seizures decreased
from 225 in 2002 to 198 in 2003, the quan-
tity rose by 15 tonnes to 45.8 tonnes in
2003. Worldwide, 256,084 kg of cannabis
resin originating in Morocco was seized in
2003 in comparison with 182,938 kg seized
in the previous year.
As a result of its geographical location,
Spain remained the main point of entry into
The United Kingdom did not seize any South Africa was the only African country to
cannabis resin directly shipped from report seizures of MDMA (ecstasy), in-
Morocco. The cannabis resin seized was volving three seizures and totalling 3,500
shipped mainly via Spain. tablets. All three mail consignments had left
the Netherlands. In one case, the ecstasy
Ninety-five percent of the cannabis resin was concealed in grinders sent by the ex-
seized in Africa was transported by road ve- press parcel company TNT.
hicles. Places of concealment inside the legal
freight cargo became more important in
2003, when almost 29 tonnes of cannabis
resin was detected in comparison with only
five tonnes the previous year. The number
of freight consignments (six cases) remained
at the same level. The cover loads of two of
the six cases detected in 2003 were toma-
toes, while cover loads such as furniture and
textiles were also used.
Another preferred method of concealment
involves hiding the drugs in the means of
transport, such as in false floors or in the
ceiling of trailers or containers, manufac-
turer-designed cavities in the vehicle, in the
wings, etc.

37
Drug GB14/06 14/06/04 11:01 Page 38
WCO ANNUAL REPORT 2003
Regional overviews – Middle East
Regional overviews – Middle East
Drug type Data
Heroin No. of seizures
Quantity seized (kg)
Morphine No. of seizures
Quantity seized (kg)
Opium No. of seizures
Quantity seized (kg)
Grand total – No. of seizures
Grand total – Quantity seized (kg)
Opiates
As the table shows, the number of heroin
seizures remained almost at the same level,
even though the quantity fell dramatically
from 100 kg to only 20 kg in 2003. The fig-
ures for 2002 are affected by two large
seizures totalling 75 kg.
In 2003, more than half of the heroin
seizures were reported by Kuwait, followed
by Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. The UAE re-
ported two seizures of more than 0.7 kg.
The main departure country for heroin ship-
ments was unsurprisingly Pakistan, even
though the quantities involved fell from 34
kg to 5.5 kg. Five shipments left India this
year in comparison with none in 2002, all
seizures being carried out in Bahrain. Four
of these cases were detected in transit bag-
gage bound for Saudi Arabia, while a single
seizure of 1 kg was destined for Bahrain.
While no shipments left the Netherlands,
Afghanistan or Thailand in 2002, these were
mentioned for one shipment each in 2003.
Kuwait and Saudi Arabia were the main des-
tination countries.
The UAE reported this year 13 seizures ac-
counting for 3.671 kg of opium, in compar-
ison with none in 2002. Kuwait also
reported eight opium seizures amounting to
38
2002 2003 Grand total The other seizure of 19.5 kg was carried out
in a containerized maritime freight consign-
25 24 49 ment, arriving from Venezuela via Valencia,
100.477 19.976 120.453 Spain. The cocaine was concealed inside the
1 1 hydraulic oil tank of an excavating machine.
0.100 0.100
13 22 35
In 2002, Saudi Arabia succeeded in de-
4.005 13.227 17.232
38 47 85 tecting six couriers who had swallowed co-
104.482 33.303 137.785 caine. Five of these seizures, totalling almost
5 kg, had left Nigeria, while this place of
concealment was not identified in 2003.
more than nine kg. A single seizure was also Nigeria was mentioned only twice in 2003 as
reported this year by Saudi Arabia. Nineteen being a departure country, and the seizures
of the twenty-two opium seizures originated took place both times in Saudi Arabia.
in Iran. The seizures made in the UAE were
mainly discovered in the offenders’ clothing
or in their luggage. Cannabis
Six opium seizures originating in Iran were
Several large seizures of cannabis resin were
carried out in Kuwait. All cases were de-
reported in 2002, the largest of which was
tected in air traffic, while, most interestingly,
of 1.5 tonnes of resin detected at Al-Shuaiba
all cases involve couriers who had swal-
seaport in Kuwait. The resin was concealed
lowed the drugs.
in a freight consignment declared to be con-
taining paint. It had originated in Pakistan.
Only one seizure involves smuggling of 100
grams of morphine. The seizure took place
Saudi Arabia reported 15 of the 17 cases of
in the UAE.
cannabis resin.
Only two cases refer to seizures of herbal
Cocaine
cannabis. One seizure of 662 kg was de-
Cocaine does not appear to be widespread tected by Saudi Arabia, and the consign-
in the region. However, the quantity of co- ment had again left Pakistan.
caine rose from 6.8 kg to 40.8 kg in 2003 al-
though the number of detections fell from In fact, Pakistan was mentioned as the
seven to five. source country for 5 shipments totalling 2.8
tonnes of cannabis, in comparison with a
Lebanese Customs officers detected 96% of single case of 736 kg in 2002. Morocco was
the cocaine in two shipments. Both seizures reported as a source country six times, but
w e re m a d e i n J a n u a r y, o n e a t B e i r u t for a total of only 16 kg.
International Airport and the other at the
Beirut seaport. Almost 20 kg were found in
the luggage of a 27 year-old Lebanese, who
arrived via Paris from Sao Paulo, Brazil,
where he lived.
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WCO ANNUAL REPORT 2003

Regional overviews – Middle East

No. of seizures in Saudi Arabia

No. of Quantity
seizures kg

2000 5 647
2001 25 1,471
2002 28 2,027
2003 32 2,174
Jan. & Feb. 2004 8 905

Psychotropic
substances
Amphetamine
The Middle East region and especially Saudi
Arabia is the largest market for ampheta-
mine. The number and quantity seized in
Saudi Arabia is shown in the table.

Both the number of seizures and the quanti-

ties seized rose tremendously over the period.

Even a consideration of the first two months

of 2004 indicates that this trend is most likely
to continue throughout the rest of the year.

T h e s o u rc e o f a m p h e t a m i n e h a s n o t
changed over the years. It still arrives via
frontier crossings with Syria and Jordan.
Few cases were reported originating in
Belgium Customs detected
Turkey, and the UAE, Kuwait and Lebanon cocaine inside melons.
were reported once. The amphetamine is (Photos courtesy of Belgium Customs)
mainly transported by road vehicles such as
cars, buses and lorries.

Other drugs
Only a few seizures of other types of drugs
were reported in 2003. Bahrain reported a
single seizure of benzodiazepam together
with a seizure of LSD.

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WCO ANNUAL REPORT 2003

Special Items

R ISK 1. Direction:
The direction of current and future
MANAGEMENT intelligence operations is established.
the high-level aims, objectives, policies and The aim and objectives of the
Customs enforcement has developed dra-
“intelligence project” have to be
matically over the last few decades to keep plans on the part of the Customs.
clearly defined.
pace with the tremendous increase in inter-
national trade and transport, the growing Tactical intelligence supports national and 2. Collection:
awareness of trans-frontier organized crime local managers of front-line units in plan- The information to be processed is
and, more recently, the threat of terrorism. ning activities and deploying resources to collected. This stage also involves an
This has led to an increased awareness in achieve operational objectives. initial assessment of the reliability of the
Customs administrations that national and information source and of the accuracy
international co-operation is essential. Operational intelligence supports front-line of the information itself.
units in taking case-specific action to achieve
An important aspect of this co-operation lies
3. Processing:
compliance or enforcement objectives.
Information is turned into intelligence.
in sharing information among Customs
Processing consists of a number of
services and other law enforcement agen- components, such as evaluation,
cies. There has also been recognition of the What is “the intelligence cycle”? collation, analysis and interpretation.
value of sharing information with business
partners. All this information provides the The intelligence cycle represents a specific set 4. Dissemination:
basis for risk management, which is gener- of activities which turn raw information into The intelligence product, for example a
ally regarded as the best approach to intelligence. There are five steps constituting report, is distributed to the users.
Customs controls in current international the intelligence cycle:
business practice.
5. Formal review:
The intelligence users and providers
jointly evaluate each phase of the cycle.
This has made intelligence a very important
tool. Customs officers today and in the fu-
ture will be carrying out operational drug
enforcement work based on operational and
tactical intelligence.
1
What is intelligence and
intelligence analysis
Intelligence is a product which is de-
rived from the collection and pro-
cessing of relevant information and
which acts as a basis for user deci-
sion-making. All data, whether
processed or analysed or not, as
2
well as documents, reports or any
other communications in any
5
format, including formats in elec-
tronic form or certified or authen-
ticated copies of them, represents
information that may be used.

Types of intelligence:
Three main levels of decision-making
are supported by three types of intelli- 3
gence.
4
More detailed information can be gathered from the WCO documents EC0132E3 or
Strategic intelligence supports policy EC 0132F3, EC0133E2 or EC0133F2 and the Risk Management Guide available on the
makers in formulating and implementing WCO’s Members website.

40
Drug GB14/06 14/06/04 11:01 Page 41
A FRICAN
S EAPORTS P ROJECT
It is now three years since Customs and
Drugs provided an update on the African
Seaports Project, funded by the United
Nations Office on Drugs and Crime with the
WCO acting as the executive agency. The
project commenced at the end of 1997 and
is designed to improve drug control capacity
in the ports of Eastern and Southern Africa
by establishing joint Customs and Police
anti-drug units in identified key ports.
Members of each port unit receive class-
room training which lasts three weeks, prac-
tical training in their home port
environment which lasts four weeks. Three
or four officers also make a fellowship visit
to train alongside officers in a more experi-
enced port. The training is based on the use
of intelligence, risk assessment and profiling
to select high-risk consignments and sea
vessels for attention. The units are taught
how to collect and analyse intelligence and
then how to search the selected containers
and vessels safely and effectively. In order to
facilitate this, the units are supplied with an
agreed package of search equipment and
protective clothing.
In the original project phase, funded by
Italy, Sweden and Finland, port units were
established in Mombasa, Dar-Es-Salaam,
Durban, Maputo and Djibouti. There were a
number of benefits for the region, not least
in the form of a number of significant drug
seizures and the subsidiary detection of rev-
enue and other non-drug offences. The
working methods, based on intelligence-led
risk assessment, have also encouraged better
communication and co-operation between
the law enforcement agencies and the pri-
vate sector at each location.
The success of the original project led to an
extension phase being funded by the USA.
This saw additional port units being estab-
lished in Cape Town, Port Elizabeth,
Johannesburg City Deep (an inland clear-
ance depot) and Port Louis, Mauritius. The
nine teams have collectively continued to
make drug seizures, many of which were in
transit consignments destined for
European and North American ports.
WCO ANNUAL REPORT 2003
Special Items
Notable detections include 11 tonnes and The total budget for the initial and first ex-
1.8 tonnes of cannabis resin, 2.6 million tension phases was $1.2 million, including
amphetamine tablets, 4 tonnes of Mandrax project support costs. The UNODC has now
powder (sufficient to produce 8 million sourced funding from the US State
tablets), 4 tonnes of anthranilic acid (a pre- Department for a second extension phase.
cursor for Mandrax), a Mandrax tablet This will run through 2004-5 and will es-
pressing machine, and 350 kg of cocaine. tablish new teams in Zanzibar in Tanzania,
Non-drug seizures include 35 million ciga- Beira and Nacala in Mozambique, and
rettes, an additional 8.3 million pirated ciga- Walvis Bay in Namibia. It will also supply
rettes together with machinery to refresher training to the first four teams
manufacture 5 million cigarettes per week, formed within the project. It is most grati-
an extensive range of counterfeit goods, and fying to see this valuable project still going
63 tonnes of stolen platinum. strong after almost seven years.
A significant reason for the success of the
project is the excellence of the trainers, pro-
vided by the Customs administrations of
Belgium, Canada, France, Ireland, the UK,
the USA and South Africa. France and
Belgium in particular have repeatedly sup-
plied one trainer each. The long-term in-
volvement of these two trainers, and their
continuing contact with and support for all
the port units, has provided incalculable
benefits to the project.
Djibouti
Kenya Mombasa
Tanzania
Dar Es Salaam
ue
biq
zam
Mo
Port Louis
Maputo
Johannesburg
City Deep
SouhDurban
Africa
Port Elisabeth
Cape Town
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WCO ANNUAL REPORT 2003

Special Items

P RECURSOR
CHEMICALS
With the exception of cannabis, most illicit
drugs types require a certain number of pre-
cursors and essential chemicals for their
production.

The INCB report on precursors for 2003

noted that monitoring and control mecha-
nisms for the licit trade in precursor chemi-
cals are in place in most of the major
manufacturing exporting and importing
countries.

Various projects have been initiated to

combat smuggling and illicit trading in pre-
cursor chemicals.

WCO and precursor

projects
The WCO is participating in the
following projects:
The Prism Task Force Project was launched in
January 2003. The aim of this task force is to
identify diversions of the five main precursors
used in the illicit manufacture of ampheta-
mine-type stimulants, namely ephedrine, 3,4-
methylenedioxyphenyl-2-propanone (PMK),
1 - p h e n y l - 2 p ro p a n o n e ( B M K ) , p s e u -
doephedrine and safrole as well as the equip-
ment which is used. Backtracking
investigations are carried out to identify the
actual source of the seized precursors.

Operation Topaz is based on an informal

and voluntary agreement among a number
of participating countries, whose main goal
is to monitor and track consignments of
acetic anhydride, which is a main precursor
for the production of heroin. Operation
Topaz has successfully been ongoing since
March 2001.

In October Dutch Customs seized

4,000 litres of PMK/BMK at the port of
Rotterdam. The chemicals were found in
a freight consignment declared as clean
disinfectant. More than 283,000 tablets of
MDMA, 14 kg heroin, 30 kg amphetamine
base, 3.5 kg cocaine, weapons and
equipment used to produce drugs
were seized.

(Photos courtesy of Dutch Customs)

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WCO ANNUAL REPORT 2003

Special Items

The European Commission initiated the
PHARE programme in 1992. The objectives
of this project are to assist and support
countries in the Central and Easter n
European region in terms of precursor leg-
islation, training, technical assistance, etc.
Precursor interceptions
in 2003
The number of precursor seizures of more
than 10 kg rose from 34 cases in 2002 to 37
cases in 2003.
The majority of precursor seizures reported
into the CEN database involved ephedrine,
which is the basic chemical for the produc-
tion of amphetamine and methampheta-
mine. There was almost twice the number
of detections of ephedrine in the period
from 2002 to 2003, amounting to 15 cases
which involved more than 3 tonnes and
170,000 tablets.
Turkey was reported as the main country of
departure, followed by Australia. Seizures
were mainly carried out in mail centres or
at airports, followed by seizures made on
board road vehicles.
The New Zealand Customs authorities re-
ported six detections totalling 153,000
tablets. Larger quantities were shipped in
mail consignments, while smaller quantities
were carried on the offender or in the luggage
of the persons travelling by aircraft. Three
of the six shipments had originated in
Australia.
The two largest seizures involved 1,000 kg
and 1,024 kg of ephedrine being found on
board a truck in India.
Acetic anhydride is the main precursor for
the production of heroin. Three cases to-
talling 5,660 litres of acetic anhydride were
seized in 2003, which is only a third of the
quantity seized in 2002, when Turkey
seized more than 17,000 litres in two inci-
dents. By contrast, Turkey did not report
any seizures in 2003. The largest seizure re-
ported this year was made in Bulgaria,
where Customs officers detected 4,500
litres which had left Turkey by truck.
There were very few reports of cocaine pre-
cursors such as sulphuric acid, toluene and
potassium permanganate in 2003.
Acetone is used in the illegal production of
heroin, cocaine, amphetamine and its de-
rivates and lysergide, better known as LSD.
The number of detections rose from two in
2002 to four in 2003, while the quantity in-
creased enormously from only 220 litres
the year before to 3,660 litres last year. Two
seizures were made in the Philippines,
where 1,960 litres were detected inside
freight consignments. The other two
seizures took place in Arad, Romania,
where 1,700 litres of pure acetone were
found in overland freight consignments
which had left Italy.
Hydrochloric acid was detected twice in
2003, in amounts totalling to 5,000 kg. The
seizures were made in the Philippines in two
maritime freight consignments arriving from
Chinese Taipei.
The most popular precursors to ampheta-
mine and methamphetamine are phenyl-2-
propanone (also called P2P, BMK, benzyl
methyl ketone or phenylacetone and
piperony methyl ketone (also called 3,4-
methylenedioxyphenyl-2-propanone or
PMK) The quantities of BMK and PMK
seized increased dramatically in 2003, even
though the number of cases remained small.
In July, Customs officers in Rotterdam sea-
port seized 3,020 litres of BMK. The mar-
itime consignment had declared contents of
mushroom sauce which had left China.
Only three months later, Customs at
Rotterdam seaport detected a consignment
originating in China. This time, 4,000 litres
of BMK and PMK were seized, the biggest
seizure of its kind ever reported. Cleansing
agents (soaps) were used to cover the illegal
consignment.
Licit and illicit use of
the main precursors
The UNODC has produced a guide to pre-
cursor chemicals and their licit and illicit
use. The table below reflects a short sum-
mary of this guide.

Precursor Licit use Illicit use

Acetic anhydride In textile industry Mainly heroin

Acetone
Ephedrine
Hydrochloric acid
Methyl ethyl ketone
3,4-methylenedioxyphenyl
-2-propanone (PMK)
Phenyl-2-propanone (BMK)
Piperonal
Potassium permanganate
Safrole
Amphetamine, methamphetamine, methaqualone, etc.
Manufacture of plastics Heroin, cocaine,
substituted derivates of amphetamine and methamphetamine
Manufacture of bronchodilators Amphetamine, methamphetamine
Manufacture of chlorides and hydrochlorides Heroin, cocain, substituted derivates of amphetamine and
In cleaning metal products methamphetamine, LSD, methaqualone, etc.
Manufacture of coatings, lacquers, resins Heroin and cocaine
Manufacture of perfume components Ring-substituted derivates of amphetamine and methamphetamine
Manufacture of amphetamine Amphetamine, methamphetamine
In perfumeries, cherry and vanilla flavouring Ring-substituted derivates of amphetamine and methamphetamine
and mosquito repellents
For bleaching applications. Cocaine
In disinfectants
In perfumeries. Manufacture Ring-substituted derivates of amphetamine and methamphetamine
of piperonal and soaps
43
Drug GB14/06 14/06/04 11:01 Page 44
WCO ANNUAL REPORT 2003
Special Items
UNODC’ S
“PARIS PACT ”
The Secretary General of the WCO attended
the Ministerial Conference on the Drug
Routes from Central Asia to Europe, which
was held in Paris on 22 May 2003.
According to studies supplied by the United
Nations, international organizations and the
various specialist agencies, opium and
heroin consumption has sharply increased
along the drug trafficking routes, and nu-
merous new routes have appeared. The
UNODC Executive Director, Antonio Maria
Costa, proposed a new partnership among
all countries and parties affected by opium
trafficking originating in Afghanistan. The
need for strong and well co-ordinated pro-
grammes against heroin trafficking from
Afghanistan was subsequently raised during
the Evian G8 Summit and the June 2003
UN Security Council Special meeting on
drugs in Afghanistan.
The UNODC developed within the Paris
Pact a consultative mechanism for co-ordi-
nation as a twin-track approach toward an
operational level and a policy level.
Two specialized round tables at the opera-
tional level took place in Brussels in
September and October 2003. The first
round table focused on the Balkan route; the
second round table was hosted by the WCO
and focused on the Islamic Republic of Iran.
The round table discussions contributed to
the identification of trafficking points and
at-risk frontiers. The consultative policy
meeting, which took place in Rome in
November 2003, recognized the need for an
intensified action programme throughout the
regions under a co-ordinated mechanism.
The WCO will continue to participate ac-
tively in the forthcoming round table dis-
cussions. One future contribution will be a
strategy on how to interdict drugs traf-
ficking from Afghanistan through Central
Asia and Eastern Europe to Western Europe.
The strategy, which is currently being devel-
oped, will have to highlight the major routes
and crucial frontier points, through which
legal commercial traffic is being channelled.
Weaknesses at these frontier crossing points
44
and within the regional administrative infra-
structure have to be examined in order to
identify measures for improvements.
D RUGS IN
A FRICAN M AIL
The UNODC Project “Countering Drug
Trafficking and Money Laundering via
Postal Systems in Africa”, which was initi-
ated in February 2001, provides another ex-
ample of the close co-operation between the
UNODC and the WCO,.
The project is aiming to strengthen national
and regional efforts to combat illicit drug
trafficking and money laundering through
postal systems in 18 countries located in
Northern, Eastern and Western Africa. Six
countries each in Arabic-, English- and
French- speaking regions of Africa have
been identified for the project.
The Universal Postal Union (UPU), ICPO-
Interpol, UNODC and the WCO jointly de-
veloped a specialized training programme
adapted to the needs of the envisaged coun-
tries. This training package has been deliv-
ered to Postal, Police and Customs officers
and managers. Aspects to be covered by the
training programmes include risk assess-
ment, profiling, targeting, interception and
the development of effective response mech-
anisms. By the end of the project, more than
180 people will have been trained and sev-
eral inter-agency co-operation arrangements
will have been established.
Training has already taken place in Egypt,
Ghana, Kenya, Morocco, Senegal, Tanzania
and Uganda from 2001 to 2003.
L ARGE
COCAINE
SHIPMENTS
The number of large cocaine shipments re-
ported worldwide rose tremendously during
2003. For this reason, we took a closer look
at the seizures of more than 500 kg.
As already mentioned, the volume of co-
caine seized increased by over 30% to 64
tonnes in 2003. This increase can be ex-
plained by the number of detections of ex-
tremely large seizures, which rose by 10 to
26, while the quantity involved rose from 26
to 41 tonnes.
In Spain law enforcement agencies seized
remarkable quantities in 2003, amounting
to almost 20 tonnes more than in 2002.
Country No. of Quantity
seizures kg
Spain 13 28,584
Netherlands 6 7,611
United Kingdom 2 1,499
Dutch Antilles 2 1,415
Martinique 1 1,113
Peru 1 561
Italy 1 505
The UK Customs seized two large maritime
consignments arriving from Brazil.
In Martinique Customs seized 1,113 kg of
cocaine in the water tanks of a vessel,
leaving Grenada via Martinique and heading
for Spain.
Two seizures were reported from the Dutch
Antilles, both of which involved drugs being
recovered from the sea.
The Netherlands and Italy were the only
countries which reported seizures carried
out in the area of air freight. Three consign-
ments were reported from Amsterdam air-
port. Two consignments had left Cuba, one
Jamaica. Another air freight consignment of
candles originating in Venezuela and bound
for Spain was detected in Rome. The can-
dles were made of cocaine (505 kg).
For 2002, only Colombia, Brazil, Peru and
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WCO ANNUAL REPORT 2003

Special Items

Ecuador were reported as being countries of

departure. For 2003, this list was extended
to Spain and to the Caribbean region, in-
cluding Trinidad and Tobago, Cuba, the
Dutch Antilles, Grenada, and Jamaica as
countries of departure.

Common destination countries in 2002 and

2003 included Spain, the Netherlands and
the United Kingdom, while Belgium, the
Dutch Antilles and Guatemala were reported
only in 2003. Final destination countries
such as Colombia, Peru, Germany, Italy and
Portugal were reported only in 2002.

On board the ship “Boston Ward” arriving

from the Caribbean 714 kg of cocaine
were found.

(Photos courtesy of Spanish Customs)

45
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WCO ANNUAL REPORT 2003

Special Items

H EROIN M ETHOD OF CIRCUM - C OCAINE CONCEALED

IN WALNUTS
Over the last few years, a number of seizures
were made in nuts. In 2001, Customs in the
United Kingdom and Germany found
heroin in consignments of almonds arriving
from Pakistan. The almond was replaced by
1-2 grams of heroin, and the shell was glued
around the heroin.
A similar modus operandi was discovered in
2003. The seizure of 360 grams of heroin
took place at Birmingham airport in the
United Kingdom. A consignment of 470 kg
of walnuts was physically examined after an
X-ray had detected inconsistencies. The
walnut shells had been split and then filled
with a small plastic bag containing heroin.
To minimize the risk of detection, only 30
walnuts (2-3 in each bag) contained heroin.
The United Kingdom published an alert,
also available on the CEN website, in re-
spect of this modus operandi.
In March 2004, a similar seizure took
place at Yekaterinburg Airport, Russian
Federation. This time 4.5 kg of heroin was
concealed inside individual walnuts which
weighed four to five grams, the average
weight of a walnut. Again, the X-ray
showed that the walnut shell had been dis-
cretely taken apart and glued together
again. The Tajikistani courier had arrived
via Hujand, Tajikistan. This is one of many
seizures involving heroin, transported
from Afghanistan to the Russian
Federation via Tajikistan. An alert was
published accordingly.
VENTING EMIT TEST
(Photos courtesy of UK Customs)
In November 2003, UK Customs officers at
Heathrow Airport arrested two couriers, a
17 year old female and a 28 year old male,
arriving from Montego Bay in Jamaica.
When the male courier was strip-searched,
two condoms of “clean” urine were found
attached to the buttonhole of his underwear.
A similar condom of “clean” urine was
found in the female’s underwear.
The urine-filled condoms had been given to
the couriers by the organizers in Jamaica, to
be “delivered” in the event of a urine sample
being requested by Customs officials.
The EMIT test is used by many Customs ad-
ministrations to detect the presence of con-
trolled drugs in the urine of suspected drugs
swallowers.
ON BOARD AIRCRAFT
The concealment of cocaine on board aircraft
rose significantly during 2003. In 2002, 17
cases were detected, totalling 271 kg, while 61
cases totalling 1,016 kg were detected in 2003.
The Dutch Customs in particular succeeded
in detecting cocaine smuggling on board air-
craft. Half the quantities detected arrived
from Curacao in the Caribbean. Suriname
was mentioned as the departure country for
243 kg, followed by Venezuela (61 kg) and
Jamaica (56 kg).
Most of the seizures were reported as
“airbags”, which involves a bag or a box which
is not on the manifest and which would nor-
mally be ripped off by airport workers. Larger
quantities were concealed under the floor of
the cargo area. Another favourite method of
concealment is to hide the drugs in catering
trolleys and waste bins, behind panels, behind
computer equipment, etc.
Three of the four seizures carried out in
Canada involved two detections at the pas-
senger seats and one in the toilet.
Drugs transported in air freight containers,
which are not included in the table, are either
reported as having been seized in freight con-
signments or in the transport specified as a
container.
Large quantities were reported in this area. In
Canada, 42 kg of cocaine were found inside
the false ceiling of a cargo container. The
shipment arrived from Trinidad and Tobago.

It is worthwhile highlighting another excep-

tionally large seizure which took place at
Number and quantity seized – on board aircraft A m s t e rd a m a i r p o r t , t h e N e t h e r l a n d s .
Approximately 600 kg of cocaine were found
No. of seizures Quantity in kg in an AKE luggage container. The consign-
Country 2002 2003 2002 2003 ment contained eleven boxes which all had
Netherlands 15 47 216 971 “claim tags”, normally being used for
Canada 4 20 checked-in luggage and not for freight con-
France 1 12 signments. The US Customs also seized 50 kg
Bermuda 1 11 of cocaine behind the false wall of a cargo
Czech Republic 1 1 container. The container had arrived from the
Belgium 7 1
Dominican Republic in the Caribbean.
United Kingdom 2 55
Grand total 17 61 271 1,016
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Special Items

C OCAINE IN NATURAL
GRANITE
In May 2003, Customs officers in Antwerp
examined eight 40-foot open-top containers
loaded with eight blocks of natural granite
weighing 112,250 kg. Examination of the
goods was carried out together with the
Belgian Police. It was not possible to identify
any traces on the blocks, the drug detection
dogs did not react and the scan images
showed everything black. The goods were
put under surveillance. The blocks were
loaded onto trucks and transported to a
warehouse in Antwerp. Two weeks later, one
of the blocks was loaded onto a trailer,
which was then loaded onto a train bound
for Perpignan, France. A Belgian truck drove
the trailer from Perpignan to Reus in Spain,
where the block was unloaded in a ware-
house. Close co-operation with the Spanish
Police was established.

It was finally decided to examine closely the

granite block, which was broken into thou-
sands of pieces. A total of 294 kg of cocaine
was seized, and fourteen people involved
were arrested.

The cocaine could not be identified by

using X-ray equipment. The granite block
was destroyed into thousands of pieces
and a total of 294 kg were seized

(Photos courtesy of Belgium and Spanish Customs)

47
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WCO ANNUAL REPORT 2003

Statistical Appendixes

The tables give an overview of the number and quantity seized for the main drug types

OPIATES
Heroin Morphine Opium Poppy Straw
No. of Quantity No. of Quantity No. of Quantity No. of Quantity
seizures (Kg) seizures (Kg) seizures (Kg) seizures (Kg)
Asia and Pacific 338 2,370 3 6 72 323 2 8,150
Caribbean 7 33
CIS 98 602 16 7 21 86
E/C Europe 65 2,271 3 9 2 1
Middle East 24 20 1 0,1 22 13
North America 20 33 2 1,3 13 62
South America 7 48 6 33
E/S Africa 9 16
Western Europe 397 1,993 2 2,2 19 47
Grand Total 965 7,386 8 9,6 151 494 25 8,237

COCAINE
Cocaine Cocaine Base Cocaine Solution Crack
No. of Quantity No. of Quantity No. of Quantity No. of Quantity
seizures (Kg) seizures (Kg) seizures (Kg/Litres) seizures (Kg)

Asia and Pacific 26 78

Caribbean 32 4.896 2 4.2 5 2.2
CIS 6 42
E/C Europe 21 482 1 6
Middle East 5 41 1 20
North Africa 1 0.5
North America 135 959 1 0.5 1 0.4
South America 487 2.013 29 220 1 0.6
E/S Africa 11 97
Western Europe 4.934 55.776 7 33 12 44.3 9 17
Grand Total 5.658 64.386 39 279.5 14 48.5 16 20.2

CANNABIS
Herbal Cannabis Cannabis-liquid/oil Cannabis-other Cannabis Resin
No. of Quantity No. of Quantity No. of Quantity No. of Quantity No. of Quantity
seizures (Kg) seizures (Kg/Litres) seizures (Kg) seizures (units) seizures (Kg)

Asia and Pacific 76 16,344 1 5,582 82 17,507

Caribbean 41 5,826
CIS 75 6,123 9 35
E/C Europe 30 1,962 1 180 10 457
Middle East 2 663 1 25,000 17 2,358
North Africa 4 7,405 198 45,810
North America 30 694 8 92 3 10,536
South America 36 1,203
E/S Africa 3 15 11 1,082
West Africa 4 526
Western Europe 440 33,459 11 135 5 198 4 291 1,224 278,433
Grand Total 741 74,220 19 227 17 6,862 6 25,471 1,543 355,136
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Statistical Appendixes

PSYCHOTROPIC SUBSTANCES
Amphetamine Benzodiazepam Benzoflunitrazepam
No. of Quantity No. of Quantity No. of Quantity No. of Quantity No. of Quantity
seizures (Kg) seizures (Tabs) seizures (Kg) seizures (Tabs) seizures (Tabs)

Asia and Pacific 4 1,450

CIS 1 1 3 182,9 3 875
E/C Europe 7 159 4 532,318
Middle East 32 7,245,956 1 1,360
North America 2 0,3 2 502 12 6,748 2 20,300
South America
E/S Africa
West Africa 1 797
Western Europe 125 1.465 1 1.640 2 0,1 62 86,490 25 97,471
Grand Total 136 2,422 39 7,780,416 5 183 82 96,923 27 117,771

PSYCHOTROPIC SUBSTANCES
LSD MDMA (Ecstasy) Methadone
No. of Quantity No. of Quantity No. of Quantity No. of Quantity
seizures (Doses) seizures (Kg) seizures (Tabs) seizures (Kg)

Asia and Pacific 1 306 21 698 36 711,836 6 2.1

CIS 1 0.2
E/C Europe 1 4 8 287,982
Middle East 1 420
North America 8 10,508 22 5,583,274 1 5
South America 1 9 1 5,500
E/S Africa 3 3,500
West Africa
Western Europe 3 30,365 115 1,222 157 2,953,601 9 8.9
Grand Total 13 41,599 138 1,933 227 9,545,693 17 16.2

PSYCHOTROPIC SUBSTANCES
Methamphetamine Methaqualone Psilocybines
(Mandrax)
No. of Quantity No. of Quantity No. of Quantity No. of Quantity No. of Quantity
seizures (Kg) seizures (Tabs) seizures (Kg) seizures (Kg) seizures (Tabs)

Asia and Pacific 50 718.5 7 15,532 2 4,317

CIS
E/C Europe 4 0.2 2 4 1 250
Middle East 1 34,400
North America 2 0.6 1 231 2 4.2 2 848
South America
E/S Africa 1 4,386
West Africa
Western Europe 11 5.1 3 10,569 1 1 14 64
Grand Total 67 724.4 11 26,332 4 8,704 18 72.2 4 35,498

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Statistical Appendixes

PSYCHOTROPIC SUBSTANCES
Other Psychotropic Substances Khat
No. of Quantity No. of Quantity No. of Quantity No. of Quantity
seizures (Kg) seizures (Litres) seizures (Tabs) seizures (Kg)

Asia and Pacific 24 92 55 233,437

CIS 29 973 36 430,882
E/C Europe 5 1,106,988
Middle East 1 0 5 2,005,570
North America 3 5 1 0.2 340 20,547
South America
E/S Africa
West Africa
Western Europe 6 18 8 618 35 31.631 322 18,475
Grand Total 63 1,088 9 618.2 136 3,808,508 662 39,022

Remarkable large seizures made in 2003

COCAINE
CEN ID Date Country Location Route Conveyance Quantity Concealment
(Kg)
70450 11 Oct. 03 Spain Atlantic Ocean UN-ES Vessel:Other 5,734 In transport:Vessel
59500 20 Aug. 03 Netherlands Vlissingen VE-XC-NL-BE Commercial vessel 4,050 In transport:
Vessel:On board
70550 4 July 03 Spain Atlantic Ocean VE-ES Fishing vessel 3,640 In transport:
Vessel:On board
55347 8 May 03 Spain Vigo CO-ES Commercial vessel 3,271 In transport:Vessel
67729 6 Dec. 03 Spain Vigo UN-ES Vessel 2,800 In transport:
Vessel:On board
55363 30 May 03 Spain Canarias UN-ES Vessel 2,611 In transport:
Vessel:On board
55364 4 June 03 Spain Canarias UN-ES Vessel 2,591 In transport:
Vessel:On board
57689 13 Apr.03 Spain Gran Canaria TT-ES Commercial vessel 1,887 In transport:
Vessel:Other
70545 7 May 03 Spain Vizcaya CO-VE-ES Container ship 1,750 In freight:Sea
70537 16 Nov.03 Spain Atlantic Ocean UN-ES Fishing vessel 1,368 In transport:
Vessel:On board

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Statistical Appendixes

HEROIN
CEN ID Date Country Location Route Conveyance Quantity Concealment
(Kg)
56911 6 May 03 Pakistan Koh-E-Suleman PK-UN Unknown 1,350 Other:Dumped
61821 29 Sep. 03 Turkey Ipsala UN-TR-GR-AL Truck/Lorry 286 In transport:
In load area:Other
57325 3 June 03 Pakistan Baluchistan PK-UN Unknown 176 Other: Dumped
45248 18 Jan. 03 Turkey Kapikule TR-BG-UN Truck/Lorry 144 In transport:
Truck/Lorry:Exterior
65318 16 Oct. 03 Turkey Kapikule TR-BG-RO Coach/bus 141 In transport:
Coach/Bus
59478 4 Sep. 03 Bulgaria Rousse TR-BG-RO-HU Truck/Lorry 137 In transport:
-AT-DE Exterior:In structure
70934 10 Jan. 03 Russian Fed. Uralsk KZ-RU Vehicle 114 In transport
67036 23 Dec. 03 Hungary Kiszombor RO-AT-HU-DE Delivery van 112 In transport:
In load area:
In structure
57931 13 June 03 Turkey Ipsala TR-GR-FR Truck/Lorry: 107 In transport:
Trailer truck Driver's compartment
56914 8 May 03 Pakistan Chagi UN-PK-UN Unknown 95 Other: Dumped

HERBAL CANNABIS
CEN ID Date Country Location Route Conveyance Quantity Concealment
(Kg)
57622 28 Apr. 03 Belgium Antwerp TH-NL-BE Commercial vessel 6,402 In transport: Container

62742 20 Oct. 03 India Aizawal UN-IN-UN Truck/Lorry 6,368 In transport:Truck/Lorry

66197 8 Dec. 03 Morocco Larache MA Unknown 6,100 Unknown
53476 25 Apr. 03 Netherlands Rotterdam TH-SG-NL Commercial vessel 4,282 In freight:Sea
65879 5 Jan. 03 Jamaica Gordon Bay JM-US Container ship 4,103 In freight:Sea
57621 17 Mar. 03 Belgium Antwerp GH-DE-BE-NL Commercial vessel 3,740 In transport:Container
60107 17 July 03 Belgium Antwerp NG-BE Commercial vessel 1,529 In freight:Sea
62740 3 Oct. 03 India Dimapur UN-IN-UN Truck/Lorry 1,452 In transport:Truck/Lorry
57634 3 June 03 Belgium Antwerp HN-DE-BE Commercial vessel 1,441 In freight:Sea
58153 16 June 03 India Shillong UN-IN-UN Unknown 1,423 Other

CANNABIS RESIN
CEN ID Date Country Location Route Conveyance Quantity Concealment
(Kg)
65613 7 Dec. 03 Morocco Tanger MA-ES-NL Truck/Lorry 19,200 In freight:Road
73604 17 Jan. 03 Canada Halifax UN-CA Vessel 10,532 In transport:
Container
56977 28 May 03 France Bayonne MA-ES-FR Truck/Lorry 7,385 In freight:Road
65057 14 Nov. 03 Morocco Tanger MA-ES Truck/Lorry 6,390 In freight:Road
51213 10 Mar. 03 Spain Alicante MA-ES Vessel: Yacht 5,434 In transport:
Vessel:On board
71948 11 Nov. 03 Spain Coruna MA-ES Vessel 4,360 Not concealed
57057 22 May 03 France Montpellier MA-ES-FR-GB Truck/Lorry 4,068 In freight:Road
66274 17 Dec. 03 France Les Ulis ES-FR-NL Truck/Lorry 3,870 In freight:Road
61814 19 Oct. 03 Spain Aguilas MA-ES Vessel:Other 3,740 In transport:Vessel:
On board
61874 5 Oct. 03 Spain Cadiz MA-ES Truck/Lorry 3,700 In transport:
In load area:
In structure
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Statistical Appendixes

AMPHETAMINE
CEN ID Date Country Location Route Conveyance Quantity Concealment
(Kg)
70836 31 Dec. 03 Burkina Faso* Ouaga UN-BF Truck/Lorry 797 In transport:Truck/Lorry
67978 1 Dec. 03 United Kingdom Coquelles FR-FR-GB Truck/Lorry 300 In freight:Road
52298 8 Apr. 03 Saudi Arabia Hadithah SY-JO-SA Coach/bus 284 In transport:
Coach/Bus
67871 15 Nov. 03 United Kingdom Dover NL-UN-GB Truck/Lorry 246 In transport:Truck/Lorry
52184 7 Apr. 03 Saudi Arabia Hadithah LB-SY-JO-SA Truck/Lorry 189 In transport:
Truck/Lorry:Exterior
58248 18 July 03 Turkey Kapikule BG-TR-TR Car/passenger van 158 In transport:
Boot:In structure
52299 8 Apr. 03 Saudi Arabia Hadithah SY-JO-SA Coach/bus 148 In transport:
Coach/Bus
55478 25 June 03 Saudi Arabia Alhadetha JO-SA Coach/bus 147 In transport:
Coach/Bus:
Luggage area
64444 18 Oct. 03 Saudi Arabia Haditha SY-JO-SA Truck/Lorry 145 In transport:
Driver's compartment
62838 9 May 03 Saudi Arabia Haditha SY-JO-SA Car/passenger van 138 In transport:
Coach/Bus
*Annual figure

MDMA (Ecstasy)
CEN ID Date Country Location Route Conveyance Quantity Concealment
(Kg)
72832 19 Aug. 03 Canada Montreal NL-CA Vessel 809 In freight:Other
72831 22 Aug. 03 Canada Pearson NL-CA Vessel 750 In freight:Other
57598 19 June 03 United Kingdom Dover UN-FR-GB Truck/Lorry 288 In transport:Truck/Lorry
66488 3 Dec. 03 France Dunkerque DE-BE-FR-GB Truck/Lorry 256 In transport:
In load area
63268 4 Oct. 03 Australia Sydney BE-AU Commercial vessel 195 In freight:Sea
59472 2 July 03 United Kingdom Dover FR-GB Truck/Lorry 192 In transport:Truck/Lorry
53763 15 Apr. 03 Australia Fremantle MY-AU Commercial vessel 171 In freight:Sea
56101 26 Mar. 03 United Kingdom Manchester UN-BE-GB Truck/Lorry 135 In freight:Road
50408 5 Feb. 03 Australia Brisbane BE-AU Commercial vessel 135 In freight:Sea
58305 14 July 03 Australia Sydney NL-AU Commercial vessel 115 In freight:Sea

Main Departure and Intended Destination Countries for the Main Drug Types

COCAINE
Departure Quantity (Kg) Destination Quantity (Kg)
Unknown 19,854 Spain 32,846
Venezuela 10,536 Netherlands 11,864
Colombia 6,098 Belgium 4,437
Brazil 3,879 United Kingdom 3,660
Suriname 2,812 Dutch Antilles 2,772
Peru 2,541 Italy 1,537
Curacao 2,386 Canada 1,018
Trinidad & Tobago 2,051 France 735
Cuba 1,910 Guatemala 561
Spain 1,776 Portugal 458
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Statistical Appendixes

HEROIN
Departure Quantity (Kg) Destination Quantity (Kg)
Pakistan 2,088 Unknown 2,117
Turkey 1,594 Germany 855
Unknown 1,029 Italy 668
Albania 436 Russian Fed. 586
Kazakhstan 353 United Kingdom 485
India 317 Romania 363
Netherlands 284 Albania 286
Serbia and Montenegro 213 France 267
Uzbekistan 144 Netherlands 181
Romania 144 Sri Lanka 118

HERBAL CANNABIS
Departure Quantity (Kg) Destination Quantity (Kg)
Unknown 16,280 Unknown 13,465
Thailand 11,525 United Kingdom 10,619
Jamaica 8,614 Belgium 9,388
Morocco 7,414 Netherlands 9,274
Ghana 4,171 Morocco 7,405
Netherlands 3,492 US 4,828
Albania 3,470 India 3,039
India 3,058 Russian Fed. 2,198
Nigeria 1,659 Italy 1,856
Honduras 1,441 Greece 1,739

CANNABIS RESIN
Departure Quantity (Kg) Destination Quantity (Kg)
Morocco 251,380 Spain 186,895
Spain 50,474 Netherlands 42,650
Unknown 17,687 United Kingdom 38,832
Pakistan 15,303 France 24,972
Netherlands 4,657 Unknown 12,520
France 1,783 Canada 10,544
Belgium 1,770 Germany 9,847
Italy 950 Italy 5,811
Nepal 860 Morocco 4,190
India 852 Belgium 3,698

AMPHETAMINE
Departure Quantity (Kg) Destination Quantity (Kg)
Syria 1,078 Saudi Arabia 2,170
Jordan 592 United Kingdom 826
Netherlands 542 Turkey 258
France 347 Norway 192
Bulgaria 255 Germany 140
Unknown 246 Unknown 118
Lebanon 190 Sweden 75
Turkey 181 Syria 60
Germany 157 Ireland 51
Kuwait 81 Switzerland 20

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Statistical Appendixes

MDMA (Ecstasy)
Departure Quantity (Kg) Destination Quantity (Kg)
Netherlands 2,429 Canada 1,675
Unknown 638 United Kingdom 1,285
Belgium 455 Australia 714
Germany 400 Japan 105
France 346 Unknown 103
Malaysia 176 Spain 98
Italy 92 Italy 89
United Kingdom 73 France 83
Turkey 70 US 79
Switzerland 29 New Zealand 72

METHAMPHETAMINE
Departure Quantity (Kg) Destination Quantity (Kg)
China 509 Japan 313
Unknown 103 Australia 233
Dem. Korea 45 Unknown 102
Philippines 20 Dem. Korea 53
Hong Kong, China 14 China 11
Myanmar 12 Switzerland 5
Canada 10 Italy 4
Malaysia 8 Guam 4
Thailand 7 Thailand 3
Rep. Korea 3 Chinese Taipei 1

KHAT
Departure Quantity (Kg) Destination Quantity (Kg)
United Kingdom 21,279 Canada 23,104
Netherlands 12,283 Denmark 5,592
Denmark 2,915 Norway 4,636
Unknown 1,686 Sweden 3,218
Sweden 736 Finland 1,769
Kenya 627 US 1,497
Djibouti 585 Germany 823
Germany 376 Ireland 520
Italy 273 France 247
Norway 157 Italy 131

OPIUM
Departure Quantity (Kg) Destination Quantity (Kg)
Unknown 210 Unknown 274
Iran 168 Canada 81
Pakistan 119 Turkmenistan 54
Myanmar 54 Germany 41
Peru 33 Iran 39
United Arab Emirates 18 China 34
Turkey 15 United Kingdom 21
Thailand 10 Pakistan 19
Afghanistan 9 Myanmar 15
Germany 7 US 15

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WCO RILO Network

WCO RILO Network

WCO CEN TEAM – BRUSSELS CIS – RUSSIAN FEDERATION JOINT INTELLIGENCE OFFICE (JIO)
tel: 32 2 209 9211 (switchboard) - ext. 312 CENTRAL ENFORCEMENT DEPARTMENT OF CARIBBEAN
fax: 32 2 209 94 95 THE STATE CUSTOMS COMMITTEE CCLEC – CARIBBEAN CUSTOMS LAW
email: cis@wcoomd.org Novozavodskaj Street 11/5 ENFORCEMENT COUNSIL
121087 Moscow 4 Manoel Street
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Bergisch Gladbacher Str. 837 e-mail: rilo-moscow@gubk.customs.ru Fax: 1 758 453 2563
51069 Cologne e-mail: cclec@candw.lc
tel: 49 221 672 4112 NORTH AFRICA - MOROCCO
fax: 49 221 672 4111 ADMINISTRATION DES DOUANES ET
e-mail: office@rilo-we.org IMPÔTS INDIRECTS
Avenue Annakhil, Hay Ryad,
CENTRAL/EASTERN EUROPE - POLAND Rabat
POLISH CUSTOMS SERVICE Tel: 212 37 57 94 42
MINISTRY OF FINANCE Fax: 212 37 71 78 38
12 Swietokrzyska Str, E-mail: brlr.rilo.naf@douane.gov.ma
00-916 Warsawa
tel: 48 228 26 9189 EASTERN/SOUTHERN AFRICA - KENYA
fax: 48 228 27 6797 KENYA REVENUE AUTHORITY
e-mail: mat@rilo-waw.pl Times Tower 9th Floor
or agnes@rilo-waw.pl Haile Selassie Avenue
P.O. Box 72236
ASIA/PACIFIC – CHINA Nairobi
CHINESE CUSTOMS ADMINISTRATION tel: 254 20 34 04 14
10th Floor, East Wing, Jia 10, fax: 254 20 31 79 64 or 254 20 24 13 17
Guang Hua Road - Chao Yang District e-mail: riloke@africaonline.co.ke
10026 Beijing
tel: 86 10 6539 6346 CENTRAL AFRICA - CAMEROON
fax: 86 10 6539 6349 DIRECTION NATIONALE DES DOUANES
e-mail: rilo-ap@customs.gov.cn B.P. 4049
Douala
MIDDLE EAST - SAUDI ARABIA tel: 237 343 1690
CUSTOMS DEPARTMENT fax: 237 343 1690
P.O. Box 22631, e-mail: eyambe@hotmail.com
Riyadh
tel: 966 1 478 7889 WEST AFRICA - SENEGAL
fax: 966 1 478 5887 Rue René Ndiaye, Angle Carde
e-mail: rilo1@hotmail.com B.P. 4033
Dakar
SOUTH AMERICA - CHILE tel: 221 822 1185
DIRECCIÓN NACIONAL DE ADUANAS fax: 221 822 5569
Plaza Sotomayor, 60 e-mail: i.seck@sentoo.sn
Valparaiso
tel: 56 32 20 0815
fax: 56 32 23 31 63/25 4034
e-mail: rilosa@aduana.cl

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WCO ANNUAL REPORT 2003

WCO
Mission
Statement
The World Customs Organization is an in-
dependent intergovernmental body whose
mission is to enhance the efficiency and ef-
fectiveness of Member Customs administra-
tions, thereby assisting them to contribute
successfully to national development goals,
particularly in the areas of trade facilitation,
revenue collection, community protection
and national security.
WCO
Vision
Statement
The World Customs Organization is inter-
nationally acknowledged as the global
centre of Customs expertise and plays a
leading role in the discussion, development,
promotion and implementation of modern
and secure Customs systems and proce-
dures. It is responsive to the needs of its
Members and its strategic environment, and
its instruments and best-practice ap-
proaches are recognized as the basis for
sound Customs administration throughout
the world.
Acknowledgements
The World Customs Organization is very
grateful for the specific contributions to this
annual Report provided by: All Regional
Intelligence Liaison Offices and their
National Contact Points including use of
their bulletins; International Narcotics
Control Board (INCB), ICPO/INTERPOL
and United Nations Office on Drugs and
Crime (UNODC).

The WCO would like to thank HM Customs

and Excise, United Kingdom, for allowing
Peter Clark to continue co-ordination of the
“African Seaport Projects” and for his contri-
bution to this Report.

56
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