FBIS3-22101
"jptdd013__l94104"
JPRS-tdd-94-013-L
Document Type:JPRS
Document Title:Narcotics
31 January 1994
CENTRAL EURASIA
ESTONIA
Country's Drug Trade Examined
94WD0268A Tallinn ESTONIYA in Russian 31 Jan 94 p 5
94WD0268A
Tallinn ESTONIYA
Language: Russian
Article Type:CSO
[Article by Margarita Kornysheva under the rubric "Crime and
the Law": "Until the Chicken Has Its Head Cut Off"]
[Text] Here is some information about the drug trade
obtained from confidential sources. First, not only do
well-established systems for the delivery and distribution of
narcotic substances operate in Estonia, but we also have our own
trained experts who are capable of determining the quality of
the "merchandise" and pricing it in a highly professional
manner. Second, there is a "fixation" on the border, where only
"dupes," random people, get caught. Third, there is a quite well
developed secrecy system. Fourth, cruel laws apply to the hilt
within the drug groups--if someone quits the game, or "spills
the beans," he therefore chooses "eternal rest" somewhere in a
quarry in Manniku. Fifth, threats against narcotics policemen
are increasing, and actions against them are quite real. All of
this is happening against the background of the fact that, in
the words of the psychiatrist Anti Liiv, "even the revolt in the
northeastern area of the country is less of a catastrophe for
the Estonian people than drug addiction."
`A Strange Small State in Which the Drug Problem Is of No
Concern to Anyone'
Doctor Liiv, who at one time practiced in the United States,
maintains that this is precisely how Americans perceive Estonia.
As you will understand, this problem "did not exist" in our
country until sometime in 1985, just like prostitution,
corruption, and all manner of other "capitalist ills" "did not
exist." Finally, they came to their senses and saw that one in
four apprehended thieves had something to do with drugs (by now,
one in three criminals commits the crime either intoxicated with
drugs or in possession of these substances). In short, the
phenomenon manifested itself sharply. Moreover, compared, for
example, to the year 1988, which is usually the reference point,
the phenomenon has grown to a quite respectable size. Data
quoted by the newspaper ARIPAEV not so long ago show that
according to the most conservative calculations, each of the
8,000 uncovered drug addicts spends 200 kroons weekly for the
poison. The annual volume of the local drug trade comes to at
least 60 million kroons. How are they to be legalized? We do not
have a law that hampers money laundering although, in an effort
to get the endeavor off the ground, representatives of the
competent organs have visited the West to "collect material" in
order to offer our legislators the draft of this particular law.
The republic still does not have a state program for combating
drug addiction, nor is there a major specialized police unit in
the scope of whose interests drugs would fall. Who benefits by
so nicely sweeping under the rug a problem that clearly
threatens the very life of our society?
In the opinion of Anti Liiv, and it is hard to disagree with
him, the current government benefits. What other explanation is
there for the fact that Estonia, a UN member, has failed to join
a single international convention forbidding trafficking in
narcotic substances? One cannot help wondering, all the more so
because the last document of this kind that was accepted by the
international community in 1988, hinders money
laundering, requiring that commercial secrets which are of
certain interest be revealed. In view of the absence of a
coordinating center for drug control, our country has been
unable to submit information about the domestic drug trade to
the UN for three years now.
Narcotic Poison in Estonia Is 10 Times Cheaper Than in Europe
This is the case on the "black" market. According to
information obtained from the security police, a five-gram
package of marijuana and one cubic [centimeter] of liquid opium
cost 50 kroons, one gram of hashish--no less than 75 kroons, and
a cubic [centimeter] of a synthetic drug (too weak for
"professionals")--as little as 25 kroons. Cocaine belongs to a
class of the most expensive and, apparently, least popular
"substances" for this reason. It is not cheap in Europe,
either--a five-gram package fetches $205.
At present, drugs of both vegetable origin (marijuana,
hashish, opium milk) and medicinal origin (diazepam) are common
in the republic. The former are more common, after all.
Depending on the specifics of transportation, their form differs
widely. A drug-sniffing dog "smells" drugs of vegetable origin.
However, the contrivances of drug dealers may rob it of the
scent. Previously, drugs were often transported in car bumpers.
The "merchandise" was placed there, and fresh epoxy resin was
poured over it. There is no way that a dog would "sniff out" a
drug in this hiding place for the next three or four days.
Opium poppies--quite recently, this combination of words was
associated solely with Central Asia, and to a lesser degree with
Ukraine. However, a few years ago it was learned how to grow
this crop in Estonia and Lithuania out of high-grade seeds
brought in from Kazakhstan. There are hills with plantations
between them. They can only be seen from a helicopter, and are
not visible from the road. The owner harvests, say, one-tenth of
a hectare, sells the crop, and buys a new house, a horse.... In
1989 an entire syndicate delivering drugs from Lithuania to us
was uncovered. Fourteen people ended up in the dock.
The Realm of Transit
Poison comes to Estonia from Russia, Lithuania, Central
Asia,
and the Caucasus. Luckily we cannot afford Western products. New
times have resulted in new opportunities for drug sales. The
transit of drugs through the Baltic area, in particular through
"us," previously without precedent, at any rate on this scale,
has become established.
Given the actually nonexistent border and the "most
incorruptible" customs in the world, the organization of
deliveries is not too exacting an endeavor. Outside groups have
appeared which have ultimately established themselves solidly
here. The deep pockets of their members have been helpful in
securing residence permits or citizenship for them. And how many
nerves do the common residents of Estonia shatter battling for
the same?!
According to data from the security police, everyone and his
brother plies the drug trade: The drug business in Estonia is
controlled by Azeri, Perm, Kemerovo, Novosibirsk, Riga, and
Krasnodar groups. For example, the Azeris control the delivery
of marijuana and hashish, and people from Krasnodar--that of
both marijuana and opium poppy. A case in which the traffic
police stopped a new Opel, in whose trunk 10 kilograms of
marijuana were found, at 1915 on 4 January on the Tartu Highway
close to the locality of Moega, is characteristic. It was
learned later that the drug was being transported from the Viru
section of the border and was controlled by an Azeri "company."
Most likely they were driving to an out-of-the-way location in
Harju Rayon. Practitioners are aware of these cases. The
interested person locates a hamlet with a granny as old as the
hills: "Here are 100 `greenbacks' for you, go buy yourself a
goat. In return, put my suitcase away somewhere, and let it sit
there until needed." The old woman does not care: "Son, toss it
in the hayloft. I am not pressed for space."
All "outsiders" have connections to local "brigades," more
often than not Russian-speaking, which deliver, for example,
opium poppies from the areas of the Chu Valley and Issyk-Kul in
Kyrgyzstan. The pattern is as follows: the south--Estonia--our
countrymen pick it up, pay for it, and transport it to
Scandinavia through their own channels. Over there, dealers get
the "merchandise" and dispose of it "on the spot" (the lion's
share of narcotic substances remains in the region) or ship it
on to Europe.
According to information from the Department of Police of
the
Republic of Estonia, last year more than 100 kilograms of
various drugs were confiscated in the territory of the republic.
Specialists believe that this was quite a lot, but they state
sadly right away: Certainly, more than that went abroad.
The Black Triangle
This consists of the suppliers, distributors, and consumers
of poison. As a rule, those who put drugs in circulation do not
"get high" themselves. They are more cunning and slippery than
the usual common criminals.
An alarming situation has developed in Tallinn. Police
functionaries are aware of about 30 apartments in which the
manufacturing of drug preparations is organized on a large
scale. According to data of the law enforcement organs,
gatherings of those fond of smoking or shooting up form
virtually on every street! Drug addicts are becoming a class.
Incidentally, there are people among them who are quite high on
the social ladder. Terrifying reports have been received from
some schools in the capital city--some students of senior grades
(but not only them!) become links in the chain of the
distributors of narcotic substances, almost inevitably getting
their first taste of the latter.
People in the know maintain that so-called "pure" drug
addicts do not exist in nature. This means that people who have
become addicted to drugs are prepared to do anything ahead of
time, driven by the fear of "withdrawal throes" alone. Let us
say that such a person picks up three or four kilograms of
"merchandise," keeps one-third, and sells two-thirds. Chasing
clientele, he would be happy to get anyone and everyone
"hooked." Be that as it may, this is an income, although there
is a risk of incurring criminal liability. Of course, they
steal, too, but the funds procured in this manner are not major.
Specialists predict it will not be long before high-capacity
underground plants for manufacturing drug preparations go on
line in Estonia. One does not have to be a specialist to duly
appreciate the exceptionally favorable conditions that bring
this "bright future" closer. There is nothing standing in the
way of the time of prosperity coming to the soil of Estonia for
a business which unfortunately has ranked second after the arms
trade throughout the world.
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|Drugs Are Cheap in Estonia |
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| |Price per gram in kroons |
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| |in Estonia |in Finland |
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|Pure heroin |300 |3,400 |
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|Cocaine |550 |550 |
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|Marijuana |10 |70 |
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|Hashish |75 |950 |
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|LSD |1,000 |2,000 |
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|Amphetamines (vial) |25 |160 |
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|Source: the newspaper ARIPAEV. |
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