FBIS4-22214 "jpusr033___94010"
FBIS-USR-94-033 JPRS
FBIS Report: Central Eurasia 19 February 1994 RUSSIA REGIONAL AFFAIRS

Sakhalin Notes Increase in Drug Abuse

Sakhalin Notes Increase in Drug Abuse 944F0465B Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk SVOBODNYY SAKHALIN in Russian No 7, 19 Feb 94 p 13 944F0465B Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk SVOBODNYY SAKHALIN Russian CSO [Interview with Leche Tepsurkayev, chief of Counternarcotics Division of Sakhalin Oblast Internal Affairs Administration, by Oleg Demakov; date and place not given: "The Sakhalin Drug Trade: Dealers and Victims"] [Text] In 1993 there were 158 cases in the oblast in which people were charged with drug trafficking and drug possession, and more than 200 kilograms of drugs were confiscated. In 1992 there were only 70 such trials and only 68 kilograms of confiscated drugs. We were motivated to begin looking into the problem of drug abuse not only by the sinister statistics, but also by our personal observations. Young men and women who are clearly under the influence of drugs are a common sight on our streets. Conversations in which drug terms, such as "joint," "freebasing," "mainlining," and "lid," are commonly used are not extraordinary either. Finally, the sight of teenagers openly rolling a "joint" on the steps of the Oktyabr movie theater provided the conclusive evidence that the weakness for drugs has become the genuine scourge of a whole generation. A SVOBODNYY SAKHALIN correspondent interviewed the main enemy of the Sakhalin drug mafia, Leche Tepsurkayev, the chief of the Counternarcotics Division of the oblast Internal Affairs Administration. [Tepsurkayev] One of the problems of drug abuse in Russia is the absence of legislation allowing us to take any action against, for example, those teenagers at the theater. The law stating that criminal proceedings would be instituted against any person caught using drugs twice in one year has been repealed. For this reason, the drug user no longer has anything to fear. [Demakov] Would you say that most of the drugs on Sakhalin are not produced locally? [Tepsurkayev] They definitely are not. They enter the oblast through a multitude of channels. They usually come through Central Asia (opium from Afghanistan comes through Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, and Tajikistan), and poppy straw comes here from Ukraine. The principal and most dangerous supplier, however, is Maritime Kray, the source of the marijuana. There are drugs from Vietnam, China, and North Korea. There are channels through which drugs and guns are shipped from Sakhalin to Japan.... [Demakov] This is especially true now that the drug trade generates profits of up to 1,000 percent for the criminals. Is your division capable of keeping an eye on all of the known channels? [Tepsurkayev] We can monitor them, but the legislative base is constantly letting us down. The only grounds for the institution of criminal proceedings are complaints from citizens or organizations, and we are not getting any. The only way we can put a dealer on trial is to catch him in the act. Even when we do this, however, any defense attorney can use a number of tricks to prove that our actions were illegal. [Demakov] Although literally everyone, including that defense attorney, knows that this is a real criminal.... [Tepsurkayev] Of course. That is why we receive offers of help from representatives of the former Russian Federation Ministry of Security, the heads of the Internal Affairs Administration, and the oblast administration. Back in 1987 the Supreme Soviet published an edict authorizing each administration to institute drug control. Our administration exercised this right, which allowed us to question suspects without any delays. Today this might be the only way of taking any kind of firm action while staying within the law. [Demakov] Who is your typical "client"? [Tepsurkayev] The drug trade is an international business, and that is why anyone at all might be involved in it. In most cases, however, they are adults who can afford to come up with the large initial investment. This kind of "client," even if he is put on trial, rarely pays for his own crimes. He always has the prospect of buying his way out of the problem by hiring a good defense attorney.... Furthermore, this kind of criminal is quite difficult to convict, because all of the work is done by those young people we were talking about, and they are the ones who do the time in prison. Another problem is the tendency of illegal drugs to become a consolidating factor for young users, uniting the addicts in an extended organization. They know each other and are in contact with each other.... Unfortunately, the percentage of crimes committed by addicts is constantly rising: Strong drugs cost so much that it is simply impossible to earn this much money legally. A single gram of opium, for example, or a cup of poppy straw can cost from 25,000 to 30,000 rubles. Marijuana costs the same. [Demakov] And in this community, in addition to the "common needles" the drug abusers share, they also have "common causes": They join forces in "bombing" homes and stripping passersby of their clothes and shoes.... [Tepsurkayev] That is true, and it is frightening. That is why we urge them and their parents to come to us before it is too late. Your children will not necessarily be put on trial, and your statements can give us the grounds to prosecute those who are poisoning your family members. The telephone number of our division is 2-39-71.