Heroin

Heroin is a highly addictive central nervous system depressant, processed from morphine: a naturally occurring substance in the seed pod of certain types of poppies. Heroin can be smoked, injected, or sniffed/snorted. Injection is the most effective means of administration for low-purity heroin, although high purity heroin can be snorted which eliminates the stigma of needles (although high rates of heroin use may damage the nasal lining and passages leading the user to eventually resort to injection). If needles and equipment are shared between heroin users, there is an increased risk of the spread of hepatitis B and C, HIV/AIDS, or other blood-borne disease. Chronic heroin abuse often results in collapsed veins, infections of the heart lining, and liver disease.

Heroin production occurs in three primary regions: Southwest Asia (Afghanistan), Southeast Asia (Myanmar), and Latin America (Colombia and Mexico).

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) heroin production estimates for the past ten years reflect substantial changes in the primary source areas. Heroin production in Southeast Asia declined dramatically, while heroin production in Southwest Asia expanded. The decrease in heroin production from Myanmar is the result of several years of unfavorable growing conditions and new government policies of forced eradication. Afghan heroin production increased during the same timeframe, with a notable decrease in 2001 purportedly as a result of the Taliban’s fatwa (religious ban) against heroin production. Afghanistan now produces over 90 percent of the world’s opium.

Afghanistan : The Golden Crescent

The UNODC estimates opium cultivation in Afghanistan increased 59 percent in 2006 to a record 165,000 hectares. US government estimates for the same time period suggest 172,600 hectares were used for poppy cultivation. Although the U.S. government estimates indicate more ground under poppy cultivation, the potential yield estimate is lower than the production estimate from UNODC. Consequently, the total production of opium from Afghanistan in 2006 ranges from 5,644 to 6,100 metric tons. Given an average conversion ratio of 10:1 for opium to heroin, total production ranges from 564 to 610 metric tons, 30 percent greater than current market demand estimates. Helmand province produced 42 percent of the total opium from Afghanistan in 2006 with 69,324 hectares under cultivation. Other provinces with significant amounts of production (greater than 5,000 hectares) include Badakhshan (13,056 hectares), Balkh (7,232 hectares), Kandahar (12,619 hectares), Uruzgan (9,703 hectares), Day-kundi (7,044 hectares), and Farah (7,694 hectares).

Drug cultivation in Afghanistan is facilitated by both domestic and foreign individuals who lend money and/or provide agricultural inputs to farmers. These individuals then buy the crop at set prices or settle the payment of loans through the acceptance of raw opium as a payment in-kind. Reporting from multiple sources indicate nearly all of the opium is converted to heroin in Afghanistan. This is a significant transformation of the industry given the history of smuggling raw opium for heroin conversion in other countries, such as Turkey. With a conversion factor of nearly 10:1 between opium and heroin the size of the shipments to be smuggled is considerably smaller, therefore easier to conceal. This also suggests a transformation of the heroin market as Afghanistan shifts from being a source of raw material to a producer of the finished product.

The essential precursor chemical for heroin conversion is acetic anhydride. Acetic anhydride is a clear, colorless liquid with a pungent, odor similar to vinegar. It is used in the manufacture of cellulose acetate as a base for magnetic tape, and in the manufacture of textile fibers. When heated with salicylic acid it produces acetylsalicylic acid (aspirin), and is used in the manufacture of pigments, dyes, cellulose, and pesticides.

Given that there is no legitimate use for acetic anhydride in Afghanistan, large quantities of the chemical must be smuggled into the country, possibly ranging from 645 metric tons to 697 metric tons.

Southeast Asia : The Golden Triangle

Although the tri-border region of Myanmar, Thailand and Laos accounts for the majority of heroin production in Southeast Asia, the amount of heroin produced in the area has decreased by approximately 70% over the last five years. In 2004, Myanmar and Laos accounted for nearly the entire heroin produced in the region. Eradication efforts and the enforcement of poppy-free zones have combined to depress cultivation levels for the last four years, although the decline in heroin production is being offset by an increase in the production of methamphetamine (yaba). Myanmar’s opium is grown primarily in the border region of Shan State in areas controlled by former insurgent groups.

Latin America :

Colombia

Due largely to the distinct markets for the two types of heroin, Latin American heroin production assessments differentiate between drug production in Colombia and Mexico.

Andean production during the last decade remained relatively stable. Production peaked in 1998 at 100 metric tons of opium, declining by nearly 25% over the next five years. Significant crop reductions in 2004 and 2005 resulted in an estimated production of 28 metric tons in 2005.

The normal difficulties associated with counter-drug operations and crop eradication efforts are compounded by the presence of various armed groups in the area, including the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), the United Self Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC) and, to a lesser extent, the National Liberation Army (ELN). These groups control areas in Colombia with high concentrations of coca and opium poppy cultivation, and their involvement in the narcotics trade is a major source of violence and terrorism in the country.

Mexico

Of the four major opium source areas in the world, Mexican-produced “black-tar” and brown heroin are generally the lowest in purity. An increase in heroin overdoses in the western United States in the late 1990s, however, reflected an increase in the purity of Mexican heroin. Although production has fluctuated over the last decade, 69 metric tons of opium was produced in 2005. Mexican farmers (like Colombian poppy growers) use small, widely disbursed plots in remote regions to avoid having their crops detected and eradicated. These fields are often inaccessible to aerial eradication efforts.

Southwest Asian heroin

The bulk of Southwest Asian heroin is moved overland to market destinations. Afghan heroin moves to markets in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East through Iran, Pakistan, and Central Asia. An estimated 40% of the heroin and morphine from Afghanistan moves through Iran. Iran reports significant seizures of opium and heroin from smuggler convoys which are increasingly well-armed and capable of traveling at night.

Two primary routes are used to smuggle heroin: the Balkan Route, which runs through southeastern Europe, and the Silk Route, which runs through Central Asia. The anchor point for the Balkan Route is Turkey, which remains a major staging area and transportation route for heroin destined for European markets. The Balkan Route is divided into three sub-routes: the southern route runs through Turkey, Greece, Albania and Italy; the central route runs through Turkey, Bulgaria, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Slovenia, and into either Italy or Austria; and the northern route runs from Turkey, Bulgaria and Romania to Austria, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Poland or Germany. Large quantities of heroin are destined for either the Netherlands or the United Kingdom.

Nine kilograms of heroin in a double bottom suitcase seized by Belgian Customs officers in April 2006 from a passenger arriving from Turkey.

Although the Balkan Route is considered the primary supply line for Western Europe Afghan and Central Asian traffickers smuggle heroin along the Silk Route into Russia, the Baltic States, Poland, Ukraine, the Czech Republic and other parts of Europe. Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, K azakhstan, and Turkmenistan are vital transit countries, with an estimated 24% of Afghan heroin smuggled along this route.

A trend that appears to be developing is the shipment of large quantities of heroin to European markets. Several multi-hundred kilo seizures have taken place in the last year, possibly as a result of a willingness to risk larger quantities knowing that a ready source of heroin remains available. Another possibility is the stockpiling of heroin for European markets.

East Africa is a key entry area for southwest Asian heroin destined for markets in East and South Africa. These areas are supplied by East and West African trafficking organizations as well as southwest Asian criminal groups operating out of India and Pakistan and, more recently, Afghanistan. These organizations rely to a large extent on commercial air, using both human couriers as well as air freight to conceal heroin consignments. The quantities of heroin smuggled in this fashion are generally inferior to the amounts smuggled in commercial vehicles along the Balkan Route. It is suspected that maritime shipments are also utilized, but the extent of this activity remains uncertain. There is also evidence that a number of these organizations deal in the trafficking of other controlled substances such as cocaine obtained in South America and cannabis produced in Africa. East African groups are responsible for moving Afghan heroin to markets in the United States and Canada, usually using human couriers.

Southeast Asian heroin

Much of the heroin produced in the region reaches markets through southern China, although increased law enforcement pressure by Chinese authorities has forced some traffickers to seek new routes through Thailand. In Laos, the Mekong River remains a major conduit for heroin trafficking and is patrolled in only a few areas. Many key drug areas, particularly in the north, are virtually inaccessible to Laotian officials. Ethnic Chinese traffickers control the heroin trade in Australia (often with Vietnamese criminal organizations), Malaysia, and the few remaining markets in Canada and the United States.

Hong Kong, China’s position as a key port city and its proximity to the Golden Triangle and mainland China historically have made it a natural transit point for heroin moving from Southeast Asia to global markets. Although the amount of heroin transiting through Hong Kong appears to be diminishing, drug traffickers continue to use it as a base of operations.

Colombian and Mexican heroin

Nearly the entire amount of heroin produced in Mexico is destined for markets in the western half of the United States, while Colombian heroin supplies the eastern United States. Colombian traffickers use routes through Venezuela, Argentina, Ecuador, Panama, and Mexico to move heroin to the United States. Heroin is often concealed in the lining of clothing or luggage, although heroin sallower are still common. There are reports of heroin shipments being combined with cocaine loads on go-fast boats departing from Colombia’s Atlantic coast.

Colombian heroin seized at the Barranquilla airport January 2007. The heroin was sewn into clothing being shipped to the United States.

Mexican drug trafficking organizations control the transportation of the heroin across the border and exercise control over the distribution of the drug in the United States. In 2004 the same criminal organizations continued to expand their distribution operations in major Mexican cities and tourist zones due to increasing domestic drug demand. Although Mexican heroin generally dominates the markets west of the Mississippi River, several recent cases involved the distribution of Mexican heroin in the Midwest.

Europe remains the primary market for heroin, accounting for one-third of the world’s opiate consumption. Despite the increased production in southwest Asia, the European demand for heroin appears to be stable. Southwest Asian heroin supplies consumers across Europe, Central Asia, Russia, where demand is increasing, and the Commonwealth of Independent States. Reports indicate that Iran has a persistent heroin abuse problem as well, and serves as a critical transit point for heroin destined to Europe. Estimates suggest 2 million Iranians are drug addicts, with 1.2 million addicted to heroin.

Although Southeast Asian heroin dominates the Asian illicit drug markets, the Golden Crescent is increasingly a source of illicit drugs trafficked into western China, particularly Xingjian Province. As of 2004, there were 1.6 million registered drug addicts in China, double the number in 1995. Unofficial sources suggest the number of drug users in China may be as high as 7 million.

A consequence of the increased production of opium from Afghanistan is an increase in the purity of southwest Asian heroin. One indicator of this higher heroin purity is a change in abuse patterns. In Pakistan, addicts are increasingly injecting rather than smoking heroin. Injection has also become the preferred method of abuse in Southeast Asia, particularly western China. A commensurate increase in heroin overdoses and mortality rates can be anticipated as a consequence of the increased purity of southwest Asian heroin, but the more important effect will be an acceleration of the spread of HIV/AIDS in regions affected by heroin injection.

Demand in North America remains strong, although some abuse indicators suggest demand for heroin is starting to decrease. The introduction of high-purity Colombian heroin produced a new generation of heroin addicts since the drug can be snorted like cocaine rather than injected. Nearly the entire supply of heroin to the United States originates in Mexico and Colombia. Data from DEA’s 2005 Domestic Monitor Program, a street-level indicator program, indicates 96 percent of the heroin originates in Colombia or Mexico. Most of the heroin from Southwest Asia is trafficked by West African criminal organizations.

In 2006 a series of heroin-related overdoses across the United States, most notably in Detroit and Chicago, revealed the use of fentanyl with heroin. Fentanyl is a synthetic opiate, 30 to 50 times more powerful than heroin. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration reported fentanyl and heroin cases in at least nine other states. In June 2006 the DEA, along with the Chicago Police Department, arrested 29 alleged members of the Mickey Cobra street gang, suspected of trafficking fentanyl-laced heroin as well as crack cocaine and marijuana. While the fentanyl in the United States appears to have been manufactured in Mexico, fentanyl abuse has been reported in Denmark, Sweden, Ukraine, and Russia. The use of fentanyl with heroin occurs sporadically, and reports from the U.S. suggest the heroin/fentanyl mixture was a deliberate effort to market a more powerful form of heroin. Given the dramatic increase in heroin production from Afghanistan, and the ease of manufacturing fentanyl, similar marketing ploys may be anticipated as dealers attempt to increase their market share. Although there are no current indications that fentanyl laced heroin will emerge as a trend, INTERPOL will continue to monitor this drug combination.