Cablegate: Drug Precursors and Deforestation in Cambodia's

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PP RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM RUEHNH
DE RUEHPF #2138/01 3390439
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 050439Z DEC 06
FM AMEMBASSY PHNOM PENH
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7675
INFO RUCNASE/ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RHHMUNA/HQ USPACOM HONOLULU HI PRIORITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 PHNOM PENH 002138

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STATE FOR EAP/MLS, EAP/RSP, OES, INR, INL/AAE--CHARLES
BOULDIN AND CHARLIE SNYDER
BANGKOK FOR NAS--TERRY DARU, DEA-SCOTT SEELEY-HACKER, PAT
CHAGNON, AND JOHN SWAIN, AND REO--JIM WALLER
HANOI FOR DEA--JEFFREY WANNER AND POL--PETER ECKSTROM
PACOM FOR JIATF-WEST--DAVID KILBOURN

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/27/2016
TAGS: SNAR ESTH PGOV CB VN
SUBJECT: DRUG PRECURSORS AND DEFORESTATION IN CAMBODIA'S
CARDAMOM MOUNTAINS

Classified By: Poleconoff Jennifer Spande; Reason 1.4 (b) and (d)

1. (SBU) SUMMARY. In addition to being home to a multitude
of endangered and threatened flora and fauna, the Cardamom
Mountains in southwestern Cambodia also contain aromatic
trees being harvested and processed illegally to produce high
quality sassafras oil, a substance used to produce
methamphetamines as well as legal products. Cambodia's
leading narcotics official estimates that up to 300 tons of
Cambodian sassafras oil are exported to Vietnam each year.
Teams of 20-30 Vietnamese and Cambodian workers produce
sassafras oil in several locations within the Phnom Samkos
Wildlife Sanctuary, felling trees, polluting streams, and
putting pressure on local wildlife. While law enforcement
efforts over the past year have resulted in impressive
seizures, more needs to be done if the ecological and human
cost of this traffic is to be contained. END SUMMARY.

From Trees to Drugs
-------------------

2. (SBU) According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and
Crime (UNODC) and the National Authority for Combating Drugs
(NACD), sassafras oil from Cambodian mereach prov trees
contains a very high percentage (95-99%) of safrole oil,
which can be used in the production of MDMA (ecstasy) as well
as in legitimate uses such as fragrances and traditional and
western medicines. Wood from mereach prov is traditonally
used for decorative carvings, housing, furniture, and
coffins. Mereach prov is found throughout the Cardamom
Mountains, an area which includes the western provinces of
Pursat, Battambang, and Koh Kong. (NOTE: There is no
consistent transliteration of the Khmer name of this tree,
which we have also seen rendered as M'reah Prov, M'reah Prew,
Marah Preu, and Meah Preah. Mereach prov apparently refers
to several species of aromatic trees, but the species used in
the production of sassafras oil has been identified as
Dysoxylum loreiri. END NOTE.)

3. (SBU) Because sassafras oil is found in the roots and
lower trunk of the mereach prov tree, harvesters cut or burn
down the tree and then dig out the roots and stump. The
roots and stump are cut into chips and steamed on trays in
large vats (approximately 5-7 meters tall and 3 meters in
diameter). The steam, which contains sassafras oil, travels
via metal tubing into vats that are submerged in a local
stream or river. The cool temperature of the submerged vat
leads the sassafras vapor to condense in the vat. The
production process takes between 9 and 15 hours to complete,
and uses 0.7 to 2 tons of mereach prov chips to produce 20-60
liters of sassafras oil. Environmental NGOs and Ouk Kim San,
the Forestry Administration official managing the Central
Cardamoms Conservation Program, estimate that each camp can
produce 90-150 liters of sassafras oil each day, and NACD
Secretary General Lour Ramin estimates that Cambodia produces

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as much as 300 tons of sassafras oil each year.

4. (SBU) Once harvested, sassafras oil is loaded into
plastic jerry cans and other containers and transported by
road, often concealed in back seats and trunks of sedans.
Flora and Fauna International (FFI) Advisor Ben Hammond
reported that when he first started working in the Cardamoms
six years ago, sassafras oil was transported openly, often in
flat bed trucks. Now such transport is more secretive, and
Ouk Kim San reported that smugglers are increasingly using
new tactics, like creating a second "gas" tank in the car, to
conceal the oil. Because the oil is heavier than both
gasoline and water and therefore remains submerged below
these liquids, some smugglers mix sassafras oil with these
substances to disguise or lessen its distinctive smell. Lour
Ramin believes that other smugglers make no effort to hide or
disguise the oil, simply lying to ill-informed customs
officials about what they are transporting.

5. (SBU) The price of sassafras oil jumps dramatically as it
travels from forest to international border. A liter of
sassafras oil garners USD 2.50 in the Cardamom forest, USD 5
in the provincial capital Pursat, and USD 50 at the
Cambodian-Vietnamese border. Environmental and law
enforcement sources in Cambodia believe that essentially all
of the sassafras oil produced in Cambodia is exported to
Vietnam. Vietnam is a leading international exporter of
sassafras oil, and Vietnamese government officials have
reportedly told Lour Ramin that the majority of their

PHNOM PENH 00002138 002 OF 003

sassafras oil comes from Cambodia. Few observers had a clear
sense of what happens to the oil once it reaches Vietnam,
though various sources mentioned transshipment to China,
Australia, Brazil, Europe, and the US, where it may be used
for licit or illicit purposes, as possibilities.

Mobile Teams Operate in Wildlife Sanctuary
------------------------------------------

6. (SBU) According to environmental groups, teams of roughly
20-30 people work together to harvest and process sassafras
oil. These teams, which employ Cambodian laborers but are
run by Vietnamese nationals, set up camp in one area for
approximately 3 months before moving to a new location.
Hammond indicated that Vietnamese national Ly Heng, owner of
the Suon Kim Heng Company, operates the largest mereach prov
factory and buys sassafras oil from smaller producers for
resale in Vietnam. Hammond believes that Suon Kim Heng was
granted export licenses for sassafras oil several years ago,
but that these have not been renewed and the company now
operates illegally.

7. (SBU) David Bradfield, FFI Advisor, said that within the
Cardamom Mountains, there were two principal areas of mereach
prov production, both within Phnom Samkos Wildlife Sanctuary.
The first is in the northern part of Phnom Samkos, near the
town of Anlong Reap, in the mountainous area on the
Battambang-Pursat border (coordinates: UTM Indian Thailand
Zone 48, 0270100, 1372200). Bradfield estimates that there
are approximately 40 factories operating in the area. The
second location is in the southern area of Phnom Samkos near
the Pursat-Koh Kong border (coordinates: UTM Indian Thailand
Zone 48, 0302300, 1332700). At its operating peak in 2003,
Bradfield estimates up to 23 factories operated here, though
successful search and destroy missions have likely reduced
the number currently operating.

Deforestation in a Critical Ecosystem
-------------------------------------

8. (U) Mereach prov production causes significant
environmental degradation in Cambodia's Cardamom Mountains,
which contain 30% of the country's forests and arguably the
most extensive, pristine tract of rain forest in mainland
southeast Asia. Khmer Rouge guerrillas retreated to the
Cardamoms after losing power in 1979, and their presence
provided an effective deterrent to exploration and
exploitation by other groups. The Cardamoms are home to
several endangered and threatened species, including the
Asian elephant, Indochinese tiger, kouprey, pileated gibbon,
and to a large population of Siamese crocodiles, which were
thought to be virtually extinct in the wild.

9. (U) Environmental groups say they can spot mereach prov
camps from the air due to patterns of deforestation near
streams and rivers. In addition to the 0.7 to 2 tons of
roots required to feed one vat's daily production capacity,
other trees are harvested from surrounding areas to provide
fuel for the fire that steams the mereach prov chips. Trees
and plants not felled for sassafras oil production are
affected as well. The mereach prov trees provide the upper
canopy for the Cardamom's unusually wet and fertile forest.
Once those trees have been destroyed, the rest of the forest,
including the namesake cardamom trees, cannot survive.
Villagers report that sassafras oil leaking from vats and
tubing kills fish in the streams and chases crocodiles from
the area. In addition to the environmental impact of the
production itself, mereach prov camps often become small
temporary villages, including wooden structures, eating
areas, and even small karaoke bars. Building these
structures and harvesting food and fuelwood for meals places
additional pressure on local trees and wildlife.

10. (U) Wild Aid reports finding similar camps harvesting
yellow vine in protected portions of the Cardamom forest.
According to the UNODC, yellow vine contains berberine, an
isoquinoline alkaloid used as a traditional medicine in east
and southeast Asia for the treatment of stomach ailments.
While its chemical structure is related to that of MDMA,
experts say it is not feasible to synthesize MDMA from the
substance. While it is therefore of little relevance to drug
control authorities, yellow vine harvesting is nonetheless
very environmentally damaging. Like sassafras oil
production, harvesting yellow vine leads to stream and river

PHNOM PENH 00002138 003 OF 003

contamination and deforestation.

Law Enforcement, NGO Efforts to End Production
--------------------------------------------- -

11. (SBU) No comprehensive law addresses the production of
sassafras oil, and even law enforcement officials remain
uncertain about exactly what parts of the production cycle
and export process are against the law. The 2002 Forestry
Law defines mereach prov as a rare species and outlaws its
"exploitation," although the use of dead or dying mereach
prov trees is allowed. This law also places strict limits on
the harvesting of non-timber forest products and by-products
in protected areas. The 1997 Drug Control Law outlaws the
possession or sale of precursor chemicals, but does not
specifically address sassafras oil, the intermediate
substance derived from mereach prov but not yet refined into
100% safrole oil, leading to confusion among government
officials as to the legality of sassafras oil.

12. (SBU) In late 2005 Prime Minister Hun Sen ordered a
crackdown on sassafras oil production and ordered the
creation of an interministerial working group on precursor
chemicals. Lour Ramin reports that government efforts to
stem the flow of sassafras oil have yielded 80 production
vats and roughly 22 tons (14,000 liters) of sassafras oil
since late 2005. Law enforcement officials have educated 500
day laborers about the illegality of their actions and
arrested 26 factory owners and managers. (NOTE: Lour Ramin
was uncertain of the judicial status of the 26 arrestees.
END NOTE.) Environmental NGOs also help curb sassafras
production, with Wild Aid, FFI, and Conservation
International involved in USAID-funded activities, including
joint forest ranger stations and patrols--which include
gendarmes, officials from the Ministries of Agriculture
and/or Environment, and NGO staff. Despite these apparent
successes, the NACD Secretary General notes that an
inadequate legal framework, ignorance among villagers and law
enforcement officials about precursor production, and the
high profits to be made in sassafras oil production all
hamper law enforcement efforts.

13. (C) Several groups have alleged military involvement in
mereach prov production. According to Hammond, camp owners
and managers routinely give gifts or small bribes to military
stationed in the area to avoid crackdowns. Wild Aid Director
Suwanna Gauntlett believes that Cambodian military officers
run the camps, due to their ability to operate in areas with
many military checkpoints and the widespread belief that
Cambodian military officers are involved with other types of
illegal logging. Ouk Kim San, the Forestry Administration
official managing the Central Cardamoms Conservation Program,
suspects that military officers exert at least some control
over the camps, noting wryly that in three military-Forestry
Administration joint operations, sassafras processing
workshops were found and destroyed, but the camps were always
abandoned, probably due to a tip off. Lour Ramin admits that
it is likely that some individual military officers are
involved, but denies any wholesale military involvement.

14. (SBU) COMMENT. In a country already plagued by illegal
logging and drug transshipment, it is no surprise that the
country's forests are being exploited for narcotics
production. While laudatory, government and NGO efforts to
battle precursor production typically yield factories and
low-level workers, rather than ring leaders. So far, this
problem seems to have garnered little international law
enforcement attention outside of the UNODC, but additional
help will be necessary if the damages to Cambodia's
forests--and to the health of would-be MDMA users--are to be
limited. END COMMENT.
MUSSOMELI

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