VZCZCXRO6161
RR RUEHCI
DE RUEHKA #0612 1060129
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 160129Z APR 07
FM AMEMBASSY DHAKA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 3807
INFO RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 9823
RUEHGO/AMEMBASSY RANGOON 2533
RUEHIL/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD 1599
RUEHLM/AMEMBASSY COLOMBO 7876
RUEHKT/AMEMBASSY KATHMANDU 9037
RUEHCI/AMCONSUL CALCUTTA
RUEABND/DEA HQS WASHDC
UNCLAS DHAKA 000612
SIPDIS
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
DELHI PLEASE PASS TO DEA/BACON
DEA HQ PLEASE PASS TO AGENT PEREZ
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: SNAR PREL PGOV BG
SUBJECT: DEA ADVANCE VISIT TO DHAKA PREPARES FOR SUMMER
TRAINING EVENT
1. (SBU) SUMMARY. DEA Special Agents Tom Brown from the New
Delhi regional office and Dan Perez from Quantico met various
Bangladeshi law enforcement agencies in preparation for a two
week Basic Drug Course to be offered to counter-narcotics
officers. Bangladesh's status as a regional transshipment
point and the ongoing investigation in to the BD Foods heroin
smuggling case highlight the need for this training,
scheduled for June 11 ) 22. Officers from the Department of
Narcotics Control, BDR, and police will participate in the
training. END SUMMARY.
2. (SBU) GOB MEETINGS. Agents Bacon and Perez met with the
Department of Narcotics Control (DNC) (the lead agency
investigating narcotics crimes), the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR)
(the paramilitary border security force), and the head of the
Customs cell. The BDR impressed the agents with their
professionalism both in their enthusiasm for receiving
training and their current knowledge of the narcotics trade
in Bangladesh, including admitting that Bangladesh was a
transshipment point for smuggled narcotics. The head of the
Customs cell was not personally knowledgeable on counter
narcotics, but was able to bring in staffers to answer
questions, while the Criminal Investigation Division of the
national police was also enthusiastic about the training. In
contrast, both agents reported that the DNC was somewhat
ambivalent towards the proposed training event, perhaps
reflecting a belief that the only narcotic problem in
Bangladesh was phensidyl. They did, however, welcome the
training DEA proposed. (NOTE: Phensidyl is a narcotic cough
syrup legitimately produced in India, but smuggled over the
porous border with Bangladesh and sold to abusers. END
NOTE.)
3. (SBU) TRAINING DETAILS. The training will be offered to
approximately 30 officers. Based on BDR's enthusiasm and
assessment of the existing narcotics scenario, DEA may
increase the BDR's allocation of training slots and possibly
the Criminal Investigation Division slots as well, while
leaving enough DNC officers in the training to maintain a
positive working relationship. The DEA is incorporating the
feedback from these meetings to customize the course agenda.
4. (SBU) This message was cleared by Agent Bacon.
BUTENIS