DECLINE IN TRANS-SHIPMENT OF COCAINE IN REGION

While eight per cent of the globally intercepted cocaine was seized in
Central America and the Caribbean during 2004, an international drug
agency is reporting a decrease in trafficking in the area.

This is according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
(UNODC), which issued its 2006 World Drug Report yesterday on the
International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking. The
agency found that the importance of the Caribbean area as a
trans-shipment point to the United States was decreasing.

In the past, 30 to 50 per cent of the cocaine entered the USA directly
via the Caribbean. For 2004, however, the United States Interagency
Assessment of Cocaine Movement concluded that this proportion had
fallen to below 10 per cent. The main smuggling vectors via the
Caribbean in 2004 concerned Haiti and the Dominican Republic (2%),
Jamaica (2%) and Puerto Rico (1%),the report stated.

However, the trans-shipment of cocaine through the Caribbean to Europe
continued to pose a serious problem. The report highlighted the
particular importance of the Netherlands Antilles, since more than 40
per cent of total seizures were made in their waters in 2004. The
other Caribbean islands, specifically Jamaica and the French
departments, were seen to be important trans-shipment points in the
region.

Fifteen thousand, one hundred and seven kilograms of cocaine were
seized in the Caribbean during 2004, the report stated. The abuse of
the drug in South America on the whole, including Central America and
the Caribbean, ranked third in the world, with 15 per cent of the
global market, and a prevalence of 0.7 per cent of the population
between ages 16 and 64.

The report further found that there had been a slight increase in
global production of cannabis in the last year, with the majority - 54
per cent - being produced in the Americas. Cannabis remained the most
widely trafficked drug world-wide, and its use has only recently
stabilised in the Americas, after significant increases in the 1990s.

Forty-seven thousand, six hundred and fifty three kilograms of
cannabis were seized in the Caribbean in 2004.

The United Nations report said that on the whole the world drug
problem was being contained, despite increasing consumption and
production in some areas. It found that there were record highs in the
seizures of opium and especially cocaine; and Africa has been gaining
in importance in the trans-shipment of cocaine and heroin to Europe.
The increase in the number of seizures was linked to improved
co-operation between law enforcement services and better sharing of
intelligence information.

The report also found that some 200 million people, or five per cent
of the global population between the ages of 15 and 6 have used
illegal drugs at least once in the last 12 months.