STOPPING THE DISTRIBUTION OF DRUG-MAKING CHEMICALS FROM ASIA

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT 
Clamping Down on Diversion of Drug-Making Chemicals in Asia
Media Note
Office of the Spokesperson
Washington, DC
December 2, 2013

At the “Precursor Control in Asia: Addressing the Challenges” meeting in Thailand, on December 2, Acting Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Carol Perez addressed more than 100 technical experts and policymakers from around the world, calling for action to reduce the diversion of legal chemicals to the manufacture of illegal drugs. Perez pressed for more effective utilization of international control mechanisms already in place and called for greater attention to the illegal diversion of acetic anhydride, a chemical used in the manufacture of heroin.

Asia is the principal producer of many of the chemicals used by drug traffickers in and outside the region for manufacturing heroin and methamphetamine. Opiate abuse is a long-standing problem in Asia, and methamphetamine and amphetamine-type stimulants pose new and fast-growing threats. The delegates will discuss ways to improve the usage of existing information-sharing tools and other forms of law enforcement cooperation to combat the activities of organized crime organizations involved in the production of these dangerous illicit drugs.

The conference was organized by the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) with support from the United States.

U.S. SAYS LINK BETWEEN ORGANIZED CRIME AND TERRORISM IS GROWING

The following excerpt is from the American Forces Press Service:

Link Grows Between Terrorism, Organized Crime, Officials Say

By Karen Parrish
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, March 28, 2012 - The two missions of fighting terrorism and combating global organized crime are increasingly linked, senior Defense Department officials told Congress yesterday.

Michael A. Sheehan, assistant secretary of defense for special operations and low-intensity conflict; Garry Reid, deputy assistant secretary of defense for special operations and combating terrorism; and William F. Wechsler, deputy assistant secretary of defense for counternarcotics and global threats, testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee's emerging threats and capabilities subcommittee.

The hearing focused on the Pentagon's role in implementing the national strategies for counterterrorism and combating transnational organized crime under the 2013 defense budget request.

"Terrorism, drug trafficking and other forms of transnational organized crime are increasingly intertwined," Sheehan noted, adding that his office -- which is responsible for overall supervision of special operations forces -- is uniquely positioned to provide policy guidance and program oversight to the department's efforts in both missions.

Wechsler noted four trends in terrorism and transnational crime:

-- Terrorist groups are adopting criminal techniques, including drug trafficking, to raise funds;

-- Criminal organizations are adopting terrorist techniques, such as beheadings;

-- Terrorist organizations and criminal organizations that have been separate are now "working together in ways that previously we hadn't seen ... [such as] the attempted assassination of a Saudi ambassador here in the United States"; and

-- Some countries are using criminal activity to produce revenue.

Sheehan said that while the Defense Department plays a central role in fighting terrorism and a more supporting role battling transnational organized crime, the national strategies governing the two missions are complementary and mutually reinforcing.

While the counterterrorism focus on al-Qaida remains, he said, the landscape is changing. As al-Qaida and other terror groups meld with international criminal networks, DOD is expanding its efforts beyond direct strikes against terrorist targets in supporting an interagency approach, Sheehan said.

"All our national security challenges ... [are] becoming increasingly interagency," he noted.

Fighting terrorism increasingly includes targeting the global drug trade, he said. "Nowhere is the link between transnational organized crime, insurgency and terrorism more apparent than in Afghanistan, where the Taliban continues to receive a large percentage of its revenue through heroin trade," he added.

Fighting insurgents, prosecuting criminals and applying pressure to states profiting from terror or criminal activity involves agencies from DOD to the Drug Enforcement Agency to the State Department, Sheehan noted. And while direct strike is an important special operations capability, even purely military action often focuses on a partnering approach, he said.

"Just as important ... are the special operations forces' efforts that build the capability and capacity of our partners to shape the global information and ideas environment, as well as train and equip the capacity of other countries," he added.

Working with Pakistan to keep pressure on al-Qaida is essential, and Yemen serves as an important front against al-Qaida on the Arabian Peninsula, he noted.

"DOD continues to collaborate extensively with the Yemeni forces on operational matters, and together we are closely monitoring [al-Qaida on the Arabian Peninsula] and regularly improving our understanding of its external plots," Sheehan said.

Combating the nexus of terrorism and transnational organized crime, he said, "is a call to action to leverage all of the elements of national power to protect citizens and U.S. national security interests and to enable our foreign partners to do the same."

FIVE PLEAD GUILTY TO RACKETEERING IN ORGANIZED CRIME CASE

The following excerpt is from the Department of Justice website:

Thursday, February 16, 2012
"WASHINGTON – Five Rhode Island men previously identified as leaders or associates of the New England organized crime family of the La Cosa Nostra (NELCN) have agreed to plead guilty to racketeering-related charges, according to documents filed today with the U.S. district court in Providence, R.I.

The announcement was made by Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Peter F. Neronha for the District of Rhode Island; Richard DesLauriers, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Boston Field Office; Colonel Steven G. O’Donnell, Superintendent of the Rhode Island State Police; and Providence Public Safety Commissioner Steven M. Pare.

The defendants were charged in a second superseding indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Providence in September 2011, which alleges their participation in an extortion and racketeering conspiracy involving “protection” payments from several Rhode Island businesses.  The defendants face sentences of up to 20 years in prison and fines of up to $250,000.

According to plea agreements signed by the defendants and filed with the court, Luigi “Baby Shacks” Manocchio; Edward “Eddy” Lato; Alfred “Chippy” Scivola; and Richard Bonafiglia will plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to participate in a racketeering enterprise.  Raymond R. Jenkins will plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to participate in a Hobbs Act extortion.

According to the plea agreements, in addition to admitting to their criminal conduct, Manocchio, Lato and Scivola admit to their membership in the enterprise charged in the second superseding indictment, which is the NELCN.   In addition, in their signed plea agreements, Manocchio and Lato admit to being organizers and leaders of the enterprise’s criminal activity.  As alleged in the indictment, Manocchio was an underboss and boss of the NELCN and Lato was an NELCN capo, primarily responsible for Rhode Island.   Lato also admitted in his plea agreement to related extortion activity charged in the indictment.

Theodore Cardillo and Albino “Albie” Folcarelli, also named in the second superseding indictment and identified as alleged associates of the NELCN, are scheduled for trial on April 23, 2012.
An indictment is merely an allegation and is not evidence of guilt.   A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

An eighth defendant named in a previous superseding indictment in this matter, Thomas Iafrate, of Johnston, R.I., pleaded guilty on July 21, 2011, to one count of conspiracy to participate in a racketeering enterprise.   He also admitted that he was an associate of the NELCN.   Iafrate was sentenced in December 2011 to 30 months in federal prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release.

The cases are being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney William J. Ferland for the District of Rhode Island and Trial Attorney Sam Nazzaro of the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section.  The matter was investigated by the FBI, Rhode Island State Police, Providence Police and Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation.”