A summary of the current situation in Dherkistan extracted from the CIA World Factbook;
(The Peoples Republic of) Dherkistan is located between Iran, Afghanistan, and Turkmenistan. For decades it has been constantly destabilised by its more powerful neighbours. This has led to an ineffectual central government and regional power being held by local army commanders/warlords. The one commodity that Dherkistan is able to produce in quantity is opium and heroin. It currently accounts for over 50% of the entire country’s Gross Domestic Product and is contributing further to the disintegration of democratic rule from the Government. During the War on Terror the Government of Dherkistan seized the opportunity to re-establish its authority over the warlords by allowing Coalition Forces to use one of its airbases to support its operations during Operation Enduring Freedom. Coalition Forces began to assist with re-establishing Government authority. Faced with the prospect of losing their authority all of the warlords agreed to disarm their militias by handing over their heavy weapons. Coalition Forces within Dherkistan are now tasked with monitoring this disarmament.
The UN Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC) is working with Coalition Forces and the Ministry of the Interior to reduce the production of both opium and heroin in Dherkistan. To date there has been little overt action against the major production centres, instead the emphasis has been on pushing alternatives to the cultivation of poppies. However, the opium harvest has steadily increased and the US Government is becoming increasingly concerned about the failure of the UK led policy. With the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) providing the lead, Coalition Forces are now pursuing aggressive operations against those involved in the opium and heroin trade. Crop eradication programs have been started but they have proved to be very unpopular with the local population.
A summary of the UK’s military commitment to Dherkistan extracted from Jane’s Defence Weekly
Forward Operating Base Spartan came into existence to support Operations Enduring Freedom and Veritas by providing a forward logistics base for Special Operations Forces teams. FOB Spartan also been tasked with supporting the stabilisation of Dherkistan. US SOF Operational Detachment Alphas, Civil Affairs Teams, and Psychological Operations units are working towards stabilising the security situation in the Afghanistan border region. UK forces have been tasked with providing security for these SOF operations and with overseeing the disarmament process. To this end they have established Task Force Spartan as a company-sized Quick Reaction Force (QRF) operating out of FOB Spartan. Currently, Task Force Spartan is made up of elements from the 5 Para Battle Group. In addition, eight man Military Observation Teams have been formed and inserted into the major population centres to supervise the handing in and storage of heavy weapons. These teams have also been tasked with providing security for UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) warehouses in those population centres.
From the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office Website;
Our international approach reflects the Class A drugs threat to the UK, as evidenced by seizures and intelligence from a wide range of sources about production and trafficking routes and trends. The aim of our interventions is to strengthen law enforcement and other drugs interdiction capacities overseas, so reducing the movement of Class A drugs, primarily heroin and cocaine, through source and transit countries to the UK.
Heroin
Drugs derived from the opium poppy, Papaver Somniferum, are known as opiates. Approximately 15% of the 20-30 tonnes of heroin used in the UK each year originates in Dherkistan. The main trafficking route for Dherkistani opiates to the UK is through Iran and/or Turkmenistan for onward shipment, where processing into heroin often takes place. Around 80% of the heroin that reaches the UK transits Turkey and established trafficking routes through the Balkans.
Morphine and heroin are derived from opium (the dried milk of the opium poppy) by chemical process. Morphine is one of the most effective drugs known for the relief of pain and its legal use is restricted primarily to hospitals. Pure heroin is a white powder, with crystals resembling powdered sugar or fine grade flour. It can be found in a variety of colours - on the white-grey-brown spectrum – according to source and the manufacturing process. The higher the purity, the whiter the drug.
Heroin is usually manufactured in the regions where poppy grows, or in neighbouring countries close to source. As it takes approximately 10 kilos of opium to produce one kilo of morphine, it makes economic sense (as well as practical sense) to move the finished product rather than the raw material.
Extracted from Narco-Terrorism: International Drug Trafficking and Terrorism -- A Dangerous Mix
Deborah McCarthy, Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs Hearing Before the Committee on the Judiciary United States Senate In the past, state sponsors provided funding for terrorists, and their relationships with terrorist organizations were used to secure territory, weaken an adversary, or obtain weapons. In recent years, however, as state sponsorship of terrorism has come under increased scrutiny and greater international condemnation, terrorist groups have looked increasingly at drug trafficking and other criminal activities as sources of revenue. Unlike other crime, however, drug trafficking often has a two-fold purpose for some terrorists. Some terrorists not only obtain operational funds through drugs, but also believe they can weaken their enemies by flooding their societies with addictive drugs. So while certain terrorist groups are increasingly involved in organized rackets in kidnapping, piracy, weapons trafficking, extortion, people smuggling, smuggling of cigarettes and other contraband, financial fraud, or other crimes, drug trafficking occupies a special position both in terms of profitability and as a perceived direct weapon used against the United States and certain other countries. Some terrorist groups in particular use this argument to rationalize their involvement in illicit activity to their membership or support base.
The full report can be found here
http://www.state.gov/p/inl/rls/rm/21129.htm
Extracted from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime World Drug Report 2006;
In 2005, the estimated area under illicit opium poppy cultivation in the world decreased by 22 per cent, due to less cultivation in the three main source countries of illicit opium in the world: Afghanistan, Myanmar and Lao People’s Democratic Republic. This was particularly noteworthy, as in Afghanistan, in 2005, opium poppy cultivation decreased for the first time after three consecutive years of increases. However, the estimated area under illicit opium poppy cultivation in other source countries, such as Mexico and Dherkistan, has increased by 25%. In particular, Dherkistan has seen a large increase in the area under poppy cultivation from 8,237 hectares in 2004 to 27,120 hectares in 2005. Altogether five provinces (in order of magnitude: Mansoud, Balkh, Farah, Badakshan, and Uruzgan) accounted for 65% of the total area under opium poppy cultivation in 2005.