January 14, 2005
The Dominican Republic is a vitally important transit point for illicit drugs smuggled from South America and destined for the United States, according to a report obtained by the National Association of Chiefs of Police. Cocaine is the principal drug smuggled through the Dominican Republic; however, heroin transshipment through the country is increasing. Drugs are smuggled into the Dominican Republic via maritime vessels, airdrops, couriers, and overland from Haiti. Once the drugs are in the Dominican Republic, traffickers often smuggle them in small maritime vessels to Puerto Rico for transshipment to the United States.
One of the primary methods for smuggling cocaine into the Dominican Republic involves vessels that depart Colombia or Venezuela and arrive at remote areas along the southwest or southeast coast of the Dominican Republic. Dominican crews in wooden vessels sometimes take the drug hand-off close to the shoreline. Although the quantity is difficult to assess, drug traffickers also likely transport large amounts of cocaine overland from Haiti.
Other common methods used by traffickers include airdrops via general aviation aircraft; commercial vessels for transfer to go-fast boats or yolas; concealment in legitimate cargo; and by using couriers aboard commercial flights originating in Venezuela, Colombia, or Panama. Cocaine shipments from the Dominican Republic bound for Puerto Rico are transported via boats departing the Dominican Republic's eastern coast, and crossing the 70-mile stretch to Puerto Rico's western shoreline. Multi-hundred kilogram amounts of cocaine occasionally are shipped from the Dominican Republic to the United States via maritime containerized cargo. In August 2002, 1,000 pounds (approximately 455 kilograms) of cocaine were seized at the Fort Lauderdale Airport. The drugs had been secreted on a Caribair turboprop aircraft arriving from the Dominican Republic, en route to Opa Loca, Florida. Customs inspectors discovered the contraband and arrested two Dominican nationals.
In recent years, heroin smuggling through the Dominican Republic has increased. Heroin is smuggled from Colombia or Panama into the country primarily by couriers on commercial airlines. These couriers hide heroin in their luggage or swallow up to a kilogram of the drug. Since mid-1999, DEA and other law enforcement agencies have reported increased Ecstasy trafficking through the Caribbean. This information also has revealed the important role of Dominican trafficking groups. The Dominicans played a relatively limited role in international MDMA (Ecstasy) trafficking until early 2002, when European offices began reporting a sharp increase in the number of Dominican trafficking groups operating in Europe and using couriers on commercial air flights to the United States.
These groups, consisting of at least eight major Dominican sources of supply in the Netherlands, are smuggling MDMA from the Netherlands, through Germany and other European countries, to major cities on the US east coast. Investigations have identified 160 couriers arrested worldwide and the seizure of over 2 million tablets of MDMA in 2002.Cocaine remains the drug of choice in the Dominican Republic, with the wholesale price among traffickers ranging from US$ 8,000 to US$ 10,000 per kilogram. Heroin generally sells from US$ 50,000 to US$ 60,000 per kilogram in the Dominican Republic. Marijuana is produced in the Dominican Republic to a limited extent, primarily for local consumption.
The country attracts many European and American tourists, who provide a steady customer base for drugs distributed in the Dominican Republic. There also have been some limited indications of MDMA use in the Dominican Republic. There are an estimated 50,000 users of cocaine and marijuana in the Dominican Republic.
The Dominican National Drug Control Council (CND) has responsibility for demand reduction programs in the Dominican Republic. The Dominican Republic is not a source country for any essential chemicals, and there is only limited reporting concerning the movement of illicit essential chemicals through the Dominican Republic.
The Secretariat of Health has responsibility for the control of chemicals entering and departing the Dominican Republic. They prohibit the re-exportation of certain chemicals. In addition to serving as a transshipment point, the Dominican Republic also serves as a drug trafficking command and control center. Dominican nationals have become major players in the drug transportation business throughout Puerto Rico and the Northeastern Caribbean, as well as the Eastern United States. They have not, however, reached the level of sophistication currently seen in Colombian or Mexican trafficking organizations. Initially, the role of Dominican drug traffickers was limited to couriers, runners, and as pickup boat crew members under the supervision of a Puerto Rican or Colombian trafficker.
As the drug trade flourished in the Caribbean, Dominican traffickers became more heavily involved in wholesale and retail drug distribution. Dominican traffickers control drug smuggling networks in Puerto Rico and the surrounding region, and have expanded their local drug distribution cells. Dominican organizations facilitate transportation for most of the smuggling ventures that occur within the Eastern Caribbean.
The Dominican Republic also has become a safe haven for an ever-increasing number of Dominican nationals who are criminal fugitives from the United States. The Government of the Dominican Republic has criminalized drug-related money laundering, and requires financial institutions to document currency transactions in excess of US$ 10,000 for inspection by law enforcement authorities. Financial institutions must also identify customers and report any suspicious financial transactions to the Dominican Superintendency of Banks.
The Government of the Dominican Republic also allows for seizure and forfeiture of drug-related assets and international cooperation in forfeiture cases. Most of the drug money entering the Dominican Republic from the United States and Puerto Rico passes through casas de cambio or remesadoras. These money exchange businesses facilitate the movement of money by Dominicans between the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Dominican Republic. These money exchange businesses are attractive to drug traffickers due to their large numbers (there are hundreds in the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Dominican Republic); their flexibility in transferring large amounts of currency; and their disregard for US reporting requirements.
Another incentive for drug traffickers to use these businesses for their illicit activities is that they are used by thousands of legitimate companies and individuals. Therefore, these businesses provide a legitimate cover to conduct drug-related financial transactions. In 2002, the Government of the Dominican Republic promulgated new money laundering legislation to better address this problem.
The Dominican Republic remains a Jurisdiction of Primary Concern. The National Directorate for Drug Control (DNCD) is the lead agency for combating drug trafficking and drug-related money laundering in the Dominican Republic. The DNCD is made up of personnel from the National Police, the armed forces, and the National Department of Investigations. The Dominican Navy also participates in maritime drug interdiction. The Government of the Dominican Republic has signed the major international anti-drug agreements, including the 1961 UN Single Convention, the 1971 UN Convention on Psychotropic Substances, and the 1988 UN Drug Convention. Also, the Government of the Dominican Republic is party to the Inter-American Convention against Corruption. The US Government and the Government of the Dominican Republic have had a bilateral extradition treaty since 1909.
In 1998, the Government of the Dominican Republic enacted legislation allowing the extradition of Dominican nationals. In 2002, 15 fugitives were extradited from the Dominican Republic to the United States. Thirty fugitives have been extradited by the Mejia Administration since taking office in August 2000. The Government of the Dominican Republic does not have a formal joint task force with the Government of the United States, but it generally cooperates with US Government agencies in counterdrug and fugitive cases. In 1995, both governments signed a maritime law enforcement cooperation agreement. In November 2000, both governments concluded a 4-year overflight agreement that permits US aircraft to fly through Dominican Republic airspace in pursuit of drug smugglers’ aircraft.
Sources: US Drug Enforcement Administration, US Department of State, National Association of Chiefs of Police and the Central Intelligence Agency
