Seventy kilograms of heroin was found from a Mongolian diplomatic vehicle in Dresden, Germany, on 3 May 2019. Two people were detained – B. Battushig, Mongolia’s Deputy Consul General in Istanbul, Turkey, and his driver S. Erdenebayar. The vehicle was stopped after coming in from the Czech Republic.
It was only one of many recent cases of carrying, using, trafficking, and smuggling drugs. These cases have been hitting the news one after another, sending a shockwave in our society. There are only three million of us, and we need to urgently discuss why these cases are occurring, what consequences there are, and how we can stop it to better protect the future generations.
Drugs
Drugs, which are often referred to by Mongolians as ‘black tobacco’ (literal translation), are substances that affect bodily functions either physically or psychologically. There are many different types, including herbal-based cannabinoid, marijuana, and hashish, while it can also be chemically made. All these drugs contain a compound called THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), which directly affects brain functions, raises adrenaline, and significantly increases dopamine, which can be addictive. As a result, people may lower inhibitions and get different feelings and emotions that could include sudden boost in mood, increased sexual desire, sudden fall in mood, anger, and desire to harm oneself or even commit suicide.
Using drugs more frequently fuel addiction, which also means greater impact on health and body. This can change brain hormones, kill brain cells, affect memory, compromise the ability to store information, impact thinking, and result in a mental illness. Also, the use of drugs can affect sight, smell, and hearing, and cause hallucinations and ringing in ears. It could also lead to deteriorations in the digestive system and reduced appetite, which limits nutrition intake and causes loss of weight, loss of hair, and faster aging.
Taking drugs increases the number of heart beats per minute by 20-50 for 20-180 minutes. The symptoms may include shaking and feeling of anger. When the drug effects go away, the body can experience light-headedness, loss of eyesight focus, fatigue, insomnia, and depression. When the blood is contaminated that way, people become increasingly willing to do anything to find another hit.
It is said that only 20 per cent of the people are able to refrain from re-using after trying drugs for the first time, and the rest end up wanting to do it again.
White plague
Mongolia established a database on drug cases in 2016. To date, a total of 1,500 individuals have been registered in the database. The number of drug users has consistently been growing since 2015, when Mongolia has essentially become a country where drugs and psychedelic substances have become a problem. In 2014, there were 61 drug cases involving 153 individuals, and the numbers grew to 199 cases and 412 individuals in 2018. Out of those 412 individuals, there were 337 males, 75 females, and 6 teenagers.
Besides taking drugs, there is a growing greed in the society that drug trafficking can make fast cash. There have been cases of smuggling drugs into the country from abroad by carrying on person or via parcels.
The General Intelligence Agency reports that some Mongolian citizens have joined a crime group called the Golden Triangle, which spans over Thailand, Laos, and Myanmar. It is an international illegal drug trafficking network. It is said that Mongolian students and prostitutes in Southeast Asian countries are acting as drug carriers. Mongolians are increasingly getting involved in drug cases for various reasons including that we don’t need a visa to travel to the majority of Southeast Asian countries. Also, the generally poor livelihood and the lack of awareness of drugs have contributed to the increasing rates. Most of the drug cases Mongolians are involved in take place in China and in the border town of Erlian /Erenhot.
It is reported that 20 per cent of drugs that are smuggled stay in the country that it is passing through. Due to their curiosity, lack of education, and peer pressure, Mongolian youth are increasingly using psychedelic substances and ending up committing a crime. The Mongolian Society to Protect People from Drugs has reported that, when a survey asked 1,000 youth in 2018, 25 per cent said that they use drugs. There was even a response that said a whole class of students used drugs together. Also, the National Center for Mental Health reports that the majority of people admitted for in-hospital treatment are 18-20-year-olds, and the total number of patients increased threefold in 2018.
Another reason why drug crimes keep growing is that criminal punishments aren’t executed in Mongolia. For example, a former MP’s son was caught using drugs in July 2015. When the court declared sentences in January 2017, the son was pardoned for the drug crime and only sentenced for the corruption charge. He appealed the sentence, and the case went away soon afterwards. Then he was caught using drugs again together with his lawyer.
Also, an individual named G. Sarangerel was detained while trying to smuggle drugs from China. It was her third case – she used drugs in the first case, traded it afterwards, and then was smuggling.
Mongolia is failing to implement its laws and ensure sentences are fully carried out, which is allowing offenders to commit another crime. Article 192 of the criminal law states that Illegal preparation, acquisition, transportation, delivery and distribution of narcotic and psychotropic drugs, products or substances shall be punishable by up to 15 years. However, no one has ever carried out their sentence in full.
Blue passport
Mongolian diplomatic passport has the colour of blue. These blue passports continue its infamy in Europe as Mongolian diplomats become more and more notorious for smuggling illegal goods, including tobacco and drugs, across borders. As a result of this reputation, the whole nationality is suffering from them.
Since 2000, an illegal network named ‘Black Morgan’ started smuggling drugs across Europe using blue passports. D.Shatarbal, former advisor to the Mongolian Ambassador to Bulgaria, is said to be the godfather of this smuggling network and was caught by the Bulgarian law enforcement on 23 March 2005. He was caught carrying 120 kilograms of drugs worth 23 million USD in a vehicle with a diplomatic registration plate. He was sentenced in Mongolia but was freed with the President’s pardon. International news sites have been reporting extensively how many drug smugglers with blue passports came from Mongolian ambassadors, advisors, consuls, and attachés.
It has become a common sight to see someone tarnish Mongolia’s reputation abroad, carry out sentences, and get sent back, only to be appointed to senior positions in the government and act as if nothing happened. It is time for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the General Intelligence Agency to sort out the drug smugglers with blue passports.
In order to effectively fight drug crimes, Mongolia needs to reform its border control, build capability of law enforcement officers, and upgrade the equipment at the customs. We also need to remove the cannabis plants growing in Mongolia and start an extensive campaign to raise awareness on consequences of using drugs. Unless we get on with these actions at speed, drugs will continue growing its reach and enter every household. And, before we know it, Mongolia might suddenly wake up suffering from the ‘white plague’.
2019.06.12
Trans. by B.Amar