Afghanistan's Opium Trail | Journeyman Pictures

Transcript

00.02

This is the route between Afghanistan and Iran. What’s happening here, happens every day.

00.12

Afghan smugglers have been caught in an Iranian ambush.

00.16

We have the opportunity to see at close hand how painstakingly the trap is sprung.

00.22

We are the first camera team allowed to witness such a scene, in a border area classed as “forbidden territory” by the Iranians. We are quickly made aware of how high the risk is. The smugglers fight back hard, giving away no ground, shooting at anything that moves.

00.43

Then the Iranians send in reinforcements – along with machine gun fire.

Live bullets

00.52

What is, for many, a merciless campaign rages along this border. The roots of this daily conflict can be traced back to the Afghan poppy fields.

01.05

Title 1

01.12

Ahmad Ollah is a poppy farmer in the south west of the country.

01.20

Title 2

01.27

The weather has been warm and wet, ideal for the cultivation of the opium poppy. Ahmad Ollah’s luck’s in. He’s harvesting his second crop this year. He can hardly wait for the arrival of the buyer. He’s banking on the proceeds to support his large family all through the winter.

01.46

“What are we to do?” the farmer asks us. Then he answers his own question. “We have nothing else, just raw opium”

01.57

The Kabul government has been trying to dissuade farmers from cultivating poppies. It hasn’t even made a dint in their operation.

02.07

There’s no money at all in growing cereals. The yield, according to Ahmad’s brother, would’nt even cover the cost of tractor fuel. Basically, opium poppy cultivation makes better business sense.

 

02.24

But growing poppies doesn’t make the farmer rich. It just helps him keep his and his family’s heads above water. Ahmad Ollah has 18 mouths to feed. As the children grow, the money inevitably runs short.

02.40

Today Ahmad is expecting to make a killing. The drug barons’ envoys are driving up to see him.

02.47

The thing is, other farmers have brought in a good harvest as well.

02.58

The man lets us film. He has come with an armed guard.

03.07

Somewhat self-consciously, Ahmad and his brother prepare to bargain for a good price, although they both really know that they are at the envoy’s mercy. There has been a good harvest all over the country. The glut has brought down the price of raw opium.

03.23

Ahmad was hoping for around $40 per kilo. But now it turns out that the product is too wet, that it is poor quality and better can be found elsewhere.

03.34

Gradually Ahmad’s tone becomes pleading, while the buyer takes on the role of generous benefactor.

03.46

$34 is the best price the farmer can get.

03.56

Behind this gate lies the drug baron’s home, a tribal ruler with his own personal militia.

We’re able to negotiate our way into his stronghold.

04.15

Here he is – Mansur Khan, a ruler of the province. His men have officially pledged total loyalty to him. They are ready to die for him.

A descendant of a princely dynasty, a Khan, he has invited us to stay in his property as his guests. No trace of fear or trepidation or even insecurity. Kabul is far away but even so, he knows influential people there. Even when the Russians were here, he was able to ply his crooked trade

05.03

We are not really free to look around. What lies behind all these doors will remain hidden from us.

05.24

There are a few drug barons like Mansur Khan in Afghanistan. They totally dominate the country. Several of them carry considerable weight in the government in Kabul.

05.46

Here there are 800 kilos of raw opium, extracted from the opium poppy.

05.58

Final instructions from Mansur Khan

You have to be careful. There are no engineers or mechanics along the road. A break-down would be catastrophic.

 

06.09

One more gulp of vodka for good luck, a drink to success, to a positive outcome.

06.23

It is 500 kilometres to the Iranian border.

06.29

O-Ton Khan

“This is what it’s all about. If we did not have opium, millions of Afghans would go hungry, or starve to death.”

 

06.39

So speaks a man who gets rich at the expense of desperate drug addicts the world over.

We are allowed to accompany them part of the way, through the Margow desert.

06.52

Suddenly shots ring out. We are relieved to learn it’s only a high spirited greeting from policemen who have been bribed.

07.08

Towards evening the small convoy comes to a halt. The plan is to meet a scout who knows every nook and cranny in the border region. The man has been delayed. But he keeps in radio contact. The news is ominous.

07.24

Atmo

07.33

Iranian border guards have taken up positions along our planned routes into the mountains, as well as behind them. The smugglers have to change plan and take a different path.

07.49

The scout comes up. He has spied out another route. His advice is that whilst the other route may be longer it is probably safer by night.

08.09

We retrace our steps. We later learn that the cargo has safely crossed the border.

 

08.15

Afghan smugglers even try to reach Iran by sea, across the Gulf of Oman.

08.22

Here 700 kilometres of heavily guarded coastline lie ahead of us.

Be quick to act when you get orders, says Captain Miri. Everything went wrong during the last deployment.

08.37

Now the strain is intensifying.

08.44

The smugglers come over in their little boats every day, generally during the evening and at night. Today has been one of the worst.

The two boatmen are whistling, not suspecting anything.

09.00

Atmo

09.09

The ambush is successful. They are totally surprised and surrender quickly. They didn’t even have time to think of using their Kalashnikovs.

Atmo

09.30

Both of them are barely thirty years old. They will spend a couple of years in one of Iran’s notorious jails.

09.44

Captain Miri is a little disappointed. The drugs bust they have made is very small.

09.50

O-Ton

Iranian General

“Drug production has increased tenfold in Afghanistan. This is not surprising at all when you consider the profits that can be made.”

 

10.03

Iranian Anti-drug Units calculate the value of their hauls only in terms of tonnes.

10.11

You can find any illicit substance imaginable inside the military barracks - whatever European drug smugglers trade in: raw opium, heroin, cannabis, hashish and cocaine, and some shipments, as is the case here, even carry the manufacturer’s seal.

10.34

O-Ton Iranian General

We have managed to slow down smuggling activities through the measures we have adopted along our eastern border. We have forced the smugglers to do without heavily motorized caravans.

 

10.55

No jeeps can pass any further along here. In similar ways, over 30 valleys have been rendered impassable. Embankments have been erected and trenches dug to fend off drug smugglers high in the mountains. According to Tehran, over 300 million dollars has so far been spent by the Iranian government on building barriers and fortifications in their country. Roads have been constructed, walls erected, rivers diverted from their course. Pits and canals, too, have been dug. Even so, in a border that extends over 1500 kilometres, there are still several loopholes. Thousands of tonnes still slip through the fingers of the security forces. CUT

11.30

A checkpoint in the desert, in the Iranian hinterland.

11.35

The people who control this area belong to the Belutschis, a tribe that has lived here for centuries.

Drug couriers, travelling from Afghanistan, are common.

11.53

In coaches where there are women, body searches are not possible. The soldiers are courteous towards the women but they are all too aware what an ideal opportunity this presents smugglers. They only search the wares that are put in front of them.

12.18

Drugs are often transported this way. People here are destitute and are often enticed with very little money.

The Iranian government is certainly not endearing itself to the Balutschis and other minorities in the border areas with these anti drug measures.

12.38

Drug stockpiles are doused in petrol. It’s the beginning of a ritual burning, a yearly celebration of success in the struggle against Afghan drug barons. The Minister of the Interior takes part in this formal ceremony in the capital.

Atmo / Music

13.03

At the same time the event is only symbolic. 30 tonnes of drugs were seized, compared to the estimated 6000 tonnes that left Afghanistan during 2006. A proportion of that contraband reached Iran. People in Tehran express their sympathy for both the Iranian anti-drug efforts and the desperate Afghan farmer.

13.26

“In a large part of the country Afghans eke out a miserable existence. What can they live on? In several parts of the country the economy is based completely on poppy cultivation.

We should help the Afghans. We must persuade them that it is worth cultivating a different crop. And we have to subsidise these other crops. We have to create incentives for them”.

 

14.02

It’s a surreal reality. But the idea of an economy based on drugs has long been accepted. Leaders of provinces and corrupt politicians fill their pockets with revenues from the drugs trade. Afghan opium supplies ninety per cent of world demand.

A farmer who wants to earn a living is dependent on this single crop. It’s laborious work. Every plant needs experienced care and protection, as well as very delicate handling.

14.35

The skin of the fruit is only lightly scored. It is important to do this at just the right stage of maturity. Then, a day later, the raw opium can be scraped off. You only get a couple of grams from each plant.

It is only the large scale dealers who become rich, as they can manipulate the market price at will. The small holder remains caught up in a web of dependency.

15.04

But Said Mohammed says everyone has long term wishes and visions, including the idea of growing cereals some time in the future. But the government in Kabul should first make good its promises. Said’s demands include streets, schools and hospitals.

15.22

Practical help has never been forthcoming either from Kabul or from abroad, out here in south east Afghanistan. And Said is considered one of the leading opium merchants of the area. He has to think of the survival of his family.

15.46

On the way to the village we have a bizarre encounter. The local police chief has got wind of our filming and now wants to appear as the big anti-drugs fighter on camera.

15.57

The man acts as though he has only just discovered that poppies are being grown in the area. As an efficient police officer, he does not hesitate for one moment to enforce the law.

16.13

His theatrical improvisation begins

16.26

The village mayor also joins the show although his heart goes out to the small landowners. He tells of the two rivers in the area from which water must be taken in order to grow anything. There’s not even electricity here, he says.

 

16.47

The campaign of destruction continues. The pageant takes a full ten minutes. Then the police chief asks us whether we have taken enough footage. When we nod, the show comes to an abrupt end.

17.12

Said Mohammad and his field remain undisturbed. The drug merchant and his entourage are not unduly worried. People like them enjoy immunity from persecution in the Afghan province.

17.27

We make a few wry comments about the show that’s been put on for the benefit of the camera. But these men have more important things on their mind: continuing with the business of opium.

17.45

The haggling over the drugs begins. It is just a run of the mill, normal everyday occurrence for all involved. The whole procedure is a ritual.

17.54

The sticky mass is offered in poppy sheets, embossed on both sides.

18.10

Then it is sampled. The dealer’s reaction is always significant.

18.18

The product is good. That is how it should be.

That is what the men from the village want to hear. Business is once again running smoothly.

18.29

Half a tonne of opium changes hands. That will be enough to produce 50 kilos of morphine. Once processed into heroin, it will have a street value of 5 million Euros. Said Muhamad’s income does not compare with this, but what he has earned today will help make ends meet for his large family.

Music

19.09

He has a family of ten small children. None of them go to school. There is no school. The village also has no hospital or doctor. Said has personal experience of what that deficiency means. His dead son lies buried behind his house.

19.27

We are now making our way to Kabul.

19.37

We fly over a country, which five years after the fall of the Taliban, is wrestling harder than ever with poverty, corruption and drug trafficing. There’s no sign of a developing national economy. Country wide instability and a weak central government guarantee the continued supremacy of the drug barons. It is in their interest to maintain the status quo. Security forces in the anti-drug fight often do not know who stands over or beside them. There is an anti drugs ministry of course. Unfortunately the Minister has few resources.

20.15

O-Ton

Afghan Counter Narcotics Minister (ENGLISH)

“At the moment I have hardly any money. We have set up a Trust Fund for counter narcotics and we have requested money from abroad to finance our projects and to follow the strategy that we have planned”

 

20.33

It is doubtful whether that interests those living in the villages. In many places they have already developed their own projects – heroin laboratories. Since selling their opium harvest is not making them rich they are turning their hand to drug production.

20.51

A car jack is used as a drug press.

20.57

“This thing works wonders” croons the lab worker.

21.02

The new drug laboratory may seem primitive. But it does the job.

21.13

We are somewhere in the Afghan highlands. This location isn’t secret. That’s not necessary. No policeman or civil servant will come looking here although what’s going on is an open secret.

21.25

What we find remarkable in the processing here is that nobody has any standards pertaining to the purity of the product.

21.36

Men here have one goal: to produce heroin as simply as possible in order to make money out of foreigners. They do not need much to do that. The few tools of production are close to hand: pieces of wood, some basic chemicals, and a foreman to monitor the work.

Atmo

22.01

The production process could not be simpler – press, dilute, heat up occasionally, press again and again until all the liquid runs out.

22.18

Child’s play!

22.34

While opium cultivation brings in a crop twice a year at most, here there is employment all year round. The drug barons’ stockpiles are overflowing. If they can raise the price of heroin as a finished product, their profit increases drastically when it is distributed worldwide.

23.06

It’s time for quality control. Its PH value is the yardstick. It would be an expensive mistake for anyone to try and get the better of the drug barons. There is no pardon for fraud. Where else would a simple Afghan peasant find job security? And this is the most profitable work in Afghanistan, in spite of the Kabul government declaring it illegal. And big returns will induce anyone who profits to stay in the business.

23.42

O-Ton Khan

“I know that all this is illegal. The incontrovertible fact is: we employ 400 men who in turn are responsible for the well being of their families”.

 

23.58

Once again Mansur Khan is sending several hundred kilos of opium to Iran.

24:09

At the start of the journey the river Helmand has to be crossed. The men are very careful. No bag may fall in the water.

24:18

The men steer clear of a nearby bridge. It is said that policemen are on guard there. And this way they can avoid a confrontation. But this is the hard way round.

24.31

“It’s not easy to travel abord a raft with a grenade launcher on your shoulder,” he explains.

They wanted to go south west, towards Iran. If everything goes well, they should make it in three to four days. A camel caravan will be waiting on the other side. They will travel on from there with it. It is good camouflage. Onlookers will take them for harmless nomads.

 

25.03

The convoy gets to the other side without difficulty. After hiding the raft, they push on.

25.14

The nomads are waiting. They quickly load up.

25.23

Camel riding nomads often follow this route. They don’t concern themselves with the nature of their cargo, as long as the pay is right.

25.34

Another convoy is on its way. They drive in the dead of night. None of the vehicles has its lights on. Night vision equipment is used.

25.54

At dawn, they call a halt. The smugglers are still in Afghan territory, but they must nevertheless keep on the alert. Iranian troops have penetrated this far before.

26.08

The vehicles are camouflaged. Then they are to wait until night time before going on.

26.24

O-Ton Khan

We export nearly all of our products via Iran. The border is long. We are active everywhere, from Herat in the north all the way down to Kandahar. You have no idea how loyal the natives are to us. Even when it comes to a shoot out. One thing is completely clear. There are fatalities on both sides. Iranians too pay a high price”

 

26.51

Mansur Khan has all the weapons he and his men need. Many date back to Soviet times.

26.59

He also has a chemistry laboratory in order to quality control the opium, which he somehow obtained from a former UN source. He claims to have his customers best interests at heart.

And then we had direct experience of the way the militia handle their weapons.

27.16

Atmo

27.30

An archaic code of honour prevails among smugglers. Whoever survives is considered a coward. Only the dead deserve praise. The Iranian soldiers have taken prisoners.

27.47

This fight was worthwhile in that weapons and a quantity of drugs were captured.

27.59

The captives fate is sealed. The haul included a degree of raw opium. In Iran, possession of five kilos is enough to warrant a death sentence.

But the battle is only won if the soldiers reach their barracks unharmed. The second lieutenant warns of another ambush. But the soldiers do not hear. Their joy at winning the skirmish dulls their alertness.

28.25

There is continual war on the Iranian Afghan border. Over 200 Iranians are killed each year. As for the number of Afghans, nobody knows. After today’s contact, we find only animal remains.

28.34

This was large haul – 6 tonnes.

But it had a high price. Even the Iranians suffered heavy losses. Those killed in the helicopter are just a hint of the real figure.

29.04

Back in Afghanistan. Foreign troops stationed here hold back themselves back when it comes to the anti-drug fight. They are afraid they may turn the people against them by active intervention. The British look away from the poppy fields and prefer to concentrate on establishing friendly relations with the natives.

29.24

Nepalese Gurkhas who speak an Afghan dialect may get closer.

29.30 Soldier

Most of the time we don’t use our interpreters because we speak a dialect with them, so I think we are very close to them hopefully.

 

29.38

Atmo / Music

29.41

The Americans too hesitate to take active steps against the drug trade. But that doesn’t stop them celebrating the anniversary of victory over the Taliban. Their rules of engagement are aimed strictly at the Taliban. There is no intention of extending them further.

30.03

O-Ton

American Diplomat

“If you are asking, have we done enough yet to arrest the traffickers, to go after the corruption angle, then, no, we have got more to do there. We were nevertheless rather successful this year. Opium cultivation has decreased. The Afghan government and, frankly, the people of Afghanistan, have done a lot for that. Of course we must still carry on, arresting smugglers and fighting corruption. There is need for proper law reform, justice reform, reform in the necessary jurisdictional institutions so that both prison and detention centres, the judges and prosecutors and courthouses fulfil the requirements of the rule of law. That way we can actually pursue and investigate intelligence and evidence necessary to formally charge people with drug crimes here and assist the Afghans in arresting, prosecuting and convicting these people, then imprisoning them.”

 

30.59

But the foreign armies are hardly doing more than protecting their own camps. According to a recent UN estimate, a record amount of drugs was produced this year: for the first time, more than 7,000 tonnes. There are isolated, futile attempts to control the situation. Observers look on impassively.

31.26

We drove to Laschkagah, the capital of Helmand province. We are surprised at how normally life seems to proceed here. People are washing their cars, and it doesn’t seem as though they live in fear of terrorism at all.

31.44

People here are more religious than those who live in the north, or in Kabul.

31.51

Over here we do not have a military escort. No one imposes any restrictions on us.

31.57

We witness an everyday life that is only controlled by the foreign military on the surface. By day, Afghan police seem to have everything in hand. But by sunset, the roads are deserted. The night belongs to the Taliban.

32.14

Doctor Haidari has found this out for himself. After finishing his studies in Pakistan, he returned to his homeland – a great bonus for the local people. But the Taliban didn’t see it that way.

32.30

He tells how early one morning, two motorbike riders were standing in front of his clinic. Their message was clear and unequivocal. He was to go away, disappear, and close down his practice.

32.42

“Take away the camera,” an Afghan guide warns us, “They are coming”

32.55

Once again the Taliban have set a school on fire.

Our Afghan companion tries to calm them down. “Come over ” he says “Let’s talk”

33.18

But they are not that easily appeased. They feel caught.

“What are you doing here?” asks one of them. It sounds like a threat. This is a dangerous area.

33.32

They want an Islamic state. Nothing else will do.

33.37

“No filming” is the command.

33.40

We are lucky. Our companions come from here. We do not say a word, out of caution – and fear. But we let the camera run.

33.58

Naturally they insult the Americans and the British. “Down with America! Down with America!”

34.08

“Turn off the camera!” one of them instructs us. We behave as though it had been turned off a while ago.

34.18

Then there is shooting. We look for shelter near the burning school. Without any warning, Afghan policemen appear.

34.28

They threaten us too, with whips. “Stop!” we call “we are not Taliban!” An Afghan companion of ours suffers several broken ribs.

34.54

O-Ton

Minister in Helmand

“The government simply must see to providing security in Helmand province. If not, well…31 schools have already been burnt down. The number can easily rise to 40 or 45. Yes, Helmand needs security. There is no security at the moment.”

 

35.16

When the Taliban was still in power, officially at least, they forbade opium cultivation. Today they encourage opium farmers. A populist move against progress and reason.

35.29

Their propaganda fell on fertile soil, as Mohammed Maijid explains.

35.33

“We work hard, but the government threatens to destroy our harvest. If they really mean us to change crops, they should provide us with silos for the grain. Or agricultural machinery.”

35.50

Mohammed dismisses the school burning. Now his children can go back to work in the fields. The Taliban find sympathizers among simple farmers. What about drug barons like Mansur Khan?

36.06

O-Ton Khan

“It is a huge lie to state that there are no relations at all. But we make our business, not that of the Taliban.”

 

36.19

We drive to Helmand a second time. The arson attack on the school happened a few weeks ago. What will we see today? This time the police help us.

36.31

Amidst fields of poppies, we see a mosque, rebuilt with $20,000 from Saudi Arabia.

36.40

As for the school. It is still in ruins. There are 180 like this across the country. A triumph for the Taliban.

36.50

But, what is that?

Suddenly the police start running, chasing some suspects.

Then it becomes clear. They are junkies from the village, who have made their home among the ruins.

37.03

The policeman tries to give him some advice. “You are ruining your life” he tells the lad. He says he is not addicted at all.

37.13

But this young man has no work, no money and no future.

37.20

He feels guilty and hopes that the policeman will not say anything to his family.

37.27

Yesterday young people were learning at this school. Today they are destroying themselves in the same place. Until recently, drug addiction was not a serious problem in Afghanistan. Now it is.

37.47

The policemen are shocked. They seem to be coming across more and more junkies every day. Who can help this country develop? asks the officer.

38.05

There is an urgent need to reconstruct this country, weakened after thirty years of civil war.

38.14

Directly or indirectly, its whole economy is based on the opium trade.

For the Afghans, that never was a problem before.

38.25

Their culture and traditions remained unaffected.

38.30

It seemed as though the problem, like opium, was exported abroad. However, once heroin became available in the country’s bazaars, the situation changed.

38.41

Afghanistan is sick, more than ever, and helpless.

38.45

The Police Captain lets the young junkie run away from the school.

He says President Karsai is too weak. His measures will not abolish drug production. The villagers themselves have to grasp the problem for that to happen.

39.05

How then, this man would like to know. Old rules and regulations no longer apply. Everything has changed. Young people no longer listen to what their elders have to tell them.

39.21

Even the education system is failing. With no more schools, this teacher lost his job. He had been sent here from Kabul to educate the children. Today he hires himself out as a farm labourer.

His thoughts are still with the pupils that he wanted so much to teach. It seems to him that education is not as important to some parents.

39.43

This does not bode well for the students. Many are going to have huge problems. They are addicted to drugs, or have squandered their money on gambling. And where there are functional families, their children are needed to work in the fields, as is happening now.

 

40.04

On camera we can see how young men in the village are enticed. The lure is irresistible to junkies. The more dependent they become, the better price they can get as drug pushers. It’s a lucrative system which snowballs all by itself.

40.27

All these lads actually wanted were a couple of cigarettes. “What do you want with such kid’s stuff?” the junkie asks. “Take something proper, that’s real fun”

40.52

In the end they get both lads to take a cigarette first, then a spliff filled with heroin.

Once again young people are drawn into drugs. The majority of junkies are under twenty years old, a trend that is rapidly on the rise.

41.16

Drug dealers world wide need not worry, even if the addiction rate does continue to climb in Afghanistan. There is plenty to go round. Caravans continue to make their way to Iran and Pakistan unhindered.

41.32

A military helicopter in the sky. After circling repeatedly, it turns off. Nothing happens.

41.40

As yet there is no clearly defined struggle against the drug trade inside Afghanistan itself. The risk for smugglers is only at the border crossings. But that is a familiar risk, a gauntlet to be run tomorrow. For today they are under orders to set up camp for the night at a safe distance from the border.

42.08

Everything seems so peaceful and normal around this flickering campfire.

42.15

One of the men has caught a stray sheep. It is turning into another good evening.

42.28

Tonight, drug barons like Mansur Khan will sleep peacefully in their beds.

************* THE END ****************

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Film: Afghanistan's Opium Trail

http://www.journeyman.tv/film/3803

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