VZCZCXRO3777
RR RUEHLMC RUEHVK
DE RUEHUM #0279 1340357
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 140357Z MAY 07
FM AMEMBASSY ULAANBAATAR
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1097
INFO RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 5552
RUEHUL/AMEMBASSY SEOUL 2747
RUEHMO/AMEMBASSY MOSCOW 1767
RUEHBK/AMEMBASSY BANGKOK 1465
RUEHML/AMEMBASSY MANILA 1375
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 2480
RUEHSH/AMCONSUL SHENYANG 0266
RUEHVK/AMCONSUL VLADIVOSTOK 0100
RUCPODC/USDOC WASHDC 1271
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC
RUEHLMC/MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE CORP WASHINGTON DC 0576
RUEAWJA/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC
RHEFHLC/DEPT OF HOMELAND SECURITY WASHINGTON DC
RUEABND/DEA HQ WASHDC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC UNCLAS ULAANBAATAR 000279 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR DS/IP/EAP, EAP/CM, INL, AND DRL 
BEIJING FOR LEGATT 
USAID FOR DEIDRA WINSTON 
BANGKOK AND MANILA FOR USAID 
TREASURY FOR T.T. YANG 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS:            
SUBJECT: Mongolian Court Convicts Boy Band Drug Smugglers 
 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED - NOT FOR INTERNET DISTRIBUTION 
 
 1. (U) A Mongolian court convicted 13 persons accused of trafficking 
drugs smuggled in from China, sentencing three of the defendants to 
ten or more years in prison.  The defendants included several 
Mongolian hip hop boy band stars, the son of a wealthy businessman, 
and several students.  This is the most recent among a very few 
cases of drug-related convictions handed down by the Mongolian 
courts. 
 
 2. (SBU) Thirteen defendants were sentenced during a hearing on 
April 30 in the Bayanzurkh district court in Ulaanbaatar.  Three of 
the defendants were convicted of an aggravated crime under Criminal 
Code Article 192.3: "the habitual illicit production, purchase, 
possession, transport, distribution or sale of drugs" for the 
smuggling, sale and distribution of small amounts of cannabis 
(apparently locally grown) and hashish purchased in Beijing and 
transported with the group by rail.  (Note:  Law enforcement 
authorities say most illegal drugs are smuggled by car across 
Mongolia's porous borders.)  The remaining ten defendants were 
convicted of the lesser charge of purchasing and possession of drugs 
and were sentenced to six months in prison.  Prosecutors 
successfully countered claims by some defendants that they were 
beaten and coerced into giving false statements.  Five other boy 
band singers were under investigation, but their cases were 
previously dismissed under the amnesty law passed before Mongolia's 
800th anniversary in July 2006. 
 
 3. (U) Judge Tsogtzandan, in handing down the sentences, told the 
defendants "Drugs, weapons and human trafficking are in worldwide 
focus and your crimes were very dangerous to society."  The 
defendants were given ten days to appeal their sentences. 
 
 4. (U) Point of contact is RSO Craig Reistad, tel: (976 11) 329 
 095. 
 
GOLDBECK