mpanies
involving the offshore financial community remains a concern

Israel
increasingly concerned about cocaine and heroin abuse; drugs
arrive in country from Lebanon and, increasingly, from Jordan;
money-laundering center

Italy
important gateway for and consumer of Latin American cocaine
and Southwest Asian heroin entering the European market; money
laundering by organized crime and from smuggling

Jamaica
major transshipment point for cocaine from South America to
North America and Europe; illicit cultivation of cannabis;
government has an active manual cannabis eradication program;
corruption is a major concern; substantial money-laundering
activity; Colombian narcotics traffickers favor Jamaica for illicit
financial transactions

Kazakhstan
significant illicit cultivation of cannabis for CIS
markets, as well as limited cultivation of opium poppy and ephedra
(for the drug ephedrine); limited government eradication of illicit
crops; transit point for Southwest Asian narcotics bound for Russia
and the rest of Europe

Kenya
widespread harvesting of small plots of marijuana; transit
country for South Asian heroin destined for Europe and North
America; Indian methaqualone also transits on way to South Africa;
significant potential for money-laundering activity given the
country's status as a regional financial center, massive corruption,
and relatively high levels of narcotics-associated activities

Korea, North
for years, from the 1970's into the 2000's, citizens of
the Democratic People's Republic of (North) Korea (DPRK), many of
them diplomatic employees of the government, were apprehended abroad
while trafficking in narcotics, including two in Turkey in December
2004; in recent years, police investigations in Taiwan and Japan
have linked North Korea to large illicit shipments of heroin and
methamphetamine, including an attempt by the North Korean merchant
ship Pong Su to deliver 150 kg of heroin to Australia in April 2003;
all indications point to North Korea emerging as an important
regional source of illicit drugs targeting markets in Japan, Taiwan,
the Russian Far East, and China

Kyrgyzstan
limited illicit cultivation of cannabis and opium poppy
for CIS markets; limited government eradication of illicit crops;
transit point for Southwest Asian narcotics bound for Russia and the
rest of Europe

Laos
world's third-l