Report - United States Department of Defense

UNCLASSIFIED
The CNP-A is the ANP component responsible for CN operations throughout Afghanistan.
CNP-A headquarters are located in Kabul, and CNP-A has officers stationed in all 34 provinces
inclluding four forward operation bases located throughout Afghanistan. DoD continues to
support CNP-A through capacity building in order to establish a capable Afghan institution that
can counter the narcotics trade and resist corruption. The current CNP-A tashkil is authorized at
2,570 positions, including CNP-A headquarters elements, specialized units, and provincial units.
DoD, in partnership with the Justice Department’s International Criminal Investigative Training
Assistance Program, is funding the CNP-A Development Unit (CDU). This unit is working
toward the goal of transitioning CN responsibility to the Afghan Government. In support of this,
the CDU, with the NTMA Senior Police Advisor for Counternarcotics, aided the CNP-A in
completing their Ministerial Development Plan, a roadmap for CNP-A development and the
transition of greater security responsibility to CNP-A at the 2014 transition.
The National Interdiction Unit (NIU) is the primary unit within the CNP-A mandated to provide
tactical support by assisting in criminal narcotics investigations, executing search-and-seizure
and arrest warrants, and providing other tactical support as requested by the CNP-A. The NIU
actively supports the Sensitive Investigation Unit (SIU) with its capabilities. The NIU is
currently staffed with 498 officers. The NIU is maintaining a high operational tempo against
narcotics networks across the country, and is having an identifiable disruptive effect on those
networks, especially those functioning at the core of the narcotics-insurgency nexus in Helmand
and Kandahar.
The SIU is a specialized counternarcotics investigative unit whose mission is to identify and
dismantle significant drug trafficking organizations (DTO) operating in Afghanistan through
reliance on the Afghan criminal justice system. The SIU is staffed with DEA-trained Afghan
officers who have passed extensive vetting, to include polygraph and a background check. All
SIU investigators must successfully complete the DEA SIU Basic Investigators course that is
conducted at the DEA Academy, Quantico, VA. The SIU is responsible for conducting highlevel,
complex investigations, as well as pursuit of high-value targets (HVT's) and national and
international level DTOs. The current tashkil is 77 officers. Operational coordination among the
various specialized units in the CNP-A continued to improve during the reporting period, as
reflected in a number of joint operations.
Afghan Special Mission Wing Support to Counternarcotics
The SMW was established out of the MoI’s Air Interdiction Unit to conduct multi-functional
aviation operations in direct support of GIRoA, MoI, and MoD for counternarcotics (CN),
counterterrorism (CT), and SOF missions throughout Afghanistan. A U.S. Army Embedded
Training Team (ETT) mentors the development of the unit's operations and maintenance
capabilities and standards. A contractor logistics support team provides capacity development of
SMW leaders, staff and aircrew through education, training and mentoring.
DEA liaison officers with the SMW and coalition SOF ensure DEA aviation requirements are
considered and appropriately supported in the special operations allocation and tasking process.
The SMW fleet is funded with a combination of ASFF and DoD CN funds. The SMW currently
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