I had heard that there would be an opportunity to visit a "coke" factory or a "cocina" as they are known here colloquially. My interest along with that of several fellow travellers was piqued, as this seems to be part of the Colombian history and experience as well as a unique apportunity to see something I will never see again. We were charged an exhorbitant $15 each for the privilege,and sadly we weren't able to negotiate the price down, although other groups had been far more successful. I was very ambivalent however, as I did not want to contribute and to collude in such a destructive activity, but in the end curiosity won out.
The man who was our guide and explained the process was at pains to say that this operation was just for show only, but whether this was true or not, was hard to tell. Various people with whom I spoke to in the cities were very dubious that the military did not know about this cocina and that they often work hand in glove with the paramilitaries; there is too much money in this for them not to want a cut. So as ever, Colombia is a country of paradoxes. All I can do is take you on a pictorial tour through the process. One thing's for sure though, the chemicals used in the process are so toxic,that you would be mad to ingest any of this stuff, never mind the perils of addiction and damage of using such a hard drug. It was telling that none of those involved in the manufacture used it at all. Some say that such a tour should be given to all users as it would be bound to turn them off the idea.
The "cocina" in the middle of the forest
Coca plants in the field,according to ou guide it takes 42000 of these to make a kilo of cocaine paste,so this is hugely labour intensive (300 people to harvest) and the production cycle is of the order of 3 months for a kilo of paste. The actual chemical processing ties up 5 people continuously for 10 days or so.
The stripped coca leaves. These are shredded with a garden strimmer for 40 minutes before the next stage.
Salt and chalk used to release the alkaloids, large amounts are needed, something like 20kg of chalk and 10kg of salt (or vice versa, I forget)
The shredded leaves are mixed with salt and chalk with a shovel for half an hour, and then it is stomped on or danced on (without music) for a further hour to make sure that the juices are liberated and absorbed
The mixture is then dumped in gasoline, which dissolves the alkaloids.It takes about 700 litres to produce a kilo of paste and although it only about a third of this is lost in the process due to evaporation, the rest is recycled. the mixture is stirred for something like 4 hoursand allowed to stand.
The residue of the leaves is then removed
50ml of concentrated sulphuric acid is diluted in 10 litres of water and this is added to the gasoline and agitated thoroughly. (This sounds like fartoo little,maybe this was the requirement for the 100gm sample,andthe full kg needs ten times this)
Potassium permanganate is carefully stirred into the acid to precipitate out the chalk and leave the alkaloids in solution. This is where the art comes in, because just enough is added so the solution becomes brownish and has a fine residue.
The correct consistency of residue.
The solution is passed through a canvas filter
The residue is what becomes crack cocaine after further treatment.
The acid is neutralised with caustic soda, again too much will redissolve or destroy the alkaloids so it is added carefully and stirred in.
The milky fluid is filtered through muslin.
To leave the paste.
The paste is what is sold to the traffickers, who wash it with pure acetone, which evaporates leaving 100% cocaine. Each kilo of paste yields 900 gm of cocaine, which is cut with bicarb of soda into 2 kg for export. The finished product fetches US$40 000 per kilo whereas the traffikers pay only $5 000 per kilo of paste. According to the guide, input costs for production are $2 500, as the ingredients have to be shipped in by mule, and because they are being bought stealthily and in quantity are five times or more than the usual price. This means that they earn $1500 for 3 months' work, which is not competitive with goverment grants and legitimate crops.
The traffickers have to pay the paramilitary for access to the producers regardless of the amount purchased. Failure to pay results in them getting killed. The region has a history of paramilitary activity because it was historically a big marijuana producer, and the paramilitaries sprang up to protect turf revenues from raids from other operators. Payments are only extracted from the purchasers and not producers who are/were peasant farmers.
The man who was our guide and explained the process was at pains to say that this operation was just for show only, but whether this was true or not, was hard to tell. Various people with whom I spoke to in the cities were very dubious that the military did not know about this cocina and that they often work hand in glove with the paramilitaries; there is too much money in this for them not to want a cut. So as ever, Colombia is a country of paradoxes. All I can do is take you on a pictorial tour through the process. One thing's for sure though, the chemicals used in the process are so toxic,that you would be mad to ingest any of this stuff, never mind the perils of addiction and damage of using such a hard drug. It was telling that none of those involved in the manufacture used it at all. Some say that such a tour should be given to all users as it would be bound to turn them off the idea.
The "cocina" in the middle of the forest
Coca plants in the field,according to ou guide it takes 42000 of these to make a kilo of cocaine paste,so this is hugely labour intensive (300 people to harvest) and the production cycle is of the order of 3 months for a kilo of paste. The actual chemical processing ties up 5 people continuously for 10 days or so.
The stripped coca leaves. These are shredded with a garden strimmer for 40 minutes before the next stage.
Salt and chalk used to release the alkaloids, large amounts are needed, something like 20kg of chalk and 10kg of salt (or vice versa, I forget)
The shredded leaves are mixed with salt and chalk with a shovel for half an hour, and then it is stomped on or danced on (without music) for a further hour to make sure that the juices are liberated and absorbed
The mixture is then dumped in gasoline, which dissolves the alkaloids.It takes about 700 litres to produce a kilo of paste and although it only about a third of this is lost in the process due to evaporation, the rest is recycled. the mixture is stirred for something like 4 hoursand allowed to stand.
The residue of the leaves is then removed
50ml of concentrated sulphuric acid is diluted in 10 litres of water and this is added to the gasoline and agitated thoroughly. (This sounds like fartoo little,maybe this was the requirement for the 100gm sample,andthe full kg needs ten times this)
Potassium permanganate is carefully stirred into the acid to precipitate out the chalk and leave the alkaloids in solution. This is where the art comes in, because just enough is added so the solution becomes brownish and has a fine residue.
The correct consistency of residue.
The solution is passed through a canvas filter
The residue is what becomes crack cocaine after further treatment.
The acid is neutralised with caustic soda, again too much will redissolve or destroy the alkaloids so it is added carefully and stirred in.
The milky fluid is filtered through muslin.
To leave the paste.
The paste is what is sold to the traffickers, who wash it with pure acetone, which evaporates leaving 100% cocaine. Each kilo of paste yields 900 gm of cocaine, which is cut with bicarb of soda into 2 kg for export. The finished product fetches US$40 000 per kilo whereas the traffikers pay only $5 000 per kilo of paste. According to the guide, input costs for production are $2 500, as the ingredients have to be shipped in by mule, and because they are being bought stealthily and in quantity are five times or more than the usual price. This means that they earn $1500 for 3 months' work, which is not competitive with goverment grants and legitimate crops.
The traffickers have to pay the paramilitary for access to the producers regardless of the amount purchased. Failure to pay results in them getting killed. The region has a history of paramilitary activity because it was historically a big marijuana producer, and the paramilitaries sprang up to protect turf revenues from raids from other operators. Payments are only extracted from the purchasers and not producers who are/were peasant farmers.
very very very very very nice post indeed
ResponderEliminarnice pictures and true words