Disposal of chemical substances confiscated in Colombia

Large amounts of chemicals are needed to produce one kilo of purified cocaine. Confiscating and disposing of these substances not only helps curb drug trafficking but can also prevent environmental pollution.

By Hernán Bernal (Expert from the Colombian National Narcotics Directorate)

Colombia is the world's largest illicit coca producer. It is also the country where the largest amounts of chemical substances are confiscated, the bulk of which is produced in industrialized countries and then smuggled into Colombia.

Despite difficulties in developing control mechanisms, the Colombian authorities have managed to confiscate considerable quantities of chemicals from clandestine laboratories, at ports of entry and along routes leading to illicit drug production areas. These controls have led to the seizure of approximately 61 million litres and 18 million kilos of chemical substances over the last 10 years.

When operations are conducted in accessible urban or rural areas instead of in the jungle, the confiscated substances are stored temporarily in appropriate facilities. They are then either sold to government-approved companies, donated to academic and State institutions or, in the case of some organic solvents, given to oil companies for re-use in oil refining. A substantial portion of the seized substances is sold and the proceeds are deposited in the Fund for Community Reinvestment and the Fight against Organized Crime.

Colombia's National Narcotics Directorate has also explored ways of converting the chemicals into materials useful to the community. For example, it has designed several cheap and efficient prototype mobile incinerators capable of eliminating non-chlorinated solvents without polluting the environment. The Directorate has also designed a reactor to convert sulphuric acid into substances for treating drinking water.

Unfortunately, not all the confiscated substances are sold, donated, reused or converted. Large amounts of acids are disposed of by neutralization using bases or basic salts that have also been confiscated and the solvents-particularly contaminated mixtures-are burned in the open. For safety reasons, such operations take place far from major industrial or urban centres.

Clandestine laboratories in the jungle

Most chemical substances are seized in drug-refining facilities in jungle areas where traffickers build huge laboratories to store the hundreds of tons of chemicals needed to extract and refine coca alkaloids. Dismantling laboratories is difficult due to their remote location, the presence of armed groups involved in drug production and trafficking, and the climate-high temperatures, humidity and rain.

The Colombian Armed Forces generally reach production facilities in the jungle by helicopter. Once there, they have very little time-due to security concerns-to dismantle the laboratories and dispose of the chemicals that traffickers took months to transport to drug-refining complexes. In addition, traffickers often place booby traps under bins.

The Armed Forces draw up a full inventory of what they find, such as drugs, chemical substances and equipment. The complex is then destroyed using explosives detonated from a safe distance. Since this work is carried out under extreme conditions, some environmental damage is unavoidable. If the complexes were not destroyed, they would be re-used to produce drugs.

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