Peru’s anti-drug agency, Devida, said Thursday it will establish checkpoints by July to intercept and limit the flow of cocaine processing chemicals into the country’s main drug producing regions.
The president of Devida, Rómulo Pizarro, said 25 tons of toxic chemicals used to manufacture cocaine from coca plants enter Peru’s Upper Huallaga region and the area that covers the Apurímac and Ene river valley’s, known as the VRAE, state news agency Andina reported.
Chemicals used to distil and process coca into cocaine include kerosene, hydrochloric and sulphuric acid, acetone and ether.
Peru is the world’s second largest producer of coca and cocaine, after Colombia.
In 2008, more than 56,000 hectares were used to grow coca. About 17,800 hectares were located in the Upper Huallaga and 16,700 hectares in the VRAE. Peru produced 302 tons of cocaine in 2008, which represented 36 percent of the global cocaine manufactured that year.
A report by the International Narcotics Control Board found that between 1999 and 2008, Peruvian territory under illicit cultivation of coca leaf increased by 45 percent. The report said the country’s growing illicit cultivation of coca leaf and consequent drug supply could surpass Colombia in five to 10 years.
