WHERE COCAINE IS KING: THE LAND OF CONTRABAND THAT DRIVES UK'S TRADE

Cucuta is the contraband capital of Colombia, where powerful criminal
syndicates own the local government and patrol the slums, acting as
sheriff in this frontier town.

It is also the departure point for most of the cocaine that lands on
British shores.

There is not even a pretence of legality in Cucuta. Along the border
there is a staggering concentration of old American jalopies, and
contraband petrol is sold openly along the highways.

"They have massive fuel tanks, the American cars," muttered Orlando,
sucking on his last remaining teeth.

"You see, petrol on the Venezuelan side costs about 400 pesos [less
than 10p] a gallon; over here we can sell it for eight times that,"
he said, tapping the jerrican he was sitting on, a cigarette
nonchalantly pasted to his bottom lip.

"Some people spend their days driving across the border, filling up,
then coming back and siphoning off the tanks."

But this is just the low-level contraband that sustains many in this
city of 600,000.

The real money is in cocaine, and British and United States
authorities estimate that as much as 300 tonnes a year passes through
Cucuta, most on its way to Europe and the booming UK market.

Money-changers with fistfuls of pesos and bolivares prowl the streets
of Cucuta, hawking the currencies of Colombia and Venezuela, offering
black-market rates for the latter at twice the official exchange rate.

At some of the more established exchange house, there are promises of
special deals on euros, of which there is a glut.

"But we need to be talking about serious quantities for preferential
treatment," said one girl sat behind bullet-proof glass painting her nails.

A few years ago it was dollars that would be traded, but now the
Colombian smugglers prefer European destinations.

A kilo of cocaine will fetch almost UKP20,000 wholesale in Spain, the
first point of entry into Europe, almost twice what the US market will pay.

That same kilo once it reaches the UK is worth UKP30,000. Payment for
the Colombian cartels is in euros, hence the glut.

Much of the drugs trade is in the hands of the king of the Cucuta
underworld, known by his alias "the Octopus". His tentacles reach
into most of the illegal businesses: petrol, illegal immigration,
bribery of police or customs officials, stolen cars fresh from
Venezuela and, of course, vacuum-packed bricks of cocaine.

"There is not a kilo of cocaine that passes through this city without
his blessing," said a local businessman who valued his anonymity.

"And there are shallow graves around the city filled with those who
thought they could bypass him."

There is only one man in Cucuta who will speak on the record about
the underworld that governs the city.

Wilfredo Canizares, a human rights activist, lives with
state-appointed bodyguards. The armoured door to his anonymous office
would withstand all but rocket-propelled munitions.

"Look, you have a crash and your car is a wreck. You simply inform
certain men and for a small fee you will have the same model stolen
in Venezuela within hours," said Mr Canizares

Then you just put on your number plates," he said inhaling strong
Colombian coffee known as "tinto".

"However, the real money is in drugs and the most lucrative drug
market is Europe," he insisted, looking with sorrow at the bottom of
his coffee cup.

From Cucuta there are two established routes across Venezuela.

The "warm" route crosses the border into San Cristobal and heads
along the plains northwards to the Caribbean coast.

The "cold" route goes westwards through the mountains and stops at
Puerto Cabello on the coast.

From there it is hidden in the container shipping that heads
straight for Europe or flits up to the Caribbean islands such as
Aruba, Barbados, Trinidad or Martinique.

The flourishing tourist trade means there are direct flights to
Europe, particularly to London, and a ready supply of people willing
to take the risk of smuggling in a supply.

Colombian officials speak of a lack of co-operation by the British authorities.

"Smuggling drugs to Europe is really a no-brainer for the
Colombians," said a Colombian anti-narcotics official.

"Not only are the prices higher, but when was the last time the UK
extradited a drugs trafficker?

"Never," he answered his own question, "while president Uribe has
sent almost 500 narcos northwards to face US justice."

Different agencies give different figures about cocaine production in
Colombia. The UN put total production at 640 metric tonnes a year,
but law enforcement sources claim it is as high as 1,000 tonnes,
worth about UKP6 billion based on the average price.

The trade is in the hands of three principal players:

. The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), which controls
up to a third of the country, particularly the remote jungle areas
where coca, the raw material for cocaine, is grown.

. Drug cartels. While the great cartels are now gone, new
organisations have taken their place. The last of the major cartels,
Norte Del Valle, has moved more than 500 tonnes of cocaine to the US.

. Right-wing paramilitaries. While the paramilitary army of the
United Self-Defence Forces of Colombia is supposedly demobilised,
some 5,000 remain under arms and control the drugs trade in their
regions of influence, working with FARC guerrillas.