LONG JOURNEY FOR A QUICK HIT

IT takes just second to snort a line of cocaine and only 30 minutes
for the drug-induced feelings of invincibility and clarity to wear
off.

By contrast, the journey from Peruvian, Bolivian and Colombian coca
plantations to the coke users can take many months.

Colombia has the world's largest coca fields, although crops in Peru
and Bolivia both produce higher leaf yields of the plant from which
cocaine is made.

Each year tonnes of cocaine base are carried across the borders of
Peru and Bolivia to Colombia where it is refined into the fine white
cocaine hydrochloride powder known to users as coke, snow or Charlie.

Despite recent success in destroying coca crops in Bolivia and Peru,
increased plantings in Colombia have ensured there is no shortage of
cocaine, with Colombian cartels expected to double their illegal
exports to about 400 tonnes this year.

Traditionally the finished drug has travelled from Colombia to the
United States via Mexico.

But with improved policing of that route, the Colombian-based cartels
that control the world's cocaine have sought new markets.

Increasingly packages of cocaine are heading by sea and air to Europe
and Australia, some in the company of couriers, others hidden in
shipping containers or sent through the post.

Australia-bound cocaine travels from Colombia via many countries
including Argentina, Brasil, Singapore, UK, Germany, Hong Kong, Canada
and South Africa.

A common route is through South-East Asian centres, such as Bangkok or
Jakarta, sometimes via San Francisco.