Black cocaine
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Black cocaine ( es, italic=no, coca negra) is a mixture of regular cocaine base or cocaine hydrochloride with various other substances. These other substances are added * to camouflage the typical appearance (pigments and dyes, e.g. charcoal), * to interfere with color-based drug tests (mixing thiocyanates and
iron salts Iron () is a chemical element with Symbol (chemistry), symbol Fe (from la, Wikt:ferrum, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 element, group 8 of the periodic table. It is, Abundance ...
or cobalt salts forms deep red complexes in solution), * to make the mixture undetectable by drug sniffing dogs (
activated carbon Activated carbon, also called activated charcoal, is a form of carbon commonly used to filter contaminants from water and air, among many other uses. It is processed (activated) to have small, low-volume pores that increase the surface area avail ...
may sufficiently absorb trace odors). Since the result is usually black, it is generally smuggled as
toner Toner is a powder mixture used in laser printers and photocopiers to form the printed text and images on paper, in general through a toner cartridge. Mostly granulated plastic, early mixtures only added carbon powder and iron oxide, however, ...
,
fingerprint powder Fingerprint powders are fine powders used, in conjunction with fingerprint brushes, by crime scene investigators and other law enforcement personnel to search for and enhance latent/invisible fingerprints that can be used to determine identificati ...
, fertilizer,
pigment A pigment is a colored material that is completely or nearly insoluble in water. In contrast, dyes are typically soluble, at least at some stage in their use. Generally dyes are often organic compounds whereas pigments are often inorganic compo ...
, metal moldings, or charcoal. The pure cocaine base can be recovered from the mixture by
extraction Extraction may refer to: Science and technology Biology and medicine * Comedo extraction, a method of acne treatment * Dental extraction, the surgical removal of a tooth from the mouth Computing and information science * Data extraction, the pro ...
(freebase) or acid-base extraction (hydrochloride) using common organic solvents such as methylene chloride or acetone. A second process is required to convert cocaine base into powdered cocaine hydrochloride. It was reported that in the mid-1980s Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet ordered his army to build a clandestine cocaine laboratory in Chile where chemists mixed cocaine with other chemicals to produce what Pinochet's former top aide for intelligence Manuel Contreras described as a "black cocaine" capable of being smuggled past drug agents in the US and Europe.Jonathan Franklin
Pinochet 'sold cocaine to Europe and US'
''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'', 11 July 2006
Black cocaine was detected in Bogota, Colombia in May 1998. In 2008, a new type of black cocaine was discovered by police in Spain. It had been manufactured into rubber-like sheets and made into luggage. In 2021, of black cocaine disguised as charcoal, in 30 sacks among 1,364 sacks of charcoal, were seized in Spain, one of the biggest cocaine seizures recorded in Castilla y León.


References

{{Reflist Cocaine Smuggling Military dictatorship of Chile (1973–1990) Adulteration