The head of Colombia’s police force, Gen. Rodolfo Palomino, confirmed the drugs were found in 48 boxes containing black powder on a cargo flight that departed for Mexico. The powder used to disguise the color and smell of the cocaine was a compound of chemicals normally used in color cartridges for printers and photocopy machines.
“Highly precise and technical tests were required to be able to chemically confirm that the powder contained a high component of cocaine,” Palomino said during a press conference.
The practice of mixing the cocaine in this fashion is referred to as black cocaine and it is estimated that within the shipment captured, there was more than a ton of pure cocaine belonging to cartels in either Bogotá or Cartagena, known for having links to the Mexican cartels.
Preliminary evidence suggest “the drugs were to be sent from Mexico to the United States and Europe via Central America”, said a spokesperson from the District Attorney’s office in Bogotá.
The drugs were detected by a sniffer dog after authorities in Colombia were placed on high alert following the seizure of a shipment of cocaine, with the same weight and characteristics as Monday’s, arrived in Mexico from Bogotá on Friday.
Authorities in Colombia estimate the black cocaine could be valued at $19 million in Mexico and represents 2.6 million doses of the drug.
Colombian police have seized 115 tons of cocaine so far in 2015. The latest Colombia Coca Survey, produced by UN Office on Drugs and Crime jointly with the Colombian government, showed that the country`s cultivation area and cocaine production increased substantially in 2014 and that 442 metric tons (487 tons) was produced in the same period.
Monday’s seizure was the result of joint efforts by authorities in Colombia, Mexico and the U.S.
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