The ‘cocaine of the poor’ that had a recipe of four ingredients | Spain

The recipe was not long, four ingredients. There was no need to have great knowledge in chemistry. Only a section in which cook it Without attracting attention. And the hamlet in Zeberio (1,081 inhabitants, Bizkaia) in which the National Police found this manuscript paper met the requirements to place a synthetic drug laboratory. A separated place, in the middle of nature, which was difficult to reach, and easy to defend. There, in a construction attached to this country house, 20 kilometers from Bilbao, a laboratory was dismantled on May 27 with the capacity to manufacture 500 per week of SPEED (amphetamine sulfate), A synthetic drug, also called the « cocaine of the poor. » The intervened stash, 450 kilos of this drug, could reach 13.5 million in the market if it was sold in individual doses. A gram of SPEED It reaches a price of between 25 or 30 euros, compared to the 60s around Cocaine, according to police sources.

The operation, carried out by specialized agents in synthetic drugs and precursors of the Central Narcotics Brigade (UDYCO), ended with seven detainees, six men and one woman. Three of them – the group leader, the person who prepared the drug and the hamlet of the hamlet – entered provisional prison. The main involved is an entrepreneur with hospitality and restaurant busines Kale Borroka. Researchers believe that the 450 kilos of Speed ​​iThey were going to be distributed throughout the Basque Country, where it is one of the most consumed substances, and nearby areas such as Burgos, Zaragoza, La Rioja or Navarra. This drug is usually consumed in leisure environments, especially at parties Rave And Tecno, especially snort. In 2023, the last year of which official apprehension data is available, 412 kilos of amphetamine sulfate were intervened in different National Police operations, Civil Guard and the Customs Surveillance Service.

Synthesis drugs are a small part about the total drug trafficking, but experts are calling attention to their expansion and dangerous health effects. When talking about these types of substances, which are produced by chemical processes, gastronomic similes are usually used. So, The cookis the person who prepares the drug. The formula is the recipe. And the substances that deviate from the legal system to elaborate them, called precursors, are the ingredients.

In the operation of the Caserío de Zeberio, the agents spent seven months waiting for the best time to dismantle the laboratory. « If you enter ahead of time the drug is not prepared and if you do 48 hours later you risk that there is nothing. There is much uncertainty until the last moment, » explains Chief Inspector Alejandro Martín-Blas, head of the Synthetic Drug Unit and Precursors of the National Police. They know when that moment applying a mixture of police, work and luck. The arrest of a man, who turned out to be the chefcarrying 25 kilos of SPEED In his vehicle, he was the trigger to request a court order and register the house. Until the moment in which they are presented with that permission, in most research, they do not know for sure what will be the dimensions of the laboratory they will find.

The thorough record in the house, protected by bars, took hours and threw the night. The agents opened the door of the Annex building equipped with personal protective equipment such as safety glasses, protective clothing or gloves. Protected by curtains of silver material, which probably exerted a thermal insulating function, found large black buckets, such as those used for garbage. The appearance of SPEEDsimilar to cottage cheese and with remains of liquid, made them think that it was practically finished, but the drying process should still be completed. During the inspection, they also found already packed packages, the protection team used by the own chefwith spots and signs of use, and the recipe. The paper, manuscript and with short indications, collected its four ingredients: amphetamine oil, sulfuric acid, methanol and caffeine, a substance that is usually used to adulterate the product and get more quantity.

The agents agreed to the laboratory was heard a beep that came out of a machine. « It was the sound of the measurement apparatus of the tedax (Explosive deactivation specialists) To ensure breathable air quality, « details the chief inspector Martín-Blas, with 18 years of police experience in synthetic drugs. For a few years, the unit he directs has launched a safety protocol for records to verify that there are no gas concentrations or risk of explosions or fires, something very common in these facilities. There is some boiling process, to avoid risks.

Martín-Blas has been noticing in recent years An increase in laboratories for synthetic drugs In Spain. « Many more have been dismantled in the previous 18, » he says. Among the places where the Levante area is being found. This unit, which has two group managers who are also doctors in Chemistry, is in close contact with the police of countries in which more laboratories are dismantled in Europe, as Netherlands (considered the cradle of synthetic drugs), Czech Republic or Poland. These relationships serve to collect their knowledge and apply them in security protocols or police practice. They also form agents from other countries such as Portugal or France in this police specialty.

He ingredient main of the SPEED It usually travels in liquid format and crosses the borders without attracting attention, simulating to be sunflower or palm oil. When it reaches its destination, on many occasions from the Netherlands, the latest phases of the cooked. In the investigation of the Basque Country, 170 kilograms of amphetamine sulfate packaged in two kilos bags, and another 280 kilos that were still in the drums. In addition, 500 liters of precursors were seized.

The criminal networks investigated usually place the laboratories in environments in which to get rid of leftover products without attracting attention. Martín-Blas refers to this practice, on which alert the latest European drug reportlike the « silent enemy. » It is a phenomenon with which the Dutch authorities are very aware, because it has environmental consequences and directly harms people who have nothing to do with drug use. Zeberio’s hamlet, in addition to meeting the isolation and easy protection requirements, had a river next door, another common characteristic in these infrastructure.

The National Police has two email addresses ([email protected] and [email protected]) so that citizens can notify drugs related to drug trafficking. Some of those information, which have the guaranteed anonymity to the person who writes, have allowed dismantling laboratories in the Netherlands and in Texas (USA).