ASUNCION, March 31 (RHC) Paraguayan agents dismantled a large and technically equipped cocaine production laboratory in the northern department of Amambay, the government reported.
An operation by the National Anti-Drug Secretariat discovered the facility on a rural property in the town of Pedro Juan Caballero on the border with Brazil, spokesmen for the organization reported.
The drugs seized included 11 kilos of cocaine, 250 kilos of caffeine, 650 kilos of calcium chloride, 325 kilos of caustic soda, 944 grams of marijuana, 32 grams of hashish and 387 kilos of substances yet to be defined.
The lab was equipped with a closed loop system, microwave ovens, infrared lamps, a carbon dioxide tank, iron tables with lights, industrial fans, and hydraulic presses.
According to this source, the company processed cocaine-based paste sourced from neighboring countries that produce the drug at low cost.
This element was the basis of the mixing and crystallization process to obtain cocaine hydrochloride (white powder), the amounts of which found stamps and logos show a scheme of different organizations.
The infrastructure also consisted of vacuum filter machines, pH meters, beakers, test tubes, burettes, areometers and plastic containers.
The agents also discovered barrels and bottles containing ethyl acetate, hydrochloric acid, sulfuric acid, acetone, ethanol, naphtha, and metal molds of various designs.
Several surveillance cameras spotted the anti-drug agents on one of the access roads before they reached the scene, alerting about ten drug dealers who fled into the jungle.
Paraguay is one of the South American countries where the region’s drug trafficking gangs converge, particularly at the border crossings with Brazil, which take them to North American and European countries. (Source:PL)