The law 1008 refers to the coca regime and controlled substances. It was approved in 1988 during the government of Paz Estensoro but the studies that supported this controversial law are no longer valid. The current Bolivian government of Evo Morales is trying to modify some of its articles so as to change the negative view that stands that coca leaf is harmful for the health in its natural state. However, it is strongly engaged to fight against drug production and traffic. Meanwhile the controversial coca plant and its derivates are present in the daily life of many Bolivians.
A coca leaf from the Chapare region, which is supposed to be used to produce cocaine.
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Villa Fatima coca market. Most of the legal coca leaf trade from the Yungas region takes places in this market near La Paz.
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A group of workers are filling bags with 70 000 pounds of illegal coca leaves that will be incinerated this morning under the supervision of the narcotics police and a public prosecutor. A total amount of 3.5 million pounds was confiscated during 2007, which is a record high in recent years.
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Two women wait while the FELCN policemen check the papers of some coca bags they brought from the Yungas region to the Villa Fátima market in La Paz. The production of every legal grower is limited but also verified at different times and in different places, to avoid coca leaves being diverted into cocaine production.
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A group of growers wait while FELCN policemen check the papers of the coca bags they are bringing from the Yungas region to the Villa Fátima market in La Paz. The production of every legal grower is limited, but also controlled at different times and in different places to avoid coca leaves being diverted into cocaine production.
MEH0137911x © Héctor Mediavilla
The narcotics police and a public prosecutor supervise a group of workers as they fill sacks with 70 000 pounds of illegal coca leaves that will be incinerated this morning. A total amount of 3.5 million pounds was confiscated during 2007, which is a record high in recent years.
MEH0138424 © Héctor Mediavilla
A group of workers are filling a huge oven to incinerate 70 000 pounds of illegal coca leaves under the supervision of the narcotics police and a public prosecutor. Every worker gets about 15 US$ per day and most of them chew coca leaves to help them to endure the job. 3,5 million pounds was confiscated during 2007, which is the maximum amount in recent years.
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70 000 pounds of coca leaves are being incinerated in this huge oven because they were not the legal type of leaf. A total amount of 3.5 million pounds has been confiscated during 2007, which is a record high in recent years.
MEH0137833x © Héctor Mediavilla
A group of workers are incinerating 70 000 pounds of illegal coca leafs under the supervision of the narcotics police and a public prosecutor. Every worker gets about 15 US$ per day and most of them chew coca leafs to endure the job. A total amount of 3.5 million pounds has been confiscated in 2007, which is a record high for recent years.
MEH0137854x © Héctor Mediavilla
A special UMOPAR (Unidad Móvil de Operativos Policiales en Areas Rurales) patrol is about to reach a small cocaine factory that is only accessible by boat after a one hour trip. There are many small factories hidden in this deep rainforest where access is difficult for the police.
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A special UMOPAR (Unidad Móvil de Operativos Policiales en Areas Rurales) patrol has found a rustic cocaine factory and arrested 3 people who were working there. These 50 pounds coca leaf bags were to be used to prouduce cocaine. There are many small factories hidden in this deep rainforest where access is difficult for the police.
MEH0137844x © Héctor Mediavilla
A special UMOPAR (Unidad Móvil de Operativos Policiales en Areas Rurales) patrol makes a halt in order to discuss the way to approach a small cocaine factory where 4 people are producing the drug. There are many small factories hidden in this deep rainforest, which the police have difficulty in accessing.
MEH0137913x © Héctor Mediavilla
A special UMOPAR (Unidad Móvil de Operativos Policiales en Areas Rurales) patrol has found a Colombian mobile cocaine factory but the people who were working here have already left. There are many small factories hidden in this deep rainforest where access is difficult for the police.
MEH0137901x © Héctor Mediavilla
A special UMOPAR (Unidad Móvil de Operativos Policiales en Areas Rurales) patrol has found a traditional cocaine factory and arrested three people. There is a bag of "agüita rica", rich water, which results from mixing the juice from the coca leafs with fuel. Later, it will be mixed with quicklime in order to get cocaine base.
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A man and two boys have just been arrested by an UMOPAR patrol. They were producing cocaine base in a rustic factory, earning around 10 US dollars per day. The man will be condemned for around 8 years whereas the two boys will be sent to a detention centre for minors. The UMOPAR (Unidad Móvil de Operativos Policiales en Areas Rurales) patrols enter the deep rainforest daily, searching for hidden cocaine factories.
MEH0137838x © Héctor Mediavilla
A bag of cocaine base has been confiscated by the UMOPAR (Unidad Móvil de Operativos en Äreas Rurales) police after dismantling a traditional cocaine factory in the rainforest, where 3 people have been arrested.
MEH0138412x © Héctor Mediavilla
A man has just been arrested for producing cocaine base in a rustic factory in the Chapare rainforest. The UMOPAR (Unidad Móvil de Operativos Policiales en Areas Rurales) patrols enter the deep rainforest daily, searching for cocaine factories. There are many small factories hidden in this territory, which the police have difficulty in accessing.
MEH0137883x © Héctor Mediavilla
A cholita (indigenous woman from the Altiplano) has been caught with 4 kilograms of cocaine base in a police operation. The FELCN (Fuerza Especial de Lucha Contra el Narcotráfico) stops all public transportation that comes from Perú by way of a mobile road control.
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