Global progressive policing

SERIES: Tackling traffickers: Chemically concealed cocaine

Images of chemically concealed cocaine

Hidden in the open: How visual and tactile inspections can uncover chemically concealed cocaine

Tackling traffickers: Chemically concealed cocaine
SUBSCRIBE 18th March 2025

Chris Dalby, Policing Insight

ANALYSIS: Recent arrests and seizures suggest drug traffickers are increasingly switching to chemically concealed cocaine (CCC) to move tonnes of shipments around the world, largely undetected; in the second in a series of articles on CCC and organised crime, Policing Insight’s Chris Dalby looks at the processes involved in chemical concealment and extraction, what law enforcement can look for to identify extraction labs, and the struggles facing traditional techniques of detection as well as some new, effective methods.

Images of chemically concealed cocaine

Chemically concealed cocaine: Why global law enforcement can’t keep up

Tackling traffickers: Chemically concealed cocaine
SUBSCRIBE 18th February 2025

Chris Dalby, Policing Insight

ANALYSIS: Recent arrests and seizures suggest that drug traffickers are increasingly switching to chemically concealed cocaine (CCC) to move tonnes of shipments around the world, successfully passing through ports and airports undetected; in the first in a series of articles on CCC and organised crime, Policing Insight’s Chris Dalby looks at the background of this seismic shift in drug trafficking, the scale of the problem, and what steps law enforcement can take to meet some of the key challenges.

Top