The production of illegal drugs requires significant amounts of chemicals at different stages of the process. Despite control efforts, multilateral agencies and governments still struggle to control the flow of chemicals used in the production of illicit drugs. The trade in precursor chemicals is challenging because it relies on licit supplies from around the world. This requires legal frameworks that prevent diversion while allowing legitimate use. Furthermore, to avoid controls, producers of illicit drugs have used alternative chemicals that are not subject to international or national regulation. Although the United Nations (UN)'s general control framework forces member states to develop regulation schemes, each state establishes its own regulations and control measures. This has led to bottlenecks and blind spots that criminal actors exploit to divert chemicals for the production of illicit drugs.
This project aims to analyse the trade of chemicals used for producing synthetic drugs and cocaine. Particular attention will be paid to the trade of key precursor chemicals, non-scheduled precursors, pre-precursors and essential chemicals used in the manufacture of synthetic drugs and cocaine. The project's geographical scope covers France, Brazil, Argentina and Peru. The transatlantic drug trade between Europe and Latin America involves not only cocaine, but also the flow of chemicals used to manufacture synthetic drugs and cocaine from Europe to Latin America and vice versa. Recent police seizure data indicate that France and other Latin American countries that are not coca-crop producers have emerged as locations where not only synthetic drugs, but also cocaine manufacturing takes place, including the process of cutting or converting cocaine hydrochloride into crack cocaine. The project has two main objectives. First, it will compare the chemical regulatory frameworks and the legal chemical trade of France and the selected Latin American countries to identify trade trends and potential loopholes that could be exploited for the illegal manufacture of drugs. Second, it will explore the role of online marketplaces in enabling the expansion of chemical trade for illegal synthetic drugs and cocaine manufacturing. This will enable us to monitor the use of scheduled precursors, the proliferation of non-scheduled precursors and the spread of synthetic drugs and cocaine-derived drugs in online markets.