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Cocaine Smuggling in 2006

NCJ Number
220494
Date Published
August 2007
Length
12 pages
Annotation
This report from the Office of National Drug Control Policy provides an overview of cocaine trafficking in the United States in 2006.
Abstract
Report highlights include: (1) an estimated between 530 and 710 metric tons of cocaine departed South America toward the United States in 2006; (2) the primary channels for cocaine movement from South America toward the United States are the eastern Pacific and western Caribbean routes to Mexico and Central America, accounting for about 90 percent of the flow; (3) more coca cultivation in the Andean region was observed in 2006, than 2005; (4) 492 metric tons of cocaine were interdicted worldwide, the second highest total on record; (5) within South America, some reports indicate that use of aircraft expanded slightly in 2006; (6) over 60 percent of recorded cocaine movement toward non-United States markets headed directly for Europe in 2006, mostly for entry points in Portugal and Spain; (7) personal vehicles were the most common conveyance used to smuggle cocaine into the United States in 2006, arriving primarily across the United States-Mexico border; and (8) less than 17 percent of the cocaine seized in the United States Arrival Zone during 2006 was seized from commercial and noncommercial maritime vessels; much smaller amounts of cocaine entered by other methods, such as commercial air and mail.