1 I saw cocaine quite a lot in my career. I've been served it, I've been given it. Had my hand shaken and left with little wraps of foil. I've been asked to dust cocaine on top of souffles, to put it on as icing sugar. Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit. Coke's everywhere. It's spiralling out of control. I knew it would be intense but not like this. When you look at the numbers of what comes into this country... 70 grand each. Year on year, death after death... (HORN BEEPS REPEATEDLY) ..that's the devastation, I think. And yet no-one wants to talk about it. But they all want to (BLEEP)ing snort it. Cocaine, once an exclusive drug of millionaires and celebrities, now Britain's favourite Class A drug, commonplace in every town and city across the UK. Anyone who thinks that the use of cocaine is in any way victimless, is living an absolute lie. Britain consumes 30 tonnes of the drug every year, more than any other country in Europe. And the value of this? This is a kilo. About 100 grand. But behind cocaine's glamorous image, lies the criminality, cruelty and death toll of the illegal drugs trade. We see extraordinary levels of violence, gang crimes, shootings and stabbings, all of which are linked to the cocaine trade. Over 140,000 drug-related offences were committed last year, costing Britain over ten billion pounds. People are making a lot of money out of it. But to make that money people, are generating a lot of misery. It's about to kick off in there. He's (BLEEP)ing angry. I'm joining forces with the police and the military here and abroad who are battling to stop this drug. This journey will take me from testing the bathrooms of my restaurants... The staff toilets. It is everywhere. Wow. ..to the British streets where coke is being bought and sold every day. And I'm going back to the source, deep in the jungles of South America. Don't stop here, for (BLEEP)'s sake. With soaring cocaine deaths in Britain and along the supply chain, I'm determined to understand the criminal business behind this deadly drug. You and your organisation, how many people do you think you've murdered? (GUNSHOT) Literally...time to go. Able 2018 RADIO: Cocaine-related deaths are reaching epidemic proportions. One burrata. Main course, three chops, one... Morning. Are we good? Is that cold enough? I've never touched a line of cocaine in my life. I was anti drugs from a very early age. Having to watch my brother (BLEEP) his life up. Gone from coke to heroin. And so I worked my ass off to get out of the shit mess I grew up with. I went to a dealer's house once and I had to take my little brother into this...shithole of a flat for a fix to get him to my father's funeral. That was (BLEEP)ing grim. And that was the big shock for me to see how far he had gone. Ask any chef or waiter, cocaine use has long been the industry's dirty little secret. But for me the issue is very personal. In 2003, David Dempsey, one of my best mates and head chef of my flagship restaurant, died as a direct result of taking cocaine. I lost a good chef. An amazing chef. He had two kids, Megan and Jack. I never thought in my wildest dreams that David, my head chef, was er... was on cocaine. We had dinner the night he died. He just seemed agitated. He was constantly restless. Kept on disappearing to the toilet every 20 minutes. I went back home and he went back to Chelsea. He went to a dealer's house that gave him some shit cocaine and it (BLEEP)ed him over. David died after falling 40ft from a block of flats. At the inquest, it was described as an act of 'excited delirium, fuelled by cocaine'. I kick myself...for not doing more. And recognising it earlier. I'm giving David's son Jack a shift in the restaurant his dad helped make famous. He's determined to be an award-winning chef just like his father. Some more purslane, please. It's amazing for me to have you here. I know. Thank you for giving me the opportunity. He ran this place. He ran it. It's crazy. It is crazy. He never wore a (BLEEP)ing hat! But he ran it. I'm determined that neither Jack nor any of my staff fall victim to drugs as David did. I want to find out if cocaine is still being taken under my roof. Ladies, hello. I've decided to do a series of spot checks in the bathrooms of my restaurants. Hi, guys. I need to be here for two minutes. Thank you. Close up the locker and I'll see you in a minute. Good man. How are you? Good, Chef. Good man. Wash your hands. Finish the business. Are you on a break? No, I'm just using the loo. Right. You don't flush it? (BLEEP)ing hell. What was he doing in that toilet, middle of service? The busiest time. Let's hope this is not bad news. I'm testing the toilets with a special wipe which turns blue if cocaine is present. And that's blue. That's inside my own staff toilets. So...that's not good news. Roughly 50 staff use those loos. But what about the customer ones? That blue speck there is a positive test. Cocaine has been used today in my restaurants. And this is on a day that... they shouldn't be doing coke. It's (BLEEP)ing Sunday. Across my London restaurants, I've had five staff and 12 customer loos tested. And I'm about to give the results to my senior management team. Downstairs in the staff toilets, positive or negative? You would hope... Negative. Staff toilets positive. Women's - positive. Positive. Customer toilets - positive. Look how blue that one is. Staff toilets - positive. Positive. I mean, it is everywhere. Wow. Look at the colour of that. That's shocking. That looks like it's been doused in cocaine, it's that blue. It's like a J-cloth, it's that blue. I knew it was in somewhere... but I didn't know it was in this big. I'm... I'm shocked by that, I have to say. It's a wake-up call. Right now, I'm obviously concerned about the staff. Why are we turning a blind eye? Those samples, those swabs, some of them are bright blue. And that's in my own business. That's my responsibility. But it's not just my business. I've also tested other top-end restaurants, bars and pubs. I'm genuinely shocked by how many have tested positive. More alarming still, it seems that many Brits are even using coke on our roads. But with hundreds of serious accidents every year linked to drug-driving, police across the country are beginning to crack down. Tonight, I'm heading down to the south coast, to Bournemouth, where the police are launching a campaign to find out how many drivers are using cocaine. I want to see how widespread the problem is. I've asked if I can join them. Since the police introduced roadside drug kits nationwide, arrests have gone up a massive 800%. We've had a road death already this week where one of the people involved tested positive for cocaine. We've got marked, unmarked cars out. You've been issued with drug wipes. If someone is suspected of being under the influence of drink or drugs, you have the power to take that test. Hello. How are you? Good to see you. Nice to meet you. Likewise. Thank you. There's a car in front of us, what are you looking for? Erratic driving? Late braking? Poor lane control. Late braking. Any tell-tale signs. Right. Today, I'm accompanying PC Dave Cottrell who is single-handedly responsible for 25% of drug-driving arrests in Dorset. Let's have a look at this car. And in no time he's spotted a suspicious vehicle. What's the speed limit? 20mph? 30 here. Kid in the back. Kid in the back, yeah. He's in a rush. Also he's driving somewhat agitated. Are you gonna pull him over? Yeah. (SIREN BRIEFLY, HORN) Is it your car? No. It's my young lady's. Are you insured? (BLEEP) me, you look like Gordon Ramsay. Are you? Yeah. Are you insured and everything? No. You're not insured? No. Have you got a driving licence? Provisional. Why are you driving? I had to go and pick up my children. Do you want to take a seat in my car? We'll sort things out. KID: Are you Gordon Ramsay? Yes. Hell's Kitchen. Yeah. Are you guys going to jump in the house? You say you've got a provisional driving licence. I'm banned as well. You're banned. Any drugs recently? No. I don't know if you're aware, but we can test for cocaine and cannabis at the roadside. Maybe a spliff last week. Last week. All I want you to do is wipe your tongue around your mouth for me. One, two, three. One, two, three. What's made you get involved in this initiative, then? Erm...cocaine. Yeah? What, you recovering? No, no. Trying to get some?! No, no. What, then? Just lost a dear friend on it. Ah, sorry, man. Was that your son in the car? Both of 'em. I know, mate. You're under arrest. Jump out for me. (POLICE RADIO) Sorry to meet you in circumstances like this. I quite admire you and the things you do. OK, right, put yourself back in there for us. Swing your legs back in. Obviously we know he's disqualified. He's admitted no insurance. As you see on the drug test, he's starting to test positive for cocaine. That's in two minutes. In two minutes. So driving whilst disqualified. His sons in the car. Two kids in the car. And tested for cocaine. Yep. (BLEEP)ing hell. We test for cocaine and cannabis at the roadside. Testing positive. Yeah? On my (BLEEP)ing life, I'm telling you - We're not gonna have it in here, are we? (BLEEP)ing wanna bet? Do you wanna bet, mate? Listen to me. You wanna (BLEEP)ing bet, mate?! Be calm with me. Otherwise it's going to get messy. It'll get messy for you too, son. About to kick off in there. He's (BLEEP)ing angry. "I'm going to jail." I'm going to prison. "I'm going to prison." Yeah, sorry. The most important thing for me, those young boys are safe. Out of that car. As the man is taken away to the station, Dave and I head back out on patrol. And it's not long before we spot another erratic driver. Vehicle check, please. Olga Road. What do you see? Driver here, he was at the junction, looks a bit dishevelled in his appearance. (POLICE RADIO) Where have you come from today? From home. Where are you off to? Going to pick my son up. Are you? Essentially, your pupils are quite constricted. OK? When was the last time you used any sort of drugs at all? Erm... a while back. Be truthful. When was the last time? Sunday. Sunday. And what did you use? Cocaine. Cocaine. Yeah. You said you used coke on Sunday? Yeah. How much? Not a lot? Half a gram. Did you drive after that? Nope. Poke your tongue out for me. One, two, three. Why do you use cocaine? Why? Erm...confidence. Erm... I've had problems in the past. Relationship breakdowns. Stuff like that. And you know...it just gives me a buzz, really. I enjoy the buzz. I'll be truthful with you. You're already starting to test positive for cocaine. All right? All right if I make a quick phone call? Not at the moment. I need to pick my son up. How old's your son? Six. And you're on your way to pick him up. Matthew, that means if you'd picked up your son, he's in the car... I honestly didn't know it would still be in my system. (BLEEP). Matthew, at this moment in time you're under arrest. (READS CAUTION) Matthew, get help. Please. Yeah. Cheers. Ultimately, Matthew didn't have enough coke in his system to prosecute. But in just over three hours in Bournemouth on a random Thursday afternoon, I'd witnessed two men nicked for drug-driving. Both of them on the school run. I'm shocked and nervous, the fact that it's... it's that prevalent. It is everywhere. Broad daylight. I think it's the tip of the iceberg. Because it's clearly going on a lot more than we know. 1 1 In the UK over the past 20 years, cocaine use has gone up 400%. And coke-related deaths have increased four years in a row to stand at an all-time high. At the forefront of stopping this deadly drug getting into the country and onto Britain's streets, are the NCA, the closest thing we have to the FBI. I'm going to meet one of the senior officers at the National Crime Agency, Tony Saggars, and he's going to give an insight to what's coming in, where it's coming from, and what has he done to slow this down. How are you? Good. Tony Saggars. Thanks for your time. As head of drugs intelligence, Tony has dedicated his 30-year career to fighting a war against drugs. And he's disturbed by the rising use of cocaine. The cocaine trade is without doubt the biggest problem within the drugs industry. The demand for cocaine in the UK I would say is at a high, if not an all-time high. Gun crime in the UK is associated to our drugs trade. People are making money out of it but to make that money people are generating a lot of misery. It's like an epidemic. It's everywhere. How much have you stopped in the last three years? So in terms of our collaboration with colleagues in Europe, Caribbean, Latin America, we're stopping about 60 tonnes a year. Are we stopping the problem? No, we're not. Are we locking some bad people up, taking their revenue? Yes. And you have to look at it that way. But the reality is, this country demands high volumes of coke. Organised criminals take advantage of that. But it's become accepted, Tony. I think what that demonstrates, Gordon, is the public's attitude towards cocaine as a part of society. Gangs on streets, brothels. Young people with guns. You've just funded that and that's what annoys me. So, rather than it actually being abhorrent within society, which it should be, people sit in restaurants have the conversations you and I might have at home about a sweatshop being used by a high-street brand, exploiting children and slave workers, and then go and snort cocaine - they've just subscribed to the thing they find abhorrent. It's great to see how passionate Tony is but you can feel the frustration because there is so much work to be done. And his gripe is the fact that, you know, "You think it's cool, it's the opposite to cool. And the more you take, the harder my job is. The harder my job is, the less grip we've got on this problem." Tony and his team are in a seemingly never-ending struggle to gain control of this issue. They're up against organised criminal gangs, many of them from overseas, who control a �3.7 billion UK drugs business. The NCA are tasked with tracking, intercepting and seizing the vast quantities of coke trafficked into Britain from abroad. And the huge amounts of money used to buy and sell the drug. Tony set me up with the rapid response unit who rely on incredible intelligence to bust big drug deals and the cash that goes with it. And it's obvious they don't (BLEEP) around because I've been given minutes' notice to get my ass down to the station. John Nolan is one of the most experienced officers working with the NCA. There's no time to hang about. John and his team must act immediately. They have intelligence of a drug deal. POLICE RADIO: IC-4 man wearing a grey jacket, grey jeans, blue shirt. We're responding to intelligence of a handover, which is going to happen in northwest London. A handover of drugs or cash? We don't know what the commodity is. Often we don't know what it is until we stop them. The drugs and the cash can look very similar, packaged in the same way. They can be cellophane wrapped. The handovers can be very quick. John's covert team have seen a suspicious man leaving an address they had under surveillance. All units, move up, move up, move up. It's vital they arrest him before a handover of drugs or cash takes place. Here he is here. See this bloke here? There's the bag. Do you guys wanna get out? What's in the bag, sir? I'm arresting you on suspicion of money-laundering. Understand? (BEGINS CAUTION) Covert officers have detained a man carrying a suspect-looking bag. OK. How much money's in there? I don't know. Their suspicions have paid off. The man is Albanian and the bag contains tens of thousands of pounds used to buy and sell cocaine. You're not messing round. That's big. Jesus Christ. If he's an Albanian runner then he's come into the country. He may not be here too long, living in poor conditions. And he'll be exploited like everyone through the drug trade. No sooner has the suspect been handcuffed than John and his team hear about a potentially bigger deal at an address across town in one of London's most exclusive neighbourhoods. (POLICE RADIO) As we arrive at the address, officers are keeping their eyes peeled for anything or anyone who seems suspicious. Go with him. Go with him. The officers take a gamble and follow a taxi seen driving away from the address they had identified. Keep a visual on the Mercedes, please. (POLICE RADIO) 'Westbound, westbound A40. Into the underpass underneath the car park. No deviation, no deviation.' He's out. He's with a bag. Strike, strike, strike! The team quickly arrest the passenger of the taxi after he attempts to flee the scene. I've got him, I've got him. Have you got anything else on you you shouldn't have? I'm gonna search you. Gonna make sure you haven't got any weapons. You can search me. Extraordinary. Another massive bundle of cash. That's two within 60 minutes. We've probably cleaned up �120,000-�130,000 in the space of two arrests. Shit. He's Albanian. He's using a cab driver. Yes. Something spooked the person inside and he was told to drive on. Yes. And he had no idea he had the cash. No idea, no idea. Sometimes you have to make your own luck. Fingers crossed it was the right vehicle. We're talking about a million quid a week just on your watch alone, if every afternoon is as prolific as this. Absolutely correct. Absolutely. He's here to make money. This arrested man is merely a foot soldier. However, the team tell me Albanian crime gangs currently dominate the UK cocaine trade because of their willingness to use extreme violence. We're dealing with hundreds of thousands of pounds in cash just being delivered in party bags. Cocaine coming in, money going out to Albania. And it's rife. 1 1 In 2016 alone, British police and Border Force seized a staggering four tonnes of cocaine. That's more than at any time in the last decade. Despite this increased police activity, the UK is still the biggest user in Europe. And with the strength of the drug increasing, coke deaths in Britain are up 16% in the last year alone. So the authorities are working hard to stop this stuff going onto our streets. Last night, 30kg of cocaine was seized by the police. And I'm on my way to a lab at a secret location where it's going to be tested. And this will be a great opportunity to get my head around the size of this problem. 30 fucking kilos, just last night. Morning. Good morning, Gordon. How are you? I'm here to meet Peter Caine who has been a drug scientist for three decades. When I started, we were a team of about eight people. And we're now a team of 70. This secure lab is where 70% of the drugs in Britain are tested after seizure. Morning. So this is a case that's just come in. 30kg from one raid. Yes. Wow. That's a big seizure, Ryan. Yeah. When I spoke with the officer they said it was seized about midnight so we've got a bit of time on it. But it is an urgent and we need to get the result out as soon as possible. 30kg just arrives like that. For me, I'm in shock. How many cases do you deal with a week? Just as an example, last year, in this laboratory, we examined 1.25 tonnes. Can we open one or not? Yeah, that's fine. Do you mind just having a look at one? Sure. Peter and his team are looking for hallmarks, which may give a clue to where this has been processed. I mean, it's just wrapped so tight like a book. Compressed to a solid mass. Are we allowed to get inside? Yeah, I think we can open one up, yeah. Please. So you can see coming through there's a bit of green. Which is probably some green rubber. Quite often in the Caribbean they will drop these into the sea to be picked up by small boats. And that's the cocaine there. Yeah. My goodness me. Look how packed that is. Yeah. We can probably... just lift it out. Whoops! Incredible. These little holes are from where it's produced in the laboratories in South America. They use presses to get the excess solvent out. Incredible. And the value of this? This is a kilo. Wholesale, probably about �35,000. And when it gets to the street you can times that by about three. So about 100 grand. That's incredible. I'm amazed at the volume you've got here. If this haul were to be sold to the customer here in Britain, it would be worth an incredible �3 million. What's surprised you over the last ten years on how they smuggle coke? It's ingenuity that does change. Peter wants to give me a taste of some of the remarkably creative ways coke is smuggled into the country. I'll show you these bottles of rum. One of them is a genuine bottle of golden rum. The other one contains a quarter of a kilogram of cocaine hydrochloride. A quarter of a kilogram? Yep. Cocaine is very soluble. You can dissolve two grams in one millilitre of water. This was a smuggling technique that is used from time to time. The easy way to check it is you just weigh the bottles. And you'll find one is extremely heavy compared to the other. If you were to drink one mouthful of that you'd die. Really? A 25ml shot probably contains about eight grams of cocaine. How do you get the cocaine back into powder form from that? Put it on something like a baking sheet and gently warm it so you're evaporating off the liquid. Are you surprised at the prolificness of the business now in terms of the billions it generates globally? The thing is, it is a business. And that's it. And they do use proper business tactics when they're selling it. I wanna get all this coke off my hands now. Next time I go to an airport I'm going to shit myself! To be in there, that up close and personal to all that coke, it's scary. For him it's normal. He sees bags of that on a weekly basis. And millions of pounds tested per year. But for me...yeah... I'm lost for words. It's spiralling out of control. It's part of the going-out fashion. It's all over my restaurants. It's even in the staff toilets. How is so much coming in? Er, you gotta look at... In the UK, we're an island nation. It's almost a 360 degree target for international trafficking. We're that vulnerable. We are. You've got production here in Colombia, Peru and Bolivia. So there's a chain of countries where most of the cocaine is produced. You've got this Latin American coastline, which enters the Caribbean Sea. That's really important as a gateway. So, people sailing yachts, trans-Atlantic, into the UK, smuggling coke. Countries that get exploited through this: Panama, Nicaragua, Honduras. These are the places where bad things happen. Swallower couriers from Latin America and the Caribbean. We've a photograph, I'll show you. It's horrible viewing but necessary to understand the human exploitation. This individual has swallowed cocaine pellets through the throat. It's basically filled the entire human cavity. So they'd swallow these prior to jumping on board the plane. Basically 24 hours or so before the flight, these individuals will start swallowing. Christ Almighty. That person had about two kilos inside their body, that's over 120 pellets. That will pass through the intestine, will come out the way all food comes out and someone's gonna pick the layers off that. Then in your restaurant, someone else is going to snort it as a glamorous drug and there's nothing glamorous about that picture. My God. I've interviewed people in Lagos Airport, literally who can touch the last pellet, it's that close to their throat opening. That was an incredible insight. The big shock for me is how exposed we are as a country. And the amount of avenues that these smugglers and dealers and cartels are using to bring cocaine into the country. It's coming in from everywhere. That's the problem. With so many smuggling routes and techniques, it's no wonder cocaine is flooding our towns and cities. 80% of the coke that ends up on Britain's streets comes from just one country. And the amount they are producing has surged dramatically, rising to levels unseen for 20 years. So I'm heading to the source - Colombia, the biggest producer of cocaine anywhere in the world. But what I'm desperate to understand is...what is Colombia trying to do to bring a halt to this multi-billion-pound industry? 1 After a 15-hour journey, I'm touching down close to the border with Ecuador. I've come here to see the very beginning of the process and understand how this seemingly unstoppable industry dominates Colombia and feeds the appetite in Britain and the rest of the world. So we are right at one of the most southern tips of Colombia. This is on the tip of the Amazon jungle. So...we are remote. First time in South America for me. We're in the ass-end of nowhere, Villagarzon. Colombia has now regained its crown and status as the No.1 producer of cocaine anywhere in the world. Year on year, over the last two years, it's gone up 40%. It's now responsible for producing over 650 tonnes of cocaine. That's a �40 billion industry just from this country. The Colombian Government's battle to stop cocaine is big news here. You can't read a newspaper or switch on the TV without a drug-gang killing or a massive cocaine seizure. To understand the war on drugs properly, I have to come to the heartbeat of where it starts. And to see how this shit's produced. I'm beginning by heading deep into the jungle, to meet someone who risks everything to produce cocaine. Any professional chef worth his salt goes to the source. So I want to know what goes into this drug. I'm attempting to reach one of the small-scale farmers who grows, processes and cooks the coca plant, which is then turned into coke. I'm on my way into the jungle to meet this farmer/chef. This guy is basically harvesting the coca plant but in hiding. And we're going in. I mean, we are in the depth. In the middle of nowhere. It's slightly edgy because... last night, first thing this morning, you can hear the local military police helicopters scouting the area. So...this is a high risk for this farmer. For me, why would you put yourself at risk? Why would you put yourself out there with your family? Because getting caught here, the consequences are massive. Now this farmer/chef is one individual of a one million workforce that are now behind the cocaine industry in Colombia. One million people are now producing or involved in cocaine. In a country that has 50 million people. I mean it's just extraordinary. What is this fucking thing coming here? Morning. I've travelled along this dirt road for over an hour. Just reaching the village is an ordeal. So this is a river crossing. The bridge is broke. I'm just gonna go down and see if we can get across. That's fine. That's not too bad. So the bridge is fucked. There's no way of going over that bridge there. That won't even take my weight, let alone the car. Oh, shit. Shit. Thank God for that. I finally reach the farmer's village. However, to keep things discreet, I've agreed to meet him at his plantation, which is a further hour and a half's walk deep into the rainforest. You can see what I mean now about being off the beaten track. Also we're now heading straight into that big, deep, dense mass of jungle. I have no idea what I'm about to face. But I hope to find the farmer and the answer to at least some of my questions. 1 I've now journeyed for three hours into the remote Colombian rainforest. I'm here to meet a farmer who is one of a million people in the country who work in the cocaine industry. He takes huge risks to both grow the coca plant and extract the drug from the leaf. This is seriously hard-going terrain. But at last I've found what I'm looking for. This is it. Fuck me. I mean, it's somewhat spread out. But this is it. Finally. This is the coca leaf. This is the start... of the process of making cocaine. Now...you can eat these leaves. Tribes were using this for altitude sickness. Who would have thought such a soft, smooth leaf can turn into something so powerful? Hola, Jose. Buenos dias! Gracias. Good to see you. Muy bien. Coca leaves contain less than 1% cocaine. So the farmer has to pick around 500kg of the plant to make just one kilo of the drug. Jose...are you ever worried that you're going to get raided? Do you not worry because you have such a young family? What would the family do if you got busted? Like Jose, I have four children. I can imagine the responsibility to provide for them weighs heavily upon him. Do you have any idea outside of this jungle of the devastation of what this is causing? The Government have given up on the locals. They've made it more difficult for them to survive. He can't harvest fruit. There's nowhere near enough money to keep that family alive. So the guy's got no alternative. That's not an excuse. He's just talking from the heart, in a way, that this is it. He needs to get this done to get his kids through school to get the fuck out of here. Being caught and what would happen to the family would be awful. They'd be kicked out of the house, the village. And sadly the whole family would be ripped apart. You've got this humble farmer. He's got no idea of the war, the violence...the killings. And then...the power of cocaine. He's got no idea. In order to earn his $40 a week, or roughly �30, Jose has to produce cocaine paste which he sells to the drug cartels. His lab, where it's produced, is another 45 minutes' walk, hidden deep in the undergrowth. If it's busted, he faces a 20-year jail term. I mean...there's no wonder these little labs don't get busted. Because we are going even deeper than I could ever have imagined. This is more remote than I've ever been. The lab, finally. Jesus Christ. No wonder you can't fucking find this place. Now I've reached the lab I'm about to find out just what goes into making this destructive drug. Bloody hell. What a fucking journey. Jose must extract the cocaine from the plant. A complicated process which involves many chemicals. First, he adds cement to the chopped-up coca leaves. He's measuring it out to the cup - cement powder. I mean this takes squashing grapes for me to a whole new fucking level. Almost like finishing a fucking souffle with fresh icing powder. Wow. After Jose finishes mixing in the cement, the next delightful ingredient is added - sulphuric acid, dissolved in water. My eyes are burning. Huh? My eyes are burning. When you see the bright white of that finished product, everyone thinks it looks classy, sophisticated. They boast and show off to their mates. The arrogance of taking it. I'd love to bring them here and show them the shit that goes on. I'm appalled at what goes into it. The cement was hard enough, but the sulphuric acid... This mixture is put into a barrel and doused in gasoline. This is then left to marinate, to draw the cocaine from the leaf. It's like something out of fucking Harry Potter. Does he know who Harry Potter is? (ASKS QUESTION IN SPANISH) No. Thank fuck for that. The fumes and the smell coming off that is extraordinary. (SPEAKS SPANISH) Fucking hell. He sounds happy. Is he high? Jose needs to separate the cocaine from the gasoline, using the next shocking addition to the mixture - battery acid. (SPEAKS SPANISH) (COUGHS) Are you OK? That battery acid has helped separate the cocaine liquid from the gasoline. So basically the density is like oil and water. On top is the gasoline and underneath, 10% of that is water, is the cocaine water. Pure cocaine water. Which he's going to siphon out from the bottom now. This hose goes to the bottom there. He's sucking it through. And then he's going to sieve that through ` the final process. (SPEAKS SPANISH) So that's clear, pure cocaine water at the bottom of this barrel. Very strong, very...acidic. Very bitter. Very er...very, very strong. Wow. Wow, wow, wow, wow, wow. Fuck me. Next, in goes bicarbonate of soda which helps to get rid of the excess gasoline and battery acid. It's given it a bit of a white colour. Look at that now. Once the mixture is dried, it starts to resemble cocaine for the first time. But there's still more work to do. We have to walk one hour back to the village for the next extraordinary stage of the process. And certainly the most risky for him. He needs to gently cook the mixture to take out more of the impurities. All that...picking, gathering and everything that he's... worked hard for, down to this little cupful of liquid. Cocaine...crazy. So he's brought it up to the boil. And now he's skimming the top again to make it even purer. So it's almost like a toxic scum that's come off the powder. And the actual liquid cocaine looks so much more clear now. It's like this syrup. Like a treacle. Almost like you're tempering it. Like tempering chocolate. Jose spreads the liquid onto a tray and allows it to dry. Wow. It's this paste that is bought by the cartels who control the drug trade. Ultimately, they'll turn it into cocaine hydrochloride, after adding a few other chemicals to make it consumable. Wow. From when we started first thing this morning, with that huge vat of leaves to this tiny bag. That's incredible. Jose will receive about �30 a week. This bag of paste will be worth roughly �5,000 on the streets of Britain. I've cooked some serious shit in my life and been to some extraordinary places but nothing quite on this level. That guy is living on a knife edge. But the sad news is...if he's caught with that bag of paste at the end, that's 20 years banged up. 20 fucking years for that. The guy earns $150 a month. The saddest news today was the fact the Government have given up on them. They're not repairing bridges or giving them any funding. So these guys have no option but... to work their ass off locally and produce that cocaine paste to stay alive. That's the sad news. Jose is just one farmer struggling to make a living for his family. Most of the industry is controlled by the cartels. They are powerful criminal gangs, causing misery and death and responsible for bringing this drug to the UK. Able 2018