Narcos on the front line: Cartel jungle lab’s booby traps, landmines exposed

The AFP’s undercover cocaine disruptor has revealed the brazen and violent ways cartels safeguard their lucrative drug crops. Watch the latest episode of Narcos on the front line now.

Exclusive: An AFP officer based in Colombia has revealed the lengths drug cartels go to in protecting their lucrative drug crops – which includes using everything from booby traps and landmines, to heavily armed guards patrolling the plantations.

“Booby traps of all forms are used to protect coca leaves and coca production,” the officer revealed.

“They’re used to stop unwanted people venturing in, and that could be rivals stealing cocaine or stealing coca leaf. Or it could be used to prevent police and army …”.

He said the traps often prove deadly for officers tasked with eradicating drug plantations.

Watch how cocaine is made in episode 3 of our Narcos on the front line docuseries above.

AFP undercover agent reveals how cartels safeguard their coca crops. Picture: Jason Edwards

“In some of these places it’s so remote and so dangerous to get to. You have to helicopter people in and they’ll phosphoric out into the laboratory. And unfortunately, we’ve had incidents where we’ve had police force dragged out of a helicopter straight onto a landmine. And as soon as they hit the ground, they’ve lost both their legs,” he said.

Cocaine labs are hidden through the jungle, and protected by booby traps and landmines. Picture: Jason Edwards

“But these people are not just dying. They’re in this place with long term injuries, life changing injuries, and they’re having to deal with as a result of this drug trade

“It’s a dangerous business over here for everyone involved.

“And the police take extraordinary risks to combat a multi-billion dollar market. And like any large business, those business owners will take measures to protect their business and they trade. Unfortunately, that results in significant injuries and life changing injuries to police here”.

He said similar drug operations in Australia that may take “10 or 15 people” to resolve, would in Colombia “often take thousands of people and will deploy the army to secure a location first and then send in police”.

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Colombian National Police who raid cocaine labs in the jungle. Picture: Jason Edwards

“The level of protection around these places is quite high. Just shows you the money involved with them. If you look at some of these laboratories that are producing tons of cocaine a month, how much money you could make by selling the cocaine in Australia, they are highly valuable. As a result, they’re highly protected,” he said.

In the north of Colombia, a cartel known as the Clan Golfo have what they dub “The Pistol Plan”.

Colombia most wanted drug lord known as Otoniel who is also the leader of the Clan del Golfo, was captured in a jungle raid.

“Which is basically to shoot police officers that target them for investigation,” the officer revealed.

“So late last year, they executed 18 police officers in a week.

“It’s pure intimidation”.

A Mexican marine tasked with locating clandestine drug labs also spoke of the danger he and colleagues faced from the cartels.

“They are actually quite violent because they basically shoot at everything,” he said.

“And so we don’t really have a lot of time to react. However, with all the training that we’ve done, we are able to react properly”.

Originally published as Narcos on the front line: Cartel jungle lab’s booby traps, landmines exposed