Cocaine

Series 1 Episode 1
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First Broadcast: Sat 16 January

The first programme in the series takes viewers into the world of the Peruvian coca farmers, who are totally dependent on the paltry money they make from growing coca leaves, and the cocaine-makers, who turn the leaves into 'dandruff of the Andes.'

The programme follows the complex process of a kilo of cocaine being made, from the leaf to the final drying in a microwave, as it becomes clear that the peasants and the drug makers are totally interdependent.

Angus Macqueen meets the Zavala family, who have farmed coca for decades. They used to have their own laboratory to produce the coca paste, which is the starting point for making cocaine.

But they are being driven from their fields by a US-sponsored military programme. Almost penniless, Edgar Zavala watches as his daughter is forced to the edge of prostitution, and warns that if this goes on farmers will be driven back into the arms of guerillas.

SERIES:

    1. Series 1 Episode 1 Viva la Coca

      The first programme in the series takes viewers into the world of the Peruvian coca farmers, who are totally dependent…

      • Includes descriptions some may find upsetting

    2. Series 1 Episode 2 Leo and Ze

      An intimate but brutal story of violence, poverty and drugs in the slums of Rio. Former gang boss Ze talks candidly…

      • Strong language, images and descriptions some may find upsetting and drug use

    3. Series 1 Episode 3 An Honest Citizen

      Thirty years of illegal drug money made Colombia virtually ungovernable. The country's $6 billion-a-year cocaine trade…

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