Peru's Jungle drug cops

The elite police who work in the dense central jungles of the world's No. 1 cocaine-producing nation regularly raid the pits in which coca leaves are processed into the paste used to make the drug.

They also seize the chemicals used in cocaine refining. Less often, they'll take down a lab.

Lately, the camouflage-clad cops have been using explosives to blow holes in the clandestine airstrips that small planes use to retrieve loads of cocaine.

Blasting craters in runways only briefly interrupts the so-called "air bridge" that police say moves more than a metric ton of cocaine a day to Bolivia on Cessna 206s. Traffickers pay local residents to promptly fill the huge holes.

The narcotics police, who earn about $800 a month, are all men and mostly under 30. The Tactical Anti-Drug Operations Group to which they belong numbers ninety and includes paramedics, sharpshooters and scuba divers.

"They always work in operations of high-risk — physical, tactical and mental," said police Col. Victor Zanabria, the group's commander for the Alto Huallaga region including Ciudad Constitucion. "There's always the possibility of a firefight in the middle of the jungle."

On one recent airstrip-blasting mission, a few dozen police armed with assault rifles left the base in three pickup trucks. They slowly negotiated rutted, muddy roads and forded streams. A two-hour walk through dense jungle followed, the cops pushing along 25-kilogram (55-pound) sacks of ammonium nitrate explosives.

Reaching the Palcazu River, they persuaded a boatman to take them to the other side in a narrow dugout. Back on shore, there was one more hour's walk.

The police located the landing strip with a GPS receiver, then dug a 1.5-meter-deep (almost 5-foot-deep) crater and set the explosives. The blast hurled dirt skyward.

Repairs that will render the airstrips usable again can take three days, sometimes less, depending on the traffickers.

Peru has been spending $8.4 million a year on blasting holes in clandestine airstrips — targeting 366 landing strips since 2012, said Rep. Emiliano Apaza, president of Congress' defense committee. But it hasn't stopped the drug flights.

Last week, Congress passed legislation authorizing Peru's air force to begin shooting the aircraft down.

In this July 31, 2015 photo, dirt is blasted skywards as a clandestine airstrip is cratered with explosives by Peruvian counternarcotics forces, in the jungle near Ciudad Constitucion, Peru. According to police, the airstrip is used by drug traffickers to ship cocaine to neighboring Bolivia. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

In this July 27, 2015 photo, a counter narcotics police officer paints the face of a comrade before taking part in a parade commemorating Peru's Independence Day, inside their base in Tingo Maria, Peru. The men are part of the elite counternarcotics police who work in the dense central jungles of the world’s No. 1 cocaine-producing nation. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

In this July 31, 2015 photo, counternarcotics police officer Merlin Gonzales, 27, takes a break as he sits on the sandy back of the Palcazu River, while he waits with his comrades for the boat that will carry them back to their base in Ciudad Constitucion, Peru. The officers have just marched hours through the jungle after cratering a clandestine runway used by cocaine traffickers in the Peruvian jungle. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

In this July 31, 2015 photo, counternarcotics special forces study a map at their headquarters, before starting an operation to destroy a clandestine airstrip, in Ciudad Constitucion, Peru. According to Rep. Emiliano Apaza, president of Congress’ defense committee, the Andean nation has been spending more than $8 million a year blasting holes in clandestine airstrips. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

In this July 31, 2015 photo, a counternarcotics special forces officer carries a bag of ammonium nitrate explosives that will be used to crater a clandestine airstrip, as a local villager carries a sack filled with coca leaves near Ciudad Constitucion, Peru. The police regularly raid the pits in which coca leaves are processed into the paste used to make cocaine. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

In this July 31, 2015 photo, women fish in the Palcazu River while counternarcotics special forces police wait for their comrades after destroying an airstrip in the Peruvian jungle, used by drug traffickers near Ciudad Constitucion, Peru. The police located the landing strip with a GPS receiver. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

In this July 29, 2015 photo, a counternarcotics special forces officer carries his lunch at mess hall in the police the base in Ciudad Constitucion, Peru. The Tactical Anti-Drug Operations Group to which he belongs numbers 90 officers. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

In this July 29, 2015 photo, counternarcotics special forces officers play cards inside their base in Ciudad Constitucion, Peru, after a long workday. The officers, who earn about $800 a month, are all men and mostly under 30 years of age. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

In this July 29, 2015 photo, counternarcotics special forces dry their clothes on a barbed wire fence inside their base in Ciudad Constitucion, Peru. The Tactical Anti-Drug Operations Group includes paramedics, sharpshooters and scuba divers. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

In this July 28, 2015 photo, counternarcotics special forces cross the Palcazu River as they head to crater a clandestine airstrip used by drug dealers in the Peruvian jungle near Ciudad Constitucion, Peru. The officers armed with assault rifles slowly negotiated rutted, muddy roads, walked for hours and forded streams to get to their destination. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

In this July 28, 2015 photo, a group of counternarcotics special forces wait for a boat to cross the Palcazu River as they head to crater a clandestine airstrip used by drug dealers near Ciudad Constitucion, Peru. On reaching the Palcazu River, they persuaded a boatman to motor them to the other side. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

In this July 31, 2015 photo, a counternarcotics special forces police officer is illuminated by the lights of a pick-up truck at his base Ciudad Constitucion, Peru. He has just arrived from cratering a clandestine airstrip used by drug smugglers in the Peruvian jungle. Blasting craters in runways only briefly interrupts the so-called “air bridge.” (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

In this July 28, 2015 photo, counternarcotics special forces officers carry sacks of ammonium nitrate explosives to crater a clandestine airstrip in the Peruvian jungle, on the shores of the Palcazu River, near Ciudad Constitucion, Peru. Police say that the runways are used to move more than a metric ton of cocaine a day to Bolivia on small planes. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

In this July 28, 2015 photo, counternarcotics special forces ride on pick-up truck as they head to blow a hole in a clandestine airstrip used by drug traffickers near Ciudad Constitucion, Peru. The task force left base in three trucks, then forded streams and hiked for 2 hours in the dense jungle before making it to their target destination. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

In this July 29, 2015 photo, counternarcotics special forces officers watch Peruvian President Ollanta Humala and First Lady Nadine Heredia on television during Peru's Independence Day celebrations, inside their base in Ciudad Constitucion, Peru. Officers spend a month on the rudimentary base, spending their time blasting craters in clandestine airstrips. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

In this July 31, 2015 photo, counternarcotics special forces dig a ditch in a clandestine grassy airstrip used by drug traffickers in the jungle near Ciudad Constitucion, Peru. Explosives will be placed in the ditch to blow craters into the airstrip in an attempt to render it unusable. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

In this July 31, 2015 photo, counternarcotics special forces trek in the jungle after cratering a clandestine airstrip used by drug traffickers near Ciudad Constitucion, Peru. The airstrip can be repaired within a few days, sometimes less, depending on the traffickers. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

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Text from the AP news story, AP Photos: Elite Peru drug cops blast air strips, by Franklin Briceno. 

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