The barnacles have already risen 37 percent these weeks, according to a study by the Organization of Consumers and Users (OCU). Increased demand and limited supply drive prices up. A similar effect occurs in the cocaine, that can go up between 20 and 30 percent its price in the weeks of Christmas, as one of those responsible for the fight against drugs in Spain explains to CASO ABIERTO.
Narcos and Catholics
“The big Colombian drug traffickers They are Catholic and at Christmas they retire to their farm or their hacienda, as they call it. They spend their parties there with their families, “says a veteran police officer. Therefore, he adds, the large shipments of cocaine to Spain are made during the month of November.
This spiritual retreat of the big drug traffickers has very beneficial economic consequences for them. After arriving in Spain, those last drug shipments of the year They hide until the holidays arrive.
20 percent more
The objective, explain sources of the fight against drugs, is to raise the price of cocaine. “There is much more demand in the Christmas holidays and it is enough to leave it cooling so that the price goes up. The wholesale price of a kilo of cocaine can exceed 25,000 euros per kilo this Christmas at about 30,000 euros per kilo “, a 20 percent increase, according to the sources consulted.
The same sources recall that, in previous Christmases, especially during the last week of the year and the first of the following, the demand for cocaine in Spain grew so much that the price of that drug skyrocketed, reaching up to 34,000 euros per kilo in the wholesale, an increase of almost 40 percent, like the barnacle for New Year’s Eve dinners.
The benefits do not only go to the wholesalers, the big traffickers, each link in the chain also raises its rates and its commissions. Everyone wins, whether they are carriers or commission agents.
Worse quality
But nevertheless, the street consumer does not notice the price increase. “The gram of cocaine is always stable, between 55 and 60 euros, to continue having hooked to customers, “explains a policeman.
How do you get that price stability, also at Christmas? Lowering the quality (purity) of the drug and raising the health risks. “The drug is cut more, it is mixed. Of a kilo of cocaine, after cut and mixed, they can get to take three kilos for the Christmas campaign “.
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The hash, no
This increase in prices for Christmas is not transferred to the other drug most consumed in Spain, hashish. “The hashish dealers They don’t celebrate Christmas, they do Ramadan. It is in that Muslim religious period when you notice that the supply drops and prices rise, “says an anti-drug agent.” During these holidays, hash does not raise the price; there is, yes, a huge fork, depending on the quality. A good kilo can be worth around 1,200 euros, but the price, depending on where and how, can be skyrocketing. “
Reference-www.elperiodico.com