DEALERS BUY COCAINE BASE OFF PEASANTS AT A CLANDESTINE MARKET IN COLOMBIA, 1997-12-24 (photo)

FOR RELEASE WITH FEATURE DRUGS-COLOMBIA-COCA - A plume of smoke wafts through the air as a dealer tests a small amount of cocaine base by burning it on a spoon before weighing the package and buying it from a peasant at a clandestine market in the jungles of southern Colombia. The production of coca leaf - the raw material for cocaine - is one of the mainstays of the peasant economy in southern Caqueta province. A peasant can receive about $690 for 2.2 pounds (1 kg) of cocaine base. Once refined into pure cocaine the same product will fetch between $20,000 and $200,000 on the streets of any U.S. city. Picture taken 13DEC97. DRUGS COLOMBIA COCA