Topic: DRUGS - on December 3, 2011 at 12:12:00 PM CET
Pablo Escobar - Cartel’s expenses included $2,500 per month for rubber bands for bricks of cash.
In March 1982, the seizure of two tons of cocaine at Miami International Airport shocked U.S. officials, who realized they faced a much larger operation than anything seen before. But they still didn’t know of the Cartel’s existence, and Escobar always stayed a few steps ahead. By the time U.S. scrutiny forced Lehder to leave Norman’s Cay in September 1983, Escobar had already forged a new partnership with Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega, and the operation didn’t miss a beat. In fact from 1982-1984 shipments jumped from 80 tons to 145 tons, flooding the U.S. market and causing wholesale prices to drop from $60,000 per kilo to $16,000. But cash flow remained absurd, with revenues of $3 billion in 1983 and $2.3 billion in 1984, netting Escobar alone at least $1.3 billion in profit.
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