A small chemical plant, tucked away in a quiet hamlet of New Jersey, has an exclusive license to import coca leaves into the United States on behalf of The Coca-Cola Company, according to media reports.
The leaves are used to produce a "decocanized" ingredient for the iconic soda, and the cocaine byproduct is sold to the nation's largest opioid manufacturer, which sells the powder as a painkiller and topical anaesthetic to dentists.
The modest Maywood plant has been processing coca leaves for Coca-Cola for more than 100 years, and is now run by a chemical manufacturer called Stepan.
It is the only business permitted to import coca leaves and produce cocaine in the United States and operates under special license granted by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
It is unknown how much the company imports. In the Eighties it was reported that more than 500 tons of leaves could enter the plant in a single year. Five hundred tons of leaves produce about 2,000kg (4,400lb) of cocaine, which, according to an Internet list of pharmaceutical companies, could be worth at least $2Bln.