Isolation, Identification, and Origin of Three Previously Unknown Congeners in Illicit Cocaine

Abstract

Three previously unknown, overlooked, or perhaps wrongly identified impurities in illicit cocaine seized in the Netherlands Antilles are traced by various combinations of chromatographic and extraction methods. Once isolated using high-performance liquid chromatography, the compounds are identified as norcocaine, N-benzoylnorecgnonine methyl ester, and N-formyl norcocaine. Their presence in the illicit cocaine samples is explained as a result of the permanganate bleaching procedure that is nowadays routinely performed as part of the illegal production protocol.