So you're not the next
Paul Le Roux then? He went from writing TrueCrypt, to starting a network of those spam-driven "Canadian pharmacies" advertising all the tramadol, Fioricet (butalbital, whoo), carisoprodol, and even sildenafil you can get your grubby hands on, and it's all legit because there's real doctors involved! (Real doctors that couldn't even see the patient, only had a brief description of your medical issues, and knowing that another filled Rx means another maybe $2 for the doctor? You say your problem is "ewtuiw4trhefkij" and you want 300 count Ultram and 300 count Soma? OK, approved, onto the next.)
I guess the whole "grey market drug empire" was not enough for him, so he moved onto being an international crime lord, and set up a compound in Somalia staffed with well armed mercenaries, where he wanted to grow dope.
Pretty fucking crazy story.
wiki said:
Through his company Southern Ace, Le Roux supplied AK-47 assault rifles and light machine guns to Somali militias starting in April 2009, in violation of an existing arms embargo.
Rumors exist that Le Roux was planning to build a militia to invade the Seychelles. His enforcer Hunter is known to have bragged about such plans, but the head of the UN investigative team concerned with Le Roux's activities in Somalia dismissed it. According to him, Le Roux intended to set up a security firm specialized in protecting commercial ships from pirate attacks.
[...]
"Ottavio" (Le Roux) was alleged by the UN to also be involved in experiments to cultivate narcotic plants including opium, coca and cannabis near the Ethiopian border. The involvement of Philippine, Zimbabwean and South African nationals in the operation was implied. Some sources claim Le Roux had plans to start a cocaine plantation in Somalia.
If you want an in depth read about the life of this guy, check out a book called
"The Mastermind" by Evan Ratliff
If you can't find a free copy maybe use
Library Genesis instead for a free ebook.
he somehow managed to go from leaf to freebase crystals with a minimal amount of fuss.
bet you, if anything, it's from macerating the leaf in alkali-water solution, and extracting the whole mix with hexanes/"pet ether"/ligroin multiple times. Treat the combined hexane layers with e.g. anhydrous magnesium sulfate or similar drying agent to ensure very low moisture presence (cocaine doesn't like moisture or alcohols under some circumstances) Then you can treat it with activated carbon to decolorize the chlorophylls present (or do the permanganate thing maybe), reduce the volume somewhat, and let the solution chill (all while excluding moisture)
I'll read the paper and see what i can divine