Kratom's meandering trail from Indonesia to consumers in Florida

The kratom trail starts in the verdant fields of Indonesia.

Halfway around the world, farmers brave the early morning heat and pluck leaves from tropical evergreen trees. Then they’re crushed, milled and packaged — destined for mammoth cargo ships to begin their monthlong journey to America.

That’s where the secrecy begins.

Kratom can make nearly a dozen stops — from Georgia to Colorado and back again — where it is blended, cooked and packaged before powdered and potent versions land in gas stations, convenience stores and smoke shops.

By the time these products reach Florida consumers, suppliers and manufacturers have taken elaborate measures to evade regulators and avoid detection, a Tampa Bay Times investigation found.

Reporters analyzed thousands of pages of records to piece together a first-of-its-kind examination of kratom’s supply chain, focusing on one of the country’s most popular brands.

Follow the mysterious route in the third part of our investigative series: http://tampabay.com/deadlydose.
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