An increasingly large fraction of opium is processed into morphine base and heroin in drug labs in Afghanistan.

Fernie arranged the supplies of the morphine base, I processed and arranged sales.

The surveillance problems are smaller there; besides, the refined heroin takes up less room than the morphine base and is easier to smuggle.

Crude laboratories in the field are capable of refining opium into morphine base by a simple acid-base extraction.

The seizure was one of the biggest ever of illicit morphine base, American and Turkish officials said.

From there the drug was usually converted to morphine base or smuggled to Turkey to be refined into heroin.

We went to attack a store cave last night but it contained no Stingers, only morphine base.

It could, but precious though morphine base is to the Taliban, they do not normally defend it with anti-aircraft guns.

"These have a morphine base," he said.

The raw opium is then processed first into morphine base and then into heroin.