Margaret Thatcher planned to use moths to destroy Peru's cocaine crops

Declassified documents from the UK National Archives reveal that Margaret Thatcher’s government planned a clandestine operation to destroy cocaine crops in Peru using weaponized moths. In 1989, the British government spent £100,000 to develop a scheme involving the breeding of Eloria noyesi, a moth species that feeds exclusively on the coca plant.

The strategy involved military scientists at the Porton Down defense research base breeding large numbers of the insects to be air-dropped via helicopter over drug plantations. Officials described the moth as a “smart bomb” with a short range, capable of causing significant, localized damage to illegal crops.

Foreign Office briefings noted that previous natural swarms of the moth had already destroyed approximately 2,000 hectares of coca near Tarapoto, resulting in estimated losses of over $37 million for traffickers. While Thatcher reportedly found the proposal “sufficiently interesting to merit being pursued,” the operation was ultimately shelved due to a lack of financial support from the Peruvian government.