GTA Online Cocaine Lockup Guide: Setup, Sells & Payout

The GTA Online cocaine lockup is the highest-margin of the five MC businesses, which is exactly why it has stayed a grind-room staple since the Bikers update. This guide walks through buying the right lockup, finishing the setup mission, deciding between resupply and buying supplies, running sell missions, and whether the cocaine lockup still holds up against newer earners like the Acid Lab.

What You Need Before You Buy

The cocaine lockup is an MC business, so it sits behind a Motorcycle Clubhouse. You cannot buy a lockup until you own a clubhouse, because the purchase happens through The Open Road laptop inside it. Register as an MC president from the interaction menu, open the laptop, and the available properties appear on the map.

If you are new to clubhouses and biker work, the GTA Online hub covers the wider setup, and the cheats page is worth a look for the solo grind.

Best Cocaine Lockup Location and Price

There are four lockup properties, and the price difference is purely about position, not output. The verified prices are:

• Alamo Sea (Marina Drive): $975,000
• Paleto Bay (Great Ocean Highway): $1,098,000
• Elysian Island (Chupacabra Street): $1,462,500
• Morningwood (Boulevard Del Perro): $1,852,500

Alamo Sea is the standard pick. It is the cheapest at $975,000, sits centrally between Los Santos and Paleto Bay, and clusters near other MC businesses, which shortens your supply and sell loops. Morningwood is double the price for no extra production, so only buy it if you specifically want a Los Santos base.

The Setup Mission

Every MC business needs a one-time setup mission before it produces. For the cocaine lockup, you steal a Tampa muscle car loaded with raw product and drive it back to the lockup. It is short and low-risk, and once the Tampa is parked the business goes live and starts accepting supplies.

Supplies: Resupply vs Buy

Production needs raw materials, and you get them one of two ways:

• Steal supplies through resupply missions for free. You drive out, grab the goods, and bring them back. This is the cheapest route and the best use of your time if you are actively playing.
• Buy supplies for $15,000 per unit, up to a $75,000 full bar. This instantly fills the supply meter with zero effort, which is handy if you want to top up between other activities.

A full $75,000 supply buy converts into far more value as finished product, so buying is still profitable. Stealing just keeps every dollar of that margin.

Upgrades Worth Buying

Three upgrades are available, and two of them are close to mandatory:

• Equipment Upgrade: $935,000 (faster production, higher product value, supplies last longer)
• Staff Upgrade: $390,000 (faster production, higher product value)
• Security Upgrade: $570,000 (lowers raid and attack chance)

Buy the Equipment and Staff upgrades as soon as you can afford them. Together they cut production time per unit and push unit value up, which is where the lockup earns its reputation. The Security upgrade only reduces raids, so most grinders skip it and just sell before stock gets large. A fully kitted Alamo Sea lockup runs around $2.3 million all-in.

Production, Sell Routes and Vehicles

With both upgrades fitted, a full stock of product takes roughly 5 hours of real time to build, drawing on about two and a half full supply runs. Selling that full stock returns about $350,000 locally and up to $525,000 on remote (cross-map) deliveries in a full public lobby thanks to the high-demand bonus.

The catch is the sell mission itself. Larger stock means more delivery vehicles, and the cocaine lockup can hand you several vehicles to clear inside one timer. Solo players regularly run out of time on a fully stocked sale. The fix is simple: sell earlier. Keep your stock smaller so a sell mission only spawns one or two vehicles you can actually deliver before the clock ends.

How It Compares to Newer Businesses

The cocaine lockup is still the top MC earner, but the game has moved on. The Acid Lab, unlocked through the First Dose missions, costs only $750,000 to set up and ships its entire stock in a single vehicle. That solo-friendly delivery is the headline difference: no juggling a convoy, no failed sells.

For a fresh or solo account, the Acid Lab is usually the smarter first business. The cocaine lockup makes the most sense once you own multiple MC properties and run them passively through a Nightclub, where the lockup quietly feeds the warehouse while you do other work. As a standalone active grind, its high payout comes with the most delivery hassle of any single business.

For more setup and grinding context, the screenshots gallery shows the lockup interiors and sell vehicles in action.

Sources

• Cocaine Lockup - GTA Wiki (Fandom)
• GTA Online Cocaine Lockup Business: Setup, Best Location & Profit - GTABase
• Cocaine Lockup Alamo Sea Property - GTABase
• GTA Online Cocaine Lockup: Max Payout, Best Location, Upgrades - GINX
• GTA Online Cocaine Lockup: Best Payout, Location and Is It Worth It - Turtle Beach