Scientists in illegal drugs discovery

Published on Saturday 28 June 2008 19:52

SCOTTISH scientists have developed a new technique to help detectives pinpoint the origin of individual caches of drugs and identify criminal supply lines.

Experts at Strathclyde University have found they can identify which drugs come from the same suppliers and manufacturers by analysing chemical traces in tiny samples of contraband.

They believe isotopes of hydrogen are key to working out connections between hauls of illegal drugs.

The team developed the technique by creating a series of artificial amphetamines in the laboratory and screening them for traces of isotopes of various chemical elements. They found that screening for deuterium, an isotope of hydrogen, allowed them to establish links between various samples of drugs.

Deuterium differs from normal hydrogen in that the atom contains an extra neutron. The isotope is found in various concentrations in nature, and by analysing the level of deuterium in a chemical sample, experts can deduce its origin.

Previously, forensic drug investigators have relied on screening drugs for impurities in order to find links between caches. If samples of drugs had the same impurities then they could be identified as coming from the same source.

Dr Niamh Nic Daeid, of the University of Strathclyde's Centre for Forensic Science, said: "Analysing proportions of individual isotopes can be much more precise than taking samples to check for purities. What we want to do is analyse for ratios of the different isotopes of hydrogen, and depending where it comes from these ratios will be different.

"It's like DNA profiling for drugs. It can already tell whether cocaine has come from Colombia or Bolivia. Similar techniques can be used to identify where people have come from."

Scottish Police Services Authority Director of Forensic Services, Tom Nelson, said the organisation was looking closely at developing drug profiling.

"This could give us information on a drug's geographical origin, the countries it has travelled through, and what is has been mixed with before it ends up on the streets.

"This 'road map' could give law enforcement the vital intelligence it needs to disrupt supplies and help build a case against the international gangs behind this evil trade."