Innovative Cocaine Smuggling- it doesn't Matter if Your'e Black or White

Simcha Shimron , Israel Police, Forensic Scientist , Jerusalem, Israel

Every year new and sophisticated drug-smuggling methods are encountered by law enforcement agencies all over the globe. A seized cross-border smuggling attempt was found to contain charcoal. This unexpected smuggling cargo raised doubts as to the real content of the material. The initial testing indicated that the black charcoal-like material contained cocaine. The material was forensically tested for cocaine presence and quantitatively analyzed for cocaine concentration. Early screening tests with an illicit substance identification field kit and FTIR revealed that some of the material contained cocaine whereas other pieces were completely free of cocaine. Cocaine-containing material was quantitatively measured and was found to consist of over 50% cocaine. In addition, the morphology and element composition of the suspected matrix were analyzed by SEM and EDX. The results pointed to some structural and composition differences between material loaded with cocaine and charcoal free of the drug. One of the most significant and surprising differences in the element composition measurements was the finding of iron in the cocaine-containing material. Moreover, thermogravimetric analysis was performed on the samples to support the material composition analyses. Although the exhibits did not display a homogenous presence and concentration of cocaine, the porous morphological structure and the high cocaine concentration in some of the samples reveal that the carbon-rich matrix has a potential for high capacity of drug uptake. The iron accompanying the cocaine is probably a residual product of the cocaine masking process which was intended to conceal the drug.

 

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Short Biography of Presenting Author

I obtained my Ph.D. degree from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem in 2014. I have been serving in the Division of Identification and Forensic Science for over 10 years, and I am currently holding the position of head of the Cannabis identification laboratory.