Laboratory analysis, clandestine

QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS OF DRUGS OF ABUSE SOURCE DISCRIMINATION AND IDENTIFICATION CLANDESTINE LABORATORY ANALYSIS... 

Triacetone triperoxide (TATP) is a powerful explosive manufactured in clandestine laboratories and used by terrorists. As TATP subHmes easily, analysis was performed by SPME trapping of its vapor, using polydimethylsiloxane/divinyl benzene (PDMS/DVB) fiber, followed by desorption into a GC/MS injector [10]. Figure 6 shows the TIC, mass chromatogram and the El mass spectmm of headspace from a debris sample containing TATP [11]. The El mass spectmm contains a molecular ion at m/z 222 and several fragment ions. In the chemical ionization mass spectmm of TATP [12], the m or ions were at m/z 223 (100%), 222 (20%), 133 (20%), 117 (40%), 115 (20%), 103 (75%) and 100 (50%). 

Over 99 per cent of all dismantled clandestine laboratories in 2005 were in Bolivia, Colombia and Peru. This shows that almost the complete cocaine production chain, from coca paste to cocaine base and finally cocaine HCI, is located close to the cultivation areas in the three countries. An analysis by type of laboratory reveals that laboratories in Bolivia and Peru, with very few exceptions, produced coca paste and cocaine base, whereas in Colombia a substantial number of laboratories produced cocaine HCI. Preliminary figures for 2006 show a similar pattern. 

F. T. Noggle, C. R. Clark, and J. DeRuiter, Gas chromatographic and mass spectrometric analysis of samples from a clandestine laboratory involved in the synthesis of Ecstasy from sassafras oil, J. Chromatogr. Sci., 29 168 (1991). 

Figure 8.10 Infrared spectra of the components of a clandestine laboratory drug mixture separated by GC-IR spectroscopy (a) ephedrine (b) pseudoephedrine (c) amphetamine (d) methamphetamine [8], From Bartick, E. G., Applications of Vibrational Spectroscopy in Criminal Forensic Analysis , in Handbook of Vibrational Spectroscopy, Vol. 4, Chalmers, J. M. and Griffiths, P. R. (Eds), pp. 2993-3(X)4. Copyright 2002. John WUey Sons Limited. Reproduced with pamission.

He is the author of Forensic Investigations of Clandestine Laboratories (CRC Press, 2003) and a chapter concerning the analysis of controlled substances in Forensic Science An Introduction to Scientific and Investigative Techniques (CRC Press, 2002). He has published articles on the analysis and the clandestine manufacture of controlled substances, and has developed training programs for investigators, laboratory examiners, and attorneys involved in the investigation, examination, and prosecution of clandestine labs. 

Knops, L. A., Northrop, D. M., and Person, L. C. (2006). Capillary electrophoretic analysis of phosphorous species in clandestine methamphetamine laboratory samples. J. Forensic Sci. 51, 82—86. 

The analysis of materials seized from clandestine drug laboratories falls into the realm of the responsibilities of the forensic scientist. Because this is essentially a chemical investigation, the forensic scientist plays a major role in all phases of the investigation. On the basis of the information gathered, the scientist s responsibilities may include the following ... 

---