Category Archives: Chemical Analysis – Case Studies

Drug concealments are not a new phenomenon in the drug trafficking world. There are standard concealments that Forensic Science Ireland (FSI) encounter on a regular basis, the most common of these is called ‘body packing’, which is the internal concealment of illegal substances inside the alimentary tract. We have also previously seen concealments within common household items, tools, toiletries and even embedded into clothing. As law enforcement become better at gathering intelligence and detecting drug smuggling activities, so too do methods in which to conceal drugs. In 2021, FSI saw an array of methods of drug concealment that were more inventive and sophisticated in nature than previously seen.
For example, in October 2021, 2.6 kilograms of methamphetamine powder was detected which had been found embedded within ten plastic sheeting panels. Also in October, 5.2 kilograms of MDMA powder was detected, which had been hidden under an internal plastic layer of two tool boxes. In August 2021, Revenue Officers
at Rosslare Europort seized approximately 88 kilograms of a product which was discovered concealed in machinery being carried on a low-loader, using X-ray scanners and detector dogs. The product which was in 88 packages was submitted to FSI for analysis and later confirmed as being powder containing diamorphine with an estimated street value of €12.3 million.
The most sophisticated concealment by far in 2021 was the high profile shipment of coal that arrived in to Dublin port in July. This was a concealment that was more complex in nature than anything witnessed before. The shipment comprised of two containers which held over 1000 bags of coal in total. Within these bags the cocaine was not visible to the naked eye, or simply encased in a shell of charcoal, but incorporated into a chemical matrix of charcoal. This cocaine/charcoal mixture was previously prepared by drug traffickers by
a lengthy chemical process and moulded into shapes that would make it visually impossible to distinguish from the unaltered product. This masked cocaine cannot be detected using the standard field tests employed by customs officials. However, on this occasion X-Ray scanning was successfully used as an indicative result for the presence of cocaine, samples of which were then sent to FSI for confirmatory analysis. FSI did not have to deviate from the standard operating procedures that are in place for the qualitative analysis of this seizure. Remarkably, cocaine was easily detectable using standard sample prep methodologies and the routine accredited GCMS methods that are used in FSI for analysing drugs in seized materials.
It is clear from our own reports that concealments have become more complex in nature. According to Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) reporting, at least three different masking methods are known to drug trafficking organisations throughout Columbia, including concealments in plastic, coffee grounds and ink cartridges. Therefore more seizures of this nature can be expected in the future for the drug section in FSI.

Synthetic cannabinoids are a class of designer drug molecules that bind to the same receptors to which
cannabinoids (THC and CBD) in cannabis plants attach. Typically synthetic cannabinoids are sprayed onto
plant matter and are usually smoked. Reported user negative effects include palpitations, paranoia, intense
anxiety, nausea, vomiting, confusion, poor coordination, and seizures. There have also been reports of a strong
compulsion to re-dose, withdrawal symptoms and persistent cravings. There have been several deaths linked to
synthetic cannabinoids worldwide.
In 2021 Forensic Science Ireland detected five new synthetic cannabinoids in exhibits seized by An Garda
Siochana. Each of these synthetic cannabinoids was present on plant material in an attempt to appear as if
they were cannabis. The synthetic cannabinoids are ADB-BUTINACA, MDMB-4en-PINACA, 5F-EDMB-PICA,
CUMYL-5F-P7AICA and 5F-MDMB-PICA. Forensic Science Ireland reports all new compound detections via the
National and European Early Warning networks (EWET and EMCDDA).

The drug marketplace is a complex, rapidly evolving, unregulated and deceptive space. FSI analyses thousands of samples of white powder each year and an array of different chemical compounds are detected in these powders.

In 2019 FSI encountered the first submission of jelly sweets in plastic sachets, which on analysis were found to
contain controlled drugs. At the time we couldn’t have anticipated the significance of these innocent looking
bags of sweets. In three short years the popularity of these sweets has grown so rapidly that in 2022 work
practices and long standing procedures in the drugs section have been amended to better accommodate this
growing area of casework.

Cannabis and related cannabinoid products accounted for 42% of all cases analysed by FSI in 2023. The traditional cannabis market is no longer a homogenous arena and is now a dynamically evolving space with ongoing rapid emergence of a dizzying array of synthetic cannabinoid products – it is truly the Wild West of the drug marketplace.