Cucumbers. Donuts. Breast implants. Sharks. Spare tires. Sneakers. Video game systems.
These are just a few of the items drug traffickers use to move illegal narcotics across borders and around the world. And that is to say nothing of street-level dealers and their customers, both of whom can endanger other people and communities in any number of ways.
Narcotics are a big business in the United States. Data from the RAND Corporation show that drug users spend a combined $100 billion each year on cocaine, heroin, marijuana, and methamphetamine.1 According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, 130 people in the United States die each day due to opioids alone.2 As the law enforcement community knows all too well, new-generation opioids like fentanyl and its derivatives are incredibly potent, with the ability to cause overdoses in amounts akin to a few grains of salt.
A high demand for narcotics, combined with an increased ability to conceal them, creates a perfect storm. Dealers and traffickers are endlessly creative in finding ways to stay a step ahead of law enforcement. Fortunately, several companies are working to help the police keep pace.
Various state-of-the-art technologies are designed to help police detect drugs even in tiny amounts—as well as identify the individuals who endanger others by driving or taking other risks while impaired on these substances.
“The opioid crisis, and fentanyls in particular, have had a significant impact on drug enforcement,” said Kerstin Barr, a senior product manager at 908 Devices. “Not only are drugs more toxic, they’re seen at much lower concentrations than traditional drugs of abuse. Operators need the capability to identify fentanyl and other opioids at true trace levels, whether as invisible residue on a scale or on the outside of a package or simply a very low concentration of a drug in cutting agents.”3
New Drug Detection Technologies
A sheriff’s office determined that dealers were crushing Tylenol tablets, mixing in less than 1 percent fentanyl, and then re-pressing the material into its original shape. But, thanks to a new device, officers caught on to the practice and responded accordingly.
This speaks to the challenges facing law enforcement when it comes to narcotics—powerful drugs in small concentrations, with new derivatives always in the works and with new cutting agents and strategies, all looking to stay ahead of the police.
The device that helped the sheriff’s office uncover the fentanyl-Tylenol operation is the Griffin G510, a device created by FLIR Systems, a well-known provider of thermal imaging cameras and other “sensing solutions” for a variety of sectors including law enforcement, based in Wilsonville, Oregon.
According to company officials, the Griffin G510 goes beyond the basics. “There exists a wide range of response tools used for detecting ‘white powders,’” said Dennis Barket, FLIR’s vice president and general manager. “Some detectors indicate the presence of a single drug. On the other end of the spectrum, the Griffin G510 specifically confirms the identity of the drug or drugs, including mixtures, so responders know with certainty the extent of a drug hazard, including what steps to take for remediation or even the intelligence needed to pursue prosecution.”4
Another device provides a level of flexibility that can help law enforcement stay responsive to new threats in the field. The MX908, created by Boston-based 908 Devices, leverages a technology called high-pressure mass spectrometry to detect not only the drugs themselves but the underlying molecules that form the building blocks of every drug. The technology is highly sensitive and can identify synthetic opioids such as fentanyl and carfentanil, as well as their many derivatives, even when they are contained in heavy concentrations of cutting agents.
“By analyzing the base molecule—the backbone of the drug—MX908 can detect more than 2,000 fentanyl analogs, regardless of whether the specific compound is on the target list,” Barr said. “Given the high toxicity of select fentanyl compounds, this information increases responder and community safety and provides future-proofing against synthetic variants… MX908 provides fast, accurate detection and identification of drugs and other high-priority targets, helping to inform further investigation and secure probable cause.”
Manufacturers are placing a premium on speed, with the MX908 able to return results in about 60 seconds. Speed is also one of the distinguishing features of the testing kits offered by IDenta, a company based in Hollywood, Florida. Each kit is designed to test for just a specific category of drug—cocaine, for example—but can render results immediately.
“You will get the answer quick,” said IDenta CEO Amichai Glattstein. “Our kit compared to others is a little bit different. It’s extremely safe, and you find out very quickly what drug you are dealing with.”5
Another leading tool in the field is TruNarc, a handheld narcotics analyzer created by Massachusetts-based Thermo Fisher Scientific. The device allows law enforcement professionals to identify roughly 250 drugs in a single test, including cutting agents and precursors, thanks to the device’s expansive drug library.
“It can identify narcotics and their precursors with results within seconds,” said Ginger Xu, product manager in the company’s field and safety instruments division. “These are the most high-priority drugs that are out there right now.”6
Practical Benefits
For Dick Studdard, the issue of stopping impaired driving is personal. Decades ago, a good friend was killed by a drunk driver, who subsequently went free because of inadequate evidence.
Studdard is also the cofounder of Ocular Data Systems, based in Pasadena, California. That’s the company that developed DAX, a device that manually assesses the eye movements of a given subject to determine not only impairment, but also the substance causing that impairment.
“We have tests at the roadside for alcohol but not drugs,” Studdard said. “It can be complicated to test for drugs. There are hundreds of depressants, for example. So we have to look at impairment at the roadside and record that information… All substances that impair driving affect the eyes. Eye science can tell you a lot about the body.”7
The device uses established science to assess eye movements, and the evidence can help lead to plea deals. That, in turn, can serve as a force multiplier for understaffed agencies.
“We’re short on law enforcement officers, and we need them on the street,” Studdard said. “If they have to spend time in court, that’s less time on the street. This helps keep officers from having to spend all their time in court.”
Many devices also help with the prosecution process by ensuring the data that they collect and report are admissible in court. This can include easy documentation.
“Results [from the MX908] include identification by name and CAS number as well as chemical composition, commercial and nefarious uses, and more,” Barr said. “Reports can also be exported for reporting or further analysis.”
Other solutions can help agencies that are looking to streamline their budgets. One example is CrimeCenter Software, an investigative case management software solution developed in Newark, New Jersey.
Although the software handles more than strictly narcotics-related issues, according to company officials, it can help gather the kind of public information that can ultimately be critical to any narcotics case—all in a web-based solution that, at $295 per month, can save up to 60 percent over similar solutions.
“Most narcotics cases start with a tip,” said Mike Cunningham, CrimeCenter’s operations manager. “This has a public-facing web form so agencies can solicit those tips from the public. There’s less of a chance of something falling through the cracks.”8
Ease of Use
User-friendliness is always a priority when developing a device for law enforcement professionals. Aware that police end-users are strapped for time and do not always have the capacity for extended training, companies making narcotics testing devices have designed the technology to be easy to use.
From the Griffin G510 to the MX908, most devices are handheld and intuitive—so simple to operate that it can belie the complex technology underneath.
“We receive a lot of questions about the FLIR Griffin G510 ease of use,” Barket said. “The FLIR Method Selector Wizard software on the device prompts users and guides them through sample introduction. Results are delivered through an intuitive, color-coded alarm screen. The drug identity is clearly visible in list format. In short, we’ve developed the Griffin G510 to be used by first and expert responders… Because it’s portable, we are providing this capability right at the point of sample collection. It’s essentially a lab on the go.”
Similarly, the MX908 can be used by virtually anyone and with minimal instruction time. “The actual operation is easy,” Barr said. “You swab the surface of interest, and it’s essentially vaporizing the sample.”
TruNarc is also very simple to use, allowing officers to concentrate on the case rather than the machine. “It’s an interactive interface, and it’s only three buttons,” Xu said.
As law enforcement continues to combat drug trafficking, sales, and use in order to protect their communities, user-friendly, efficient, and accurate drug detection and analysis tools in the field can be game changers.🛡
Notes:
1 Beau Kilmer et al., How Big Is the U.S. Market for Illegal Drugs? (Santa Monica, CA: Rand Corporation, 2014), 1.
2 National Institute on Drug Abuse, “Opioid Overdose Crisis,” revised January 2019.
3 Kerstin Barr (senior product manager, 908 Devices, telephone interview), August 16, 2019.
4 Dennis Barket (vice president and general manager, FLIR Systems), email interview, August 16, 2019.
5 Amichai Glattstein (CEO, IDenta), telephone interview, August 13, 2019.
6 Ginger Xu (product manager, Thermo Fisher Scientific), telephone interview, August 14, 2019.
7 Dick Studdard (cofounder, Ocular Data Systems), telephone interview, August 14, 2019.
8 Mike Cunningham (operations manager, CrimeCenter Software), telephone interview, August 16, 2019.
Please cite as:
Scott Harris, “Narcotics Detection Science Keeps Pace with the Street,” Product Feature, Police Chief (October 2019): 74–66.
