by John Kenneweg, Vice President, Government, 908 Devices
Counterfeit pharmaceuticals in pill form have gone from a sideline concern 10 years ago to a primary area of concern for law enforcement officials in the last year. In September, the United States Drug Enforcement Administration issued its first public safety alert in 6 years specifically about the rise in counterfeit pills. The alert follows the seizure of more than 9.5 million counterfeit prescription pills laced with fentanyl in the first nine months of 2021, surpassing the previous two years combined.
Adam Tanner, a special agent for the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation (NCSBI), can attest to this shift as he has seen nearly all counterfeit pills become fentanyl-based within the last 3 years alone.
What has been an effective tool to combat this crisis? Portable and fast-acting detection technology.
Number one challenge: safety
The drug world is complicated and full of unknowns. When officers and other first responders step onto a scene, there’s no telling what individuals, situations, and substances they may encounter, especially with the abundance of analogs on the streets today. The need for technologies that can quickly and accurately identify these threats while keeping officers safe is paramount.
Prison systems are also dealing with their own sets of challenges for keeping contraband and illegal substances away from inmates and protecting correctional officers in the process. According to Tanner, mail at corrections facilities often come across letters that contain what are known as “faces” and “licks”—squares of construction paper stamped with synthetic cannabinoids. Officers handle this mail every day and need technology that can help them identify what substances they are dealing with before they get to inmates.
Dismantling backlogs
A major barrier to officer safety in the field and to furthering criminal cases is the backlog on forensic laboratories around the United States. On average, testing a single sample can take weeks, which means that officers are left to make their best judgments about safety in the field, suspects can walk away and go into hiding, and court cases can be delayed as much-needed evidence is acquired. The lab is critical for confirmation of results but sometimes cannot act fast enough to aid law enforcement due to backlogs.
The use of rapid, field-deployable mass spectrometry to provide confirmatory results at the scene can provide new intel to inform officer safety measures, treatment of overdosed individuals, decisions about taking individuals into custody, and the request of a warrant.
While typically used in a forensic laboratory, portable mass spectrometry devices can provide officers with the ability to quickly detect and identify street drugs. The laboratory can then provide certifications to complete a case for the court system—as their queue allows. This partnership between advanced technology in the field and the certifying laboratory enables the judicial system to act quickly to deliver charges, a critical measure in decreasing unlawful activity in the community and bringing criminals to justice.
The ability to quickly identify drugs in the field also enables law enforcement agencies to more efficiently prosecute those who break the law and limit their time on the streets.
For example, during a traffic stop, Tanner observed what looked to be a suspect emptying the contents of a plastic bag into a beverage container. Sampling the liquid inside the container, Tanner conducted an analysis on scene with his MX908 handheld mass spectrometer, which alarmed for methamphetamine. Without the capability of trace detection on scene, it is likely that officers would have been unable to identify the methamphetamine, and the suspect would not have been detained.
The majority of synthetics, such as synthetic cannabinoids and MDMA, are made overseas—and traffickers have only become more creative at transporting them across the border and through customs. Portable trace detection technology can drastically improve law enforcement’s response to this rise in deadly counterfeit pharmaceuticals. Rapid, sensitive feedback on unknown substances in the field can drive decision-making and give law enforcement an advantage as they try to battle an opioid crisis that is only worsening.
About the author: A veteran of the industry, John Kenneweg has over 17 years of experience, directing business development efforts for innovation leaders such as Draeger, Ahura Scientific and Thermo Fisher Scientific. Most recently, Kenneweg held the position of Director of Federal Government Programs at Thermo Fisher Scientific’s Portable Analytical Instrument. He was part of the original Ahura Scientific sales team that successfully launched the first handheld Raman and FTIR spectrometers. He has been successful in developing markets for multiple new technologies and solutions to the safety and security market to include federal agencies, military organizations and civilian emergency responders.