The use of organic and inorganic impurities found in MDMA police seizures in a drug intelligence perspective

Morelato, M; Beavis, A; Tahtouh, M; Ribaux, O; Kirkbride, P; Roux, C

The use of organic and inorganic impurities found in MDMA police seizures in a drug intelligence perspective

Morelato, M

Beavis, A

Tahtouh, M Ribaux, O Kirkbride, P Roux, C

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Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Science and Justice, 2014, 54 (1), pp. 32 - 41
Issue Date:: 2014-03-01

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Morelato, M https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7616-0623	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Beavis, A https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6259-7699	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Tahtouh, M	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Ribaux, O	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Kirkbride, P	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Roux, C https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3610-420X	en_US
dc.date.available	2013-08-16	en_US
dc.date.issued	2014-03-01	en_US
dc.identifier.citation	Science and Justice, 2014, 54 (1), pp. 32 - 41	en_US
dc.identifier.issn	1355-0306	en_US
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/41239
dc.description.abstract	Traditional forensic drug profiling involves numerous analytical techniques, and the whole process is typically costly and may be time consuming. The aim of this study was to investigate the possibility of prioritising techniques utilised at the Australian Federal Police (AFP) for the chemical profiling of 3,4-methylenedioxymethylamphetamine (MDMA). The outcome would provide the AFP with the ability to obtain more timely and valuable results that could be used in an intelligence perspective. Correlation coefficients were used to obtain a similarity degree between a population of linked samples (within seizures) and a population of unlinked samples (between different seizures) and discrimination between the two populations was ultimately achieved. The results showed that gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) was well suited as a single technique to detect links between seizures and could be used in priority for operational intelligence purposes. Furthermore, the method was applied to seizures known or suspected (through their case information) to be linked to each other to assess the chemical similarity between samples. It was found that half of the seizures previously linked by the case number were also linked by the chemical profile. This procedure was also able to highlight links between cases that were previously unsuspected and retrospectively confirmed by circumstantial information. The findings are finally discussed in the broader forensic intelligence context, with a focus on how they could be successfully incorporated into investigations and in an intelligence-led policing perspective in order to understand trafficking markets. © 2014 Forensic Science Society.	en_US
dc.relation.ispartof	Science and Justice	en_US
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.1016/j.scijus.2013.08.006	en_US
dc.subject.classification	Legal & Forensic Medicine	en_US
dc.title	The use of organic and inorganic impurities found in MDMA police seizures in a drug intelligence perspective	en_US
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	1	en_US
utslib.citation.volume	54	en_US
utslib.for	0399 Other Chemical Sciences	en_US
pubs.embargo.period	Not known	en_US
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Science
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Science/School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Strength - CFS - Centre for Forensic Science
utslib.copyright.status	closed_access
pubs.issue	1	en_US
pubs.publication-status	Published	en_US
pubs.volume	54	en_US

Abstract:

Traditional forensic drug profiling involves numerous analytical techniques, and the whole process is typically costly and may be time consuming. The aim of this study was to investigate the possibility of prioritising techniques utilised at the Australian Federal Police (AFP) for the chemical profiling of 3,4-methylenedioxymethylamphetamine (MDMA). The outcome would provide the AFP with the ability to obtain more timely and valuable results that could be used in an intelligence perspective. Correlation coefficients were used to obtain a similarity degree between a population of linked samples (within seizures) and a population of unlinked samples (between different seizures) and discrimination between the two populations was ultimately achieved. The results showed that gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) was well suited as a single technique to detect links between seizures and could be used in priority for operational intelligence purposes. Furthermore, the method was applied to seizures known or suspected (through their case information) to be linked to each other to assess the chemical similarity between samples. It was found that half of the seizures previously linked by the case number were also linked by the chemical profile. This procedure was also able to highlight links between cases that were previously unsuspected and retrospectively confirmed by circumstantial information. The findings are finally discussed in the broader forensic intelligence context, with a focus on how they could be successfully incorporated into investigations and in an intelligence-led policing perspective in order to understand trafficking markets. © 2014 Forensic Science Society.

Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item:

http://hdl.handle.net/10453/41239