Unveiling the Threads – A Case Study on the Forensic Identification and Quantification of Cocaine Impregnated in Fabric Using GC-FID

Abstract

Drug traffickers use different concealment methods to transport cocaine worldwide. Impregnation of cocaine into fabric, clothing and rubber is one of the concealment methods that drug traffickers use to transport cocaine. In 2018, an individual possessing a Bolivian passport, travelling from Dubai was taken into custody at the Katunayake International Airport, Sri Lanka by the officers of Police Narcotics Bureau. The individual had a baggage of fabric suspected to be impregnated with dangerous drugs, with his possession. The baggage containing suspicious fabric items was produced to the Narcotics laboratory of the Government Analyst’s Department for detailed forensic chemical analysis. Initial tests including presumptive tests and Thin Layer Chromatography indicated the possible presence of cocaine in the fabric items. Further analysis using Gas Chromatography with Mass Spectrometry confirmed that the suspicious fabric contained cocaine. The extraction procedure revealed that the average percentage of powder recovered from the fabric was approximately 27% out of the total weight of fabric items. Gas chromatography with Flame Ionisation Detector was used to quantify the amount of cocaine in the extracted powder. Purity of cocaine thus obtained varied from 28%-30%, and cocaine impregnated in fabric items was in the hydrochloride form. The total weight of cocaine impregnated to fabric items was 901.2 grams.