Annexes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
55
I.
Supplementary information (for both heroin and cocaine) . . . . . . . . . . . 55
II.
Impurities in heroin and cocaine and their “sources” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
III.
Reference chromatograms and peak identification tables . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
75
vi
I.
INTRODUCTION
A.
Background
In order to successfully counter the ever-growing drug problem, there is an increas-
ing need, inter alia, to identify conspiracy links and trafficking routes and to gather
background intelligence concerning both the number of sources of drugs and
whether those sources are within a country or are “internationally” based and also
the points of distribution and distribution networks.
A scientific tool to complement routine law enforcement investigative work
in this field is the characterization and impurity profiling of seized drugs. Drug
characterization studies have shown that it is possible to link samples, to classify
material from different seizures into groups of related samples and to identify the
origin of samples. Such information can be used for evidential (judicial, court)
purposes or it can be used as a source of intelligence to identify samples that may
have a common origin or history. Drug characterization and impurity profiling
may also assist in the identification of output from new illicit laboratories and
in the monitoring of common methods used for drug manufacture, which, in
turn, may provide information helpful to the maintenance of other intelligence-
gathering tools, for example, precursor-monitoring programmes. Finally, drug
characterization and impurity profiling may also provide supporting evidence in
cases where illicitly manufactured drugs need to be differentiated from those
diverted from licit sources.
Beyond areas for application in the law enforcement and regulatory field,
more in-depth analysis of drug samples, such as in drug characterization and impu-
rity profiling studies, can also generate information essential for health authori-
ties. The identification of unusual new drugs or drug combinations, for example,
is a key element of early warning systems concerning unexpected adverse health
consequences. Finally, systematic analysis of the composition of seized drugs also
contributes to improved understanding of drug abuse trends.
The laboratory of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)
has a long history of involvement in drug characterization and impurity profiling.
Opium characterization studies were initiated in 1948 and such study was one of
the first and most comprehensive research efforts in international drug control
under the aegis of the United Nations. In the late 1960s, the increasing abuse of
heroin resulted in a shift in focus from opium to heroin. Pursuant to a request by
the Commission on Narcotic Drugs, an expert group to determine the feasibility
of using chemical characteristics for identifying sources and distribution patterns
of heroin was convened in 1977 [1]. A follow-up meeting was held in Vienna in
1
2
Methods for impurity profiling of heroin and cocaine
1982 to coordinate research on the physical and chemical characteristics of heroin
for the purpose of tracing origin and movement in the illicit traffic [2]. In 1992,
a consultative meeting on chemical characterization and impurity profiling of drug
seizures was held in Vienna; that meeting expanded coverage beyond heroin to
include cocaine and synthetic drugs and, in particular, amphetamine [3].
At its thirty-ninth session, in 1996, the Commission on Narcotic Drugs rec-
ognized the need for a cohesive international strategy in the field of drug char-
acterization and impurity profiling. In so doing the Commission requested the
Executive Director of the United Nations International Drug Control Programme
(now called UNODC) to develop standard protocols and methods for the profil-
ing/ signature analysis of key narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances [4]. The
objectives of the Office in this area are to develop guidelines for characterization
and impurity profiling of key narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances and to
make the guidelines available to national forensic laboratories with the aim of
providing them with a scientific tool to support law enforcement work for both
evidential and strategic intelligence purposes. At the same time, the UNODC ref-
erence services, which include the provision of training, reference samples, mate-
rial and scientific literature, were expanded to include specific aspects of drug
characterization and impurity profiling as well.
In this context and in view of the focus of the General Assembly at its twen-
tieth special session on, inter alia, the need for enhanced measures to counter
illicit manufacture of and trafficking in drugs, it was considered timely to review
profiling methods for heroin and cocaine, along with the broader concepts of drug
characterization and impurity profiling of both plant-based and synthetic drugs.
To this end, the Laboratory and Scientific Section of UNODC convened a
Consultative Meeting on Recommended Methods for the Impurity Profiling of
Heroin and Cocaine, in cooperation with the Government of Australia, in Sydney,
Australia, in November 1999.
B.
Purpose of the manual
The present manual, prepared by the Laboratory and Scientific Section of
UNODC, reflects the discussions and conclusions of the Consultative Meeting
held in Sydney. It is aimed at providing practical guidance to national drug test-
ing laboratories that want to embark on heroin and/or cocaine profiling activities.
The broader aspects of how drug characterization and impurity profiling can be
used effectively as a scientific tool to support law enforcement operational inves-
tigative work can be found in a separate manual entitled Drug Characterization/
Impurity Profiling: Background and Concepts [5], which was endorsed by the par-
ticipants at the Consultative Meeting. Both manuals form part of a series of pub-
lications dealing with the identification and analysis of various groups of drugs
under international control. Specifically, the present manual complements United
Nations manuals on recommended methods for testing opium, morphine and hero-
in [6] and on cocaine [7]. These and other manuals in the series, including those