Methods for impurity profiling of heroin and cocaine

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

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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

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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

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