INTERNALLY CONCEALED COCAINE - ANALYTICAL AND DIAGNOSTIC ASPECTS

Thirty persons arrested at Frankfurt airport for smuggling internally concealed cocaine in 1993/1994 were investigated. An X-ray examination (in all 30 cases), immunochemical examination of urine (in 27 cases) and of saliva (in 20 cases) was performed in parallel. An X-ray examin ation gave positive results in all examined persons. EMIT(R) cocaine m etabolite assay (cut off 300 ng benzoylecgonine (BE)/mL) was positive in eight urine samples. After reducing the cut off to 150 ng BE/mL uri ne, eleven samples were classified as positive. The results were confi rmed by means of chromatographic determinations. These findings showed limited role of immunological examination of urine as a screening tes t in suspected smuggling of internally concealed drugs. All saliva sam ples showed negative immunochemical results. The number of concealed c ontainers ranged from 44 to 135 per person. The amount of cocaine hydr ochloride found in particular cases ranged from 242 to 1050 g net weig ht, divided into containers weighing from 5.7 to 13.8 g. Drug packages were obviously machine-made. The packages smuggled by a particular pe rson were uniform. However, a distinct interpersonal variability in dr ug packages was observed, in regard to the number of protective layers (4-7), size, weight, and cocaine purity. This may be helpful for the identification of production site. The leaching of cocaine from select ed containers was investigated in a stirring bath and was independent of the conditions applied.