The Narcotics Landscape

The narcotics landscape has always been a dubious one. A world filled with unsavoury characters and organised crime figures. The groups that keep the drug business going are interested in the same thing as most legitimate business owners are and that’s profit. In the pursuit of this profit drug dealers have long since engaged in taking the original compounds and cutting them down to increase their margin. The substances chosen for this part of the process range from relatively harmless ingredients like baking flour to more destructive chemicals with nasty side effects.

Introduction of Fentanyl

One of the more recent additions to this line-up is a drug called Fentanyl. It is an incredibly dangerous compound that is 50 times stronger than Heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine. Some of its analogues stretch much further in their potency with one known as Carfentanil being 10,000 times stronger than Morphine. It is cheap to produce, and it can increase the euphoric feelings created by drugs like methamphetamine & cocaine which is why it’s being selected as a cutting agent. The dark side of this however is that it’s a killer. This powerful Opioid interferes with the parts of the subject’s brain stem which govern the depth and rate of breathing in a way that can slow and then stop their respiratory system leading to a Pulmonary Edema. Its widespread introduction combined with these lethal affects have led to it causing large swaths of overdoses. In fact, since 2020 in the USA, Fentanyl was the leading cause of death for those aged 18-45.

Increasingly, fentanyl and fentanyl-laced narcotics have found their way into the lives of the American public. In September 2021, the USA Drug Enforcement Administration released statistics regarding the alarming increased frequency of fentanyl showing up in counterfeit pills. The warning noted that in 2021 over 9.5 million counterfeit pills containing fentanyl had been seized in the United States, a figure that is more than double the amount of the previous two years combined. It’s clear this nearly invisible threat is both real and imminent in the USA, and is likely to become one in Australia too. A 2018 report which studied the chemical compounds found in wastewater illustrated increased traces of Fentanyl while another report from the National Coronial Information Service marked a significant spike in Fentanyl related deaths. Professionals need safer, faster and more efficient methods of detecting these kinds of chemicals. That’s why we are proud to partner with an organisation like SwabTek who have created these methods as part of their commitment to fighting the dangers of narcotics.

About SwabTek

Designed by an Australian with a Masters Degree in Chemistry, SwabTek’s test kits are intuitive and designed with the user in mind, replacing traditional testing kits with paper strips — eliminating the need for bulky or hazardous/carcinogenic liquid reagent dropper bottles, breakable glass ampoules and pressurised spray cans. SwabTek’s dry, paper-based tests provide a safe and simple solution to put field test kits back in the hands of frontline security professionals who have turned away from incumbent products due to concerns over safety and reliability. The test provides results for the presence of fentanyl in seconds, with a testing procedure that eliminates the use of corrosive liquid chemicals and reduces the risk of fentanyl exposure. Empowering police & border force authorities with the ability to detect fentanyl safely and quickly helps officers understand the threats they are encountering and allows them to make better informed decisions in real-time.

SwabTek Backed By Key Government Figures

“It is important to equip our law enforcement with the tools they need to tackle this problem, head-on. The ability to safely conduct preliminary field-testing for fentanyl is an essential piece of policing this issue, and can greatly enhance the ability for officers to investigate and disrupt criminal activity.” – Governor William F. Weld

The USA, SwabTek’s work has been noticed at the highest level. In response to the opioid crisis, a pair of Former United States Governors William F. Weld (lead the Criminal Division of the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C) and Thomas J. Ridge (bronze star recipient and the nation’s first Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security), have become key supporters of the technology and now sit on the advisory board for the company.

Here is Australia the saying goes “when America sneezes, Australia catches a cold”. Historic evidence and recent data both point to Fentanyl being no exception to this long-standing rule. With the understanding the Fentanyl’s rise within Australia is more a when than an if, it’s never been more essential to have the right technology in place. Our partnership with SwabTek means we can provide these next generation forensic solutions to our local officers to help them respond.

View SwabTek’s Products, or Contact us today about SwabTek’s forensic solutions.