title: First systematic chemical profiling of cocaine police seizures in Finland in the framework of an intelligence-led approach.
abstract: For the first time in Finland, the chemical profiling of cocaine specimens was performed at the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI). The main goals were to determine the chemical composition of cocaine specimens sold in the Finnish market and to study the distribution networks of cocaine in order to provide intelligence related to its trafficking. An analytical methodology enabling through one single GC-MS injection the determination of the added cutting agents (adulterants and diluents), the cocaine purity and the chemical profile (based on the major and minor alkaloids) for each specimen was thus implemented and validated. The methodology was found to be efficient for the discrimination between specimens coming from the same source and specimens coming from different sources. The results highlighted the practical utility of the chemical profiling, especially for supporting the investigation through operational intelligence and improving the knowledge related to the cocaine trafficking through strategic intelligence.
authors.affiliation: Institut de Police Scientifique, Ecole des Sciences Criminelles, Université de Lausanne, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland. Electronic address: julian.broseus@unil.ch.
authors.forename: Julian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Broséus
authors.affiliation: Forensic Laboratory, National Bureau of Investigation, PO Box 285, 01301 Vantaa, Finland.
authors.forename: Sami
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Huhtala
authors.affiliation: Institut de Police Scientifique, Ecole des Sciences Criminelles, Université de Lausanne, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Pierre
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Esseiva
mesh_terms: D003042:Cocaine / Q000737:chemistry*; D004340:Drug Contamination; D064423:Drug Trafficking; D005387:Finland; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; D006801:Humans; D009294:Narcotics / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D009294:Narcotics; D003042:Cocaine
keywords: Cocaine trafficking; Distribution networks; Illicit drugs; Profiling