Toward a compact instrument for detecting drug precursors in different environments

Abstract

Law enforcement agencies world-wide are keenly aware that chemical control is a crucial element to monitor the manufacture and distribution of illegal narcotics and synthetic substances. For this purpose components able to perform chemical identifications in contexts such as custom offices are needed, where inspection of trucks, cars, containers, as well as people and baggage, is required. Such components should be assembled as simple machines to be employed on-field by custom officers with no specific skill. In the following the last results of the research project CUSTOM will be presented. The work has been supported by the European Commission under the 7th Framework Programme through the Project SEC-242387: "Drugs and Precursors Sensing by Complementing Low Cost Multiple Techniques" (CUSTOM). © 2014 Springer Science+Business Media.