Ketamine is a drug used in the medical industry to treat depression in people and as a surgical anesthetic in the veterinary industry; however, like many drugs, it can be abused. It is a known “club drug,” popular among teens and young adults at dance clubs and raves. However, it has the horrible distinction as being a ‘date rape’ drug; the National Drug Intelligence Center notes it has been used by predators to incapacitate their intended victims. The drug produces hallucinations, distorts perceptions of sight and sound, and makes the user feel disconnected and not in control.
It’s no wonder it is a key drug that needs to be off the streets. The Taiwan Coast Guard did just that when it intercepted a ship at sea, boarded it with canines and handheld narcotics analyzers, and discovered ‘bricks’ of substances identified as ketamine hidden behind a door in what sounds like the engine room. (You can watch the interdiction happen on YouTube.)
The US Department of Justice Drug Fact Sheet explains that ketamine is manufactured commercially as a powder or liquid:
Ketamine comes in a clear liquid and a white or off-white powder. Powdered ketamine (100 milligrams to 200 milligrams) typically is packaged in small glass vials, small plastic bags, and capsules as well as paper, glassine, or aluminum foil folds. Powdered ketamine is cut into lines known as bumps and snorted, or it is smoked, typically in marijuana or tobacco cigarettes. Liquid ketamine is injected or mixed into drinks. Ketamine is found by itself or often in combination with MDMA, amphetamine, methamphetamine, or cocaine.
In 1999, ketamine, including its salts, isomers and salts of isomers, became a Schedule III non-narcotic substance under the Controlled Substances Act.
The maritime patrol is the first line of defense of border security for Taiwan and they removed 1380 kilograms (over 3,000 pounds) of this illicit drug from the incoming ship, and ultimately from getting into the hands of abusers.
Taiwan is not the only area of illegal shipments of Ketamine. In the US, Customs and Border Protection (CPB) agencies have also had some smaller seizures of illegal ketamine lately. Last May the Atlanta CPB officers seized ketamine that totaled just over 56 ounces with a street value estimated $11,000 and handed the offenders to the local county police department for prosecution. Months before that, the CPB officers in Cincinnati seized 11 shipments containing a total of 30 pounds of smuggled ketamine worth $215,000 that were hidden in shipments of personal care products.
More recently the Indianapolis CPB had three seizures in three days resulting in almost 50 pounds of ketamine found in water purification equipment, elephant statues, and folding ottomans. Street value of the three seizures? $321,000.
The illegal drug trade is certainly a worldwide issue and ketamine is only a fraction of the problem. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) organizations charged with stopping narcotics, new synthetic drugs, and other illicit substances from crossing our borders need narcotics identification tools that provide immediate analysis at the port of entry. Raman spectroscopy is becoming the technology of choice for this application because it provides highly accurate results directly at the scene, enabling officers, customs agents, border control, and other personnel to scan suspected illicit substances in a single, definitive test, and can sample most substances through sealed packaging, increasing officer safety.
Watch the 2-minute interdiction video to the end to see the ketamine hiding place, the narcotics analyzer clearly identifying the powder, and the hundreds of seized packages lined up for inspection.
Resources:
Post Author: Marlene Gasdia-Cochrane.
Leave a Reply