Published by the Drug Enforcement Administration Office of Forensic Sciences
Washington, D.C. 20537

The U. S. Attorney General has determined that the publication of this periodical is necessary in the transaction of the public business required by the Department of Justice. Information, instructions, and disclaimers are published in the January issues.

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- December 2006 -

- INTELLIGENCE ALERT-

LSD BLOTTER ACID MIMICS (CONTAINING 4-BROMO-2,5-DIMETHOXY-
AMPHETAMINE (DOB)) IN AMES, IOWA

Photo 1	Photo 2

The Iowa Criminalistics Laboratory (Ankeny, Iowa) recently received two full and two half pieces of blotter paper, 6 millimeters square, with unusual designs on both sides, suspected LSD “blotter acid” (see Photo 1 for the “blue side” and Photo 2 for the “green side”). “Blotter acid” with patterns on both sides is uncommon. The exhibits were seized in Ames by the Ames Police (circumstances unknown; Ames is located in central Iowa). Analysis of extracts by PDMAB (negative), Marquis (green), TLC, and GC/MS, however, indicated not LSD but rather 4-bromo-2,5-dimethoxyamphetamine (DOB) (not quantitated, but a moderate loading based on the GC/MS). This was the laboratory’s first encounter with DOB in any form.

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- INTELLIGENCE ALERT -

COUNTERFEIT LETROZOLE AND UNUSUAL TESTOSTERONE
IN ROCHESTER, NEW YORK

Photo 3

The Monroe County Public Safety Laboratory (Rochester, New York) recently received a polydrug submission including: A) An unlabeled baggie containing 17 pink tablets, submitted as suspected “Fumara” [sic] (see Photo 3); B) two factory-sealed 10 milliliter bottles labeled "Testosterone Propionate 125 mg/ml" (see Photo 4); and C) a baggie with 2 grams of marijuana. The exhibits were seized in Rochester by a local law enforcement agency (details not available).

Each of the pink tablets weighed 250 milligrams, was flat and rectangular, measured 12 x 6 x 2 millimeters, and was scored and indented in the middle. Analysis of a basic extract by GC/MS identified Letrozole, a nonsteroidal aromatase inhibitor sold as Femara. Pharmaceutical Femara is sole-source marketed as a round, dark yellow, film coated, slightly biconvex tablet imprinted with [FV] on one side and [CG] on the reverse, containing 2.5 milligrams of Letrozole. It is prescribed for the treatment of breast cancer in women, and acts by inhibiting the conversion of androgens to estrogens. Males abusing anabolic steroids are known to take aromatize inhibitors to inhibit gynecomastia (male breast development). This is the first submission of Letrozole to the laboratory, and is also (according to the manufacturer) the first Femara counterfeit to be identified anywhere.

Photo 4	Photo 5

The Testosterone Propionate vials were also interesting. Upon removal of the crimp seal and stopper, some of the liquid immediately crystallized and settled to the bottom of the vial. Unusually, crystals also began forming in the unopened vial within two days. Analysis of the crystals from the opened vial by FTIR (see Photo 5) confirmed testosterone propionate. The listed company (blacked out on the photo) appears to be a foreign manufacturer. A tabulation of the 93 testosterone propionate products listed in Anabolics 2006 suggests that 125 milligrams/milliliter is an unusually high concentration of this steroid, and probably explains the observed spontaneous crystallization. The solutions were not formally quantitated. The laboratory has previously received various anabolic steroids.

[Editor’s Note: For comprehensive analytical data for Letrozole, see: Geer LC, Hays PA. Letrozole (Femara). Microgram Journal 2003;1(3-4):190.]

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- INTELLIGENCE ALERT -

ECSTASY COMBINATION TABLETS (CONTAINING MDMA, AND
3-CHLOROPHENYLPIPERAZINE (mCPP)) IN THESSALONIKI, GREECE

Photo 6

The Seized Materials Laboratory of the General State Chemical Laboratory's 2nd Chemical Division of Thessaloniki, Greece recently received two submissions of white tablets with a “Shark” logo, both suspected MDMA (see Photo 6). The first (156 tablets) was from the Drugs Combat Subdivision of West Thessaloniki, while the second (11,151 tablets) was from the Police Department of Edessa (76 kilometers northwest of Thessaloniki); details on the seizures were unavailable. The tablets were 9 millimeters in diameter by 3 millimeters thick, and had an average mass of 299.6 milligrams. Analysis by color test (Marquis), GC/FID, and GC/MS indicated a mixture of 6.5 percent MDMA and 5.9 percent 3-chlorophenylpiperazine (mCPP; not confirmed due to the lack of a standard). This was the first submission of Ecstasy combination tablets of this composition to the laboratory; subsequently, however, the Seized Materials Laboratory of the 3rd Chemical Division of Athens reported the receipt of 100,760 of the same type tablets from two seizures made in Athens.

[Editor’s Notes: These tablets are similar in appearance to those recently seized in Vernon Hills, Illinois (Microgram Bulletin 2006;39(10):123); however, the latter tablets contained mCPP but only trace MDMA.]

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- INTELLIGENCE ALERT -

CHOCOLATE CANDY BAR MIMICS (CONTAINING OPIUM) FROM IRAN

Photo 7	Photo 8

Photo 9

The DEA Southwest Laboratory (Vista, California) recently received three exhibits containing a total of 148 chocolate bars, suspected to contain opium. The exhibits were seized by Immigration and Custom Enforcement agents from within suitcases on a flight arriving at the Los Angeles International Airport from Iran. The bars had wrappings that were similar to those of two popular candy bars (see Photos 7 - 8). Each bar had a core of a very dark brown substance, that was wrapped in layers of clear plastic and carbon paper, which was then coated with chocolate (see Photo 9; the blue paper is the carbon paper). Analysis of the dark brown substance (total net mass 7.851 kilograms) by desorption electrospray ionization - mass spectrometry (DESI MS) and GC/MS identified morphine, codeine, thebaine, papaverine, and noscapine, confirming opium (quantitations not performed). The Southwest Laboratory has previously encountered raw opium that had been formed and wrapped to look like pieces of chocolate (see: Microgram Bulletin 2005;38(6):95); however, this was the first submission of opium that had been coated with chocolate.

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- INTELLIGENCE ALERT -

ECSTASY COMBINATION TABLETS (CONTAINING MDMA,
METHAMPHETAMINE, AND MDDMA) IN MIAMI, FLORIDA

Photo 10	Photo 11

The DEA Southeast Laboratory (Miami, Florida) recently received two submissions totaling over 16,000 yellow tablets with two logo types, all suspected MDMA. Both submissions were seized in a combined operation by DEA Agents and the Miami Police, the first from an apartment in Miami, and the second from outside the Bayfront Mall in Miami. The first submission contained: A) 4,993 tablets with a superimposed “LV” logo, similar to the Louis Vuitton designer label (see Photo 10); and B) 4,720 tablets with a reclining woman logo (see Photo 11). The second submission contained C) 6,436 tablets also with the “LV” logo (same as in Photo 10). The tablets were all about 8 millimeters in diameter by 8 millimeters thick, and weighed approximately 280 milligrams each. Analyses by GC/FID, GC/MS, FTIR/ATR, Raman, and NMR confirmed a nearly identical mixture in all three sets of tablets: MDMA (30 milligrams/tablet), methamphetamine (7 milligrams/tablet), 3,4-methylenedioxydimethylamphetamine (MDDMA, trace), caffeine, and procaine (salt forms not determined). There has been a recent increase in this type of submission to the Southeast Laboratory, and both logo types have been previously (but only sporadically) encountered.

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Photo 12

- INTELLIGENCE ALERT -

HEROIN BRICKS IN LAREDO, TEXAS

The DEA South Central Laboratory (Dallas, Texas) recently received 13 bricks of compressed, light brown powder with an embossed “CAPRICORNIO” over a Ram’s Head logo, suspected heroin (see Photo 12). The exhibits were seized by Customs and Border Protection Officers pursuant to a vehicle stop at the Laredo Point of Entry. Unusually, the bricks were compressed, sized, and wrapped (in tape) similarly to kilogram bricks of cocaine hydrochloride. Analysis of the compressed powder (total net mass 13 kilograms) by GC/MS, FTIR, and HPLC confirmed 84 percent heroin hydrochloride. This was the first submission of heroin compressed, sized, and packaged like cocaine kilogram bricks, and also the first submission of this logo type, to the South Central Laboratory.

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- INTELLIGENCE ALERT -

PONCHO BUTTONS CONTAINING HEROIN IN NEW YORK

Photo 13- Scale is in Inches	Photo 14

The DEA Northeast Laboratory (New York, New York) recently received three cloth ponchos with large, hollow buttons containing an off-white powder, suspected heroin (see Photos 13 and 14, both displayed oversize to show detail). The ponchos were seized in New York by agents from the DEA New York Field Division (circumstances sensitive). The ponchos contained a total of 78 buttons suspected of containing heroin. Analysis of the powder (total net mass 255.7 grams in 78 buttons) by color testing, GC/FID, GC/MS, and FTIR/ATR confirmed 67 percent heroin hydrochloride, and lidocaine. The Northeast Laboratory has encountered a very wide variety of concealment techniques, but this is the first ever exhibits where heroin was smuggled inside buttons.

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SELECTED REFERENCES

[Selected references are a compilation of recent publications of presumed interest to forensic chemists. Unless otherwise stated, all listed citations are published in English. Abbreviated mailing address information duplicates that provided by the abstracting service. Patents and Proceedings are reported only by their Chemical Abstracts citation number.]

1. Henry KD, Lovell JS. Stroboscopic system and method for detecting substances, such as explosives and/or drugs, using, in part, short bursts of energy light from a relatively low energy strobe. (Patent) Chemical Abstracts 2006;145:350077u.

2. Lingham AR, Hugel HM, Rook TJ. Studies towards the synthesis of Salvinorin A. Australian Journal of Chemistry 2006;59:340. [Editor’s Notes: Presents the title study. Contact: RMIT University, School of Applied Sciences, Melbourne VIC 3001, Australia.]

3. Marchei E, Pellegrini M, Pacifici R, Zuccaro P, Pichini S. A rapid and simple procedure for the determination of ephedrine alkaloids in dietary supplements by gas chromatography - mass spectrometry. Journal of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Analysis 2006;41(5):1633. [Editor’s Notes: Used derivatization with pentafluoropropionic anhydride prior to analysis. Limits of detection were very low in SIM mode. Contact: 1st Super Sanita, Drug Control & Evaluat Dept, Viale Regina Elena 299, I-00161 Rome, Italy.]

4. Matsuda K, Asakawa N, Iwanaga M, Gohda A, Fukushima S, Ishii Y, Yamada H. Conversion of gamma-hydroxybutyric acid to a fluorescent derivative: A method for screening. Forensic Toxicology 2006;24(1):41. [Editor’s Notes: GHB is converted to a fluorescent derivative using 3-bromomethyl-6,7-dimethoxy-1-methyl-1,2-dihydroquinoxaline-2-one. The focus is toxicological, but analysis of powdered and tableted forms of GHB is specifically mentioned in the abstract. Contact: Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kyushu University, 3-1-1 Maidashi, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka 812-8582, Japan.]

5. Mohamed R, Gremaud E, Tabet J-C, Guy PA. Mass spectral characterization of ergot alkaloids by electrospray ionization, hydrogen/deuterium exchange, and multiple stage mass spectrometry: Usefulness of precursor ion scan experiments. Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry 2006;20:2787. [Editor’s Notes: Presents the title study; compounds include: Ergonovine, methysergide hydrogen maleinate, ergocristine, ergotamine, ergocornine, and alpha-ergokryptine. Contact: Department of Quality and Safety Assurance, Nestle Research Center, Nestec Ltd., P.O. Box 44, Vers-chez-les-Blanc, 1000 Lausanne 26, Switzerland. See also: Mohamed R, Gremaud E, Richoz-Payot J, Tabet JC, Guy PA. Quantitative determination of five ergot alkaloids in rye flour by liquid chromatography - electrospray ionisation tandem mass spectrometry. Journal of Chromatography A 2006;1114(1):62. ]

6. Xu YZ, Chen C. Synthesis of deuterium labeled standards of 5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine (5-MeO-DMT). Journal of Labelled Compounds & Radiopharmaceuticals 2006;49(10):897. [Editor’s Notes: Presents the synthesis of the trideuteromethoxy analogue. Contact: Natl Dong Hwa Univ, Dept Chem, Hualien 974, Taiwan.]

Additional References of Possible Interest:

1. Fogassy E, Nogradi M, Kozma D, Egri G, Palovics E, Kiss V. Optical resolution methods. Organic and Biomolecular Chemistry 2006;4(16):3011. [Editor’s Notes: An extensive review, including traditional and new methodologies. Contact: Univ Technol & Econ, Inst Organ Chem Technol, POB 91, Budapest, Hungary.]

2. Kotrly M. Use of X-ray diffraction in forensic sciences. Materials Structure in Chemistry, Biology, Physics, and Technology 2006;13(2):113. [Editor’s Notes: A review of the title topic. This article is written in Czech. Contact: Kriminalisticky Ustav Praha, Prague 170 89, Czech Rep.]

3. Mendelson J, Uemura N, Harris D, Nath R, Fernandez E, Jacob III P, Everhart ET, Jones RT. Human pharmacology of the methamphetamine stereoisomers. Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics 2006;80:403. [Editor’s Notes: Presents an in-depth, comparative study of the effects of d- versus l- methamphetamine. Contact: Addiction Pharmacology Research Laboratory, 7th Floor, St. Luke’s Hospital, 3555 Cesar Chavez, San Francisco, CA 94110.]

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New Microgram Editor Email Address,
Effective January 1st, 2007

Effective January 1st, 2007, the Microgram Editor’s email address will change from microgram_editor -at- mailsnare.net to: microgram-2007 -at- mailsnare.net This change has been necessitated by the ever-increasing numbers of spam emails being received at the microgram_editor -at- mailsnare.net address. An automated response will be maintained on the microgram_editor -at- mailsnare.net address for the first three months of CY 2007.

Please make a note of this change. Note that similar email address changes can be anticipated on the first of each year, substituting the appropriate year in the address.

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NEW EMAIL ADDRESSES NEEDED

The email addresses for the following organizations returned rejection notices to the Microgram Editor for at least the past three issues of Microgram Bulletin, and therefore the respective organizations have been dropped from the subscription list. Note that the errors include “mailbox full”, “over quota”, “user not found”, or “user unknown” messages, and also a variety of anti-spam/filtering rejection messages (the latter likely resulting from failure to “whitelist” the microgram_editor@mailsnare.net address). The Microgram Editor requests your assistance in contacting these organizations, determining if they wish to remain on the Microgram subscription e-net, and if so asking them to forward a valid email address to the microgram_editor@mailsnare.net address (after January 1st, 2007, to: microgram-2007 -at- mailsnare.net ). In addition, if the Office has closed or is known to be no longer interested, please forward that information to the Microgram Editor.

U.S. Subscribers (by State):

Idaho - Idaho State Police, District 1 Laboratory, Couer D’Alene; Idaho State Police, District 3 Laboratory, Meridian;

Nebraska - Physicians Laboratory Services, Omaha

Tennessee - Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, Regional Crime Laboratory, Knoxville;

Texas - Friendswood Police Department

U.S. Government - U.S. EPA, National Enforcement Investigations Center, Denver.

Non-U.S. Subscribers (by Country):

Japan - Yamagata Prefectural Police Headquarters, Forensic Science Laboratory, Yamagata.

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EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY

Position: Forensic Chemist
Location: Indian River Crime Laboratory; Fort Pierce, Florida
Salary: $55,000 - $65,000 depending on experience
Application Deadline: Open until filled

Duties: Responsibilities include the analysis of controlled substances; interpretation of laboratory analyses and results; preparation of written reports; and the ability to testify as an expert witness.

General Requirements: The applicant must be skilled in using gas chromatography, mass spectroscopy, ultraviolet and infrared spectrophotometry, and other drug analysis equipment and methodologies. A familiarity with the technical and safety requirements of ASCLD/LAB, and demonstrated proficiency testing in controlled substance analysis are required. A Master’s degree in chemistry or forensic science (with chemistry undergraduate degree) and two years of forensic laboratory experience are preferred. Experience in head space BAC analysis is desirable. An extensive background investigation is required, and laboratory personnel are subject to random drug testing. EEO.

Application Procedure: Applications may be obtained on line at stluciesheriff.com or by contacting:

Saint Lucie County Sheriff’s Office
Human Resources Department
4700 W. Midway Road
Fort Pierce, FL 34981 4825
Phone: (772) 462 3206; Fax: (772) 462 3218

For additional information about the position, contact:

Daniel C. Nippes, Director (or) Babu Thomas, Senior Criminalist
Indian River Crime Laboratory
2502 S. 35th Street
Fort Pierce, FL 34981
dnippes -at- ircc.edu (or) bthomas -at- ircc.edu
Phone: (772) 462 3600

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[Computer Corner will return in January, 2007.]

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