%0 Journal Article
%T Dancing on Coke: Smuggling Cocaine Dispersed in Polyvinyl Alcohol
%J Journal of forensic sciences
%D 2011
%A van Nuijs, Alexander L. N.
%A Maudens, Kristof E.
%A Lambert, Willy E.
%A Van Calenbergh, Serge
%A Risseeuw, Martijn D. P.
%A Van Hee, Paul
%A Covaci, Adrian
%A Neels, Hugo
%V 57
%N 1
%P 234-238
%X Recent trends suggest that cocaine smugglers have become more and more inventive to avoid seizures of large amounts of cocaine transported between countries. We report a case of a mail parcel containing a dance pad which was seized at the Customs Department of Brussels Airport, Belgium. After investigation, the inside of the dance pad was found to contain a thick polymer, which tested positive for cocaine. Analysis was performed using a routine colorimetric swipe test, gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The polymer was identified as polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and contained 18% cocaine, corresponding to a street value of € 20,000. Laboratory experiments showed that cocaine could be easily extracted from the PVA matrix. This case report reveals a new smuggling technique for the transportation of large amounts of cocaine from one country to another.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>
%G en
%I John Wiley and Sons
%@ 0022-1198
%U http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1556-4029.2011.01947.x