For hundreds of years, cannabis has been one of the most known cultivated plants due to its variety of uses, which include as a psychoactive drug, as well as for medicinal activity. Although prohibiting cannabis products, the countries of the African continent are the largest producers of cannabis in the world; a fact that makes the trafficking of cannabis-based illicit drugs a high priority for local law enforcement authorities. The latter are exceedingly interested in the use of chemical analyses for facilitating quantification, identification, and tracing of the origin of seized cannabis samples. Targeting these goals, and focusing on the country of Ghana, the present study used inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) for the determination of 12 elements (Pb, Cu, Ca, Mg, Mn, Zn, Cd, As, Hg, Fe, Na, and K) in cannabis seized by Ghana’s law enforcement authorities and soils of cannabis farms. Furthermore, multivariate analysis was applied to distinguish among different cannabis farms and match them with the samples. As a result, 22 seized cannabis samples and 12 other cannabis samples with their respective soils were analyzed to reveal considerable As and Pb concentrations. As and Pb levels in cannabis were found up to 242 ppb for As and 854 ppb for Pb. Multivariate analysis was applied for separating different cannabis farms and seized samples based on elemental analysis, evidently linking the seized samples with two Ghana regions.

The trafficking of cocaine has become a global challenge now and Ghana is no exception. Cocaine is a whitish powder, which is, produced both from natural and synthetic means. This paper studied the metal content of seized cocaine in Ghana and the data used for batch identification. Ten metals, namely, Pb, Cu, Mg, Mn, Cr, As, Ni, Fe, Co and Ca were analyzed in 37 samples which were sampled from 2010 to 2014. Analyses of the metals were done using ICP-MS and data was analyzed using statistical tools. The results showed that, calcium recorded the highest amount in all the samples with a mean of 64.94mg/kg followed by Magnesium, Zinc and Iron with mean values of 24.35mg/kg, 6.25mg/kg and 2.65mg/kg, respectively. All the samples, within-seizure classification under class A showed to significant differences between each pair at a confidence level of 95%. With three sample pairs under class B in the within-seizure classification, one of the pairs; 10_3A and 10_5B showed no significant differences between them even though they were sampled from two different packages from the same seizure. Five samples from five different seizures also showed a significant difference among them showing that they came from different batches or origin. It is confirmed that seized cocaine contained poisonous heavy metals like Lead, Arsenic and Chromium, which have the amount that could affect the user-provide figures. Based on the data gathered from the within-seizure class A group, it could be proposed that a missing cocaine could be identified by its metal content.

A preliminary and layered analytical methodology is proposed for locating a clandestine burial when the search area is relatively wide and on the order of acres. A drone equipped with a LIDAR (LIght Detection And Ranging) capability enabled a large search area to be scanned and resulted in the identification of eleven suspicious locations based on topographical disturbances. Testing the use of a California Department of Toxic Substances Control Volatile Organic Chemical collection apparatus for the first time in a criminal case followed by a quantitative chemical analysis via a standard EPA-based approach was proven successful. This case recovered three victims over a 71-acre search area and at a burial depth of approximately six feet. Although preliminary, this quantitative methodology should be expanded and further tested for discrimination against other forms of buried decomposition. This research will impact law enforcement search strategies especially for wide search areas where clandestinely buried humans are thought to be and will assist investigators by providing justifiable chemistry-based information on where to excavate.

HIGHLIGHTS• Fentanyl degradation by three oxidative reactions was investigated GC-MS and LC-MS.• 𝐻2𝑂2 and peracetic acid did not fully degrade fentanyl in solution, however GC-MS indicated complete degradation (false negative).• Remaining fentanyl in solution was neutralized in the hot, oxidative gas-phase environment of the GC injector resulting in the GC-MS false negative.• LC-MS correctly assessed the degradation.• Acidified trichloroisocyanuric acid completely degraded fentanyl in solution.

A standardized analytical methodology is proposed for the collection, analysis, and multivariate training set development processes related to locating human decomposition chemistry in and around buried human remains including possibly many other forms of human remains determinations. Early qualitative experiments with buried human subjects generated a select set of potential target volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Using a California DTSC (Department of Toxic Substances Control) VOC collection apparatus, followed by quantitative chemical analysis via a standard EPA-based approach and multivariate statistics, this methodology was expanded and evaluated. To enhance the robustness of this proposed methodology, experiments were conducted on buried compost, a buried pig, and three known buried human remains. Combining all of these data followed by linear discriminant analysis (LDA) enabled the creation of a proposed method for locating buried human remains. LDA of 23 independently acquired soil vapor probe samples from this expanded decomposition sample set while using 19 VOCs as training set covariates resulted in an ability to differentiate these classes in a canonical graphical format for visualization and analysis. This methodology will impact law enforcement search strategies especially for clandestinely buried and missing persons cases by providing justifiable support and direction on where to excavate. This methodology could also provide an indication that a deceased person may have been present in a specific location and had been subsequently moved. This research represents a significant step towards the development of a model that can be further refined and verified as more data is provided.

The high potency of fentanyl, even in small amounts, can pose significant health risks upon contact; therefore, degradation of fentanyl into harmless byproducts in forensic and law enforcement laboratories is an important task. Various oxidative agents are employed for this purpose, followed by GCMS or LCMS to confirm the absence of a fentanyl signal. However, it was found that the original solution analyzed had been modified in the literature to make it suitable for GCMS and LCMS. In this study, three commonly used oxidative reagents for fentanyl degradation were evaluated for their effectiveness using solutions directly from the reaction vessels without any alteration prior to GCMS and LCMS analyses. Under this approach, GCMS analysis of the original solutions did not show any signal for fentanyl. However, LCMS analysis of the same solutions indicated that substantial amounts of fentanyl remained. When the same solutions were completely dried and reconstituted in solvents, GCMS showed that fentanyl was present thereby revealing that its degradation was unsuccessful and that the GC injector conditions were playing a role in the degradation process. An acidified solution of trichloroisocyanuric acid (TCCA) was proven effective, as both LCMS and GCMS indicated the absence of a signal for fentanyl. An efficient and effective protocol for the degradation of fentanyl using TCCA, followed by nano LCMS analysis (nLCMS), is provided.