cocaine seizures

Under normal circumstances, samples are not taken at the crime scene during cocaine seizures except for a presumptive test which involves making a small hole in one of the bricks to test its color to confirm cocaine presence, and then sealing the exhibit to maintain chain of custody.

“under normal circumstances, there is no need to obtain samples at the crime scene. What is being done during cocaine seizures is that there is a presumptive test that is being done. What that means is that the lead investigator or the crime scene manager would make a small hole in one of the bricks, obtain a small sample, then place that sample into a chemical basis. That is the presumptive test. If it colours blue, it means that indeed it is cocaine. That is the only sampling that needs to be done at that point in time. In order to maintain the credibility of the crime scene, it is important, after all the necessary tests were conducted by our experts, to seal the exhibits there and then because then you also maintain the chain of custody”