Drug analyser kits soon to curb abuse

Hyderabad: The Telangana police will soonintroduce a new system to curb the drug menace in the state. Like drunk drivingtests, it will equip the police with drug analysers to identify those whoconsumed drugs on the spot.The state police, which studiedthe practice that is in vogue in Kerala and Gujarat where police have been usingdrug analysers and conducting regular checks, has come to the conclusion thatit should also introduce similar systems and special drives.These analysers will help in identifyingthe persons who had consumed drugs and if found positive, they would be sentfor blood and urine examination.Special teams are being sent toKerala and Gujarat for an in-depth study of how the police there wereimplementing the system and how effective it had been in curbing the drugmenace.Officials said the druganalyser is equipped with a preliminary drug test kit. A small size testcartridge resembling a toothbrush will be inserted in the suspect's mouth and hewould be asked to run it on his teeth. The cartridge collects saliva andrelated substances from the mouth and it is tested in the analyser kit. If the kitsignalled green, it is considered drug positive in the preliminaryinvestigation.The collected substance frommouth, blood and urine samples will be sent for narco tests to ascertainwhether the suspect is consuming drugs and if he was addicted.

The analyserwill examine ganja, hashish, cocaine and other substances.The analysers will also beconnected to the GPS system so that the technical evidence will be used toestablish the drug abuse by the suspects in the courts.Police sources said that thecity police wing is planning to take up the use of drug analysers on pilotproject and then use them extensively like the drunk and drive tests conductedevery weekend in the city.The task force police will alsobe equipped with the analysers as they conduct raids on the pubs and bars toidentify drug abusers on the spot.