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The DEA Mid-Atlantic Laboratory (Largo, Maryland), has recently received a submission of a large, wooden-framed picture, 24 x 20 x ¾ inches, containing a sheet of compressed, brown powder, suspected heroin. The exhibit was seized by German customs agents in Frankfurt, Germany from a flight en route from Lagos, Nigeria to Washington-Dulles airport, and was forwarded to the laboratory after a controlled delivery in the U.S. (no further details).

 

The heroin was wrapped in several layers of plastic and tape, and was concealed behind the picture. Analysis of the powder (total net mass 1,085 grams) by GC/FID, GC/MS, NMR, and FTIR-ATR confirmed 55.9 percent heroin hydrochloride, also containing morphine, codeine, and caffeine (not quantitated). The Mid-Atlantic Laboratory has previously encountered heroin concealed inside picture frames.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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