UAE: Forensics team in Abu Dhabi discover new manmade drug

Abu Dhabi: The Centre of Forensic and Digital Sciences of the Abu Dhabi Judicial Department (ADJD) has achieved a world-first by discovering a new synthetic cannabinoid narcotic substance.

The Centre determined its composition and named it as ADB-5’Br-PINACA, to register it in an international database under the name of the ADJD’s Laboratory of Chemistry. It has also published a scientific document (Analysis Guide) on the website of an international centre specialised in the identification of new types of synthetic drugs.

Yousef Saeed Al Abri, Undersecretary of the Abu Dhabi Judicial Department, said the achievement adds to the ADJD’s record of breakthroughs, driven by the directives of President His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and the direct supervision of Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Vice President of the UAE, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of the Presidential Court, and Chairman of Abu Dhabi Judicial Department.

Al Abri praised the efforts made by the team working at the Laboratory of Chemistry, which managed to discover this new narcotic substance and register it in global databases in the name of the Abu Dhabi Judicial Department, thus bringing the UAE’s name to the forefront in international concerts. This, he said, is in line with the Judicial Department’s Strategic Plan 2021-2023, which stresses the value of working with international partners to help maintain the social security and stability.

Process of registration

Saeed Al Amoudi, Director of the Centre of Forensic and Digital Sciences, explained that the breakthrough came after initially determining the composition and name of the new narcotic substance in September 2022, and registering it with an international database at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark, under the nameof the ADJD’s laboratory of chemistry.

A collaborative work was then initiated on this subject with the Centre for Forensic Science Research and Education (CFSRE) in the US, which is one of the centres specialised in the discovery and identification of types of new psychoactive substances. It was possible to confirm the nature of the substance after its production, publish a scientific document (analytical guide), assign a permanent name to the substance, and publish the discovery on the website of CFSRE.