Forensic services play an essential role in the fight against illicit drugs and crime by providing accurate, objective and timely information to law enforcement agencies and the criminal justice system, which can be used to bring drug traffickers and perpetrators of crime to justice.
However, the evolving drug market, characterised by the increasing availability of synthetic drugs and new psychoactive substances (NPS), present significant challenges for forensic experts who are required to conduct not only qualitative but also quantitative analysis of the seized substances.
To address these challenges, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) recently conducted a five-day specialized training course on "Laboratory Identification of Illicit Drugs". The training held on 9-13 December 2024, was hosted by the UNODC Laboratory and Scientific Services in Vienna and was attended by forensic experts from key Uzbekistan forensic institutions, including Main Expert and Criminalistics Centre of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Republican Centre of Forensic Examination named after Kh. Sulaymanova of the Ministry of Justice, Expert and Criminalistics Unit of the State Security Service, Central Customs Laboratory of the Customs Committee and Centre for the Development of Electronic Technologies.
The training was organised in the framework of the UNODC project “Improving Forensic Capacities in Uzbekistan - Phase III” with the funding support of the U.S. State Department Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL).
The training course, based on UNODC guidelines, aimed to enhance the capacity of forensic experts to detect and identify narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances, including NPS in seized materials. Participants had the opportunity to work with real samples and followed the normal workflow of a sample in a forensic laboratory: from sample reception, chain of custody, documentation of sample characteristics, sampling, qualitative and quantitative analysis to the interpretation of results and issuance of certificates of analysis. They gained hands-on experience with preliminary screening methods, such as FTIR, Raman, and confirmatory methods for the identification of drugs using GC-MS, HPLC and FTIR. The course covered the essential laboratory skills required for sample preparation, sequence running, data analysis and interpretation. An introduction to chromatography, instrument maintenance, standard preparation, and quality management principles was also included into the course programme.
The training was a critical component of the UNODC’s ongoing efforts to support Uzbekistan in its fight against drug related crimes. By enhancing the capability of forensic professionals to perform the state-of-art qualitative and quantitative drug analysis, the initiative contributes to a more effective and fair criminal justice system, better enabling authorities to respond to drug-related crimes with reliable and scientifically validated evidence.
Since 2017, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime has been working closely with forensic science institutions of Uzbekistan to enhance their capacity in various forensic disciplines such as analysis of illicit drugs and precursors, biological materials (DNA), firearms and toolkits, digital evidence, audio and phonographic exhibits, questioned documents and crime scene investigation. This collaboration aims to align Uzbek forensic practices with international standards and best practices.
