Eating a sweet, a packet of crisps or a bar of chocolate nowadays may have some unexpected and unwelcome effects, according to the scientists at the new Forensic Science Laboratory.
They say the Irish illegal drugs market is rapidly evolving and drugs are being increasingly disguised and sold here as confectionery products, jellies, cakes and drinks.
Dr Yvonne Kavanagh says cannabis is now being presented in a variety of different appealing and apparently authentic ways and branded like commercially available confectionery products.
"We also see these synthetic cannabinoid products in baked goods like brownies and cookies," the Director of Chemical Analysis at the facility says.
"We see them in soft drinks. We see them in Dorito-type products, so there's a variety of matrixes that can present that do contain these synthetic cannabinoids."
The laboratory has also discovered more poisons, such as ketamine and horse tranquilisers, in illegal drugs being sold on the streets.
It recently analysed seven bags of visually identical bags white powder and found four different chemicals in the seven bags. None of them were cocaine.
Not only were the buyers ripped off, they were put in danger. While they thought they were buying cocaine, in fact, they bought powder containing a number of different types of dangerous chemicals and synthetic cannabinoids about which very little is known.
A new €80 million state-of-the art forensic science laboratory has been opened, which the scientists say is badly needly, because their work has doubled over the past five years, particularly in drugs cases.
Director Chris Enright says over the past two years they have seen a fourfold increase section 15A submissions. These are samples of high value, high quantity seizures of drugs, with a minimum estimated street value of over €12,700 and attracting a potential sentence of life in prison.
He also says its new facility will enable Forensic Science Ireland (FSI) to recruit more staff for its increasing workload and to integrate all its services, DNA and biological, physical and chemical in the one place.
The laboratory can, he says, operate to the highest international standards with the latest clean room technology.
FSI also analyses around 5,000 cases a year for fingerprints, half of which are from burglaries, thefts and robberies along with glass, tyre and footwear impressions.
"If a burglar jumps in a bathroom window and he jumps onto the cistern of the toilet and then jumps into the room, he can either leave a mark there from the soil and the muck that he may have caught on the way in," Dr Dyan Daly says.
The Director of Physical Analysis says these imprints can often prove crucial in solving serious crime and securing prosecutions. She cites as an example, the case of Thiago Cortes.
The Deliveroo cyclist was knocked down and killed by a 16-year-old in a hit and run in Dublin three years ago.
Shortly afterwards, the vehicle was found abandoned nearby and, when technically examined, FSI found that there was a broken windscreen and damage to the paint.
"When we examined Thiago Cortes's clothing, we found paint flex matching the paint work of the Ford Focus, and we also found some fibres and glass matches in the outer pane of the windscreen of the car matching Thiago's clothes," she says.
"The inside of the car was technically examined for the presence of DNA and we developed a finger mark.
"The finger mark and the DNA profile were from the same source and a nominated suspect was picked up. Fibres in clothing taken from the suspect also matched."
The 16-year-old boy was convicted and sentenced to two years’ detention.
