Feature Article: Knowledge Is Power in the Fight Against Synthetic Opioids
S&T’s Chemical Security Analysis Center highlights countermeasures to intentional opioid harm.
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S&T’s Chemical Security Analysis Center highlights countermeasures to intentional opioid harm.
Updated data from Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released on December 22, 2023, shows that through the end of November, over 5,500 pounds of illicit fentanyl have already been seized by CBP and HSI in the first two months of FY 2024, with over 3,000 pounds seized in November alone.
DHS S&T issued an RFI seeking innovative approaches to effectively target illegal cargo while expediting the delivery of legitimate cargo.
Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) released the Strategy for Combating Illicit Opioids, an intelligence-driven approach to disrupting and dismantling transnational criminal organizations and keeping dangerous substances, like illicit fentanyl driving the overdose epidemic, off America’s streets. To advance President Biden’s Unity Agenda Strategy to beat the overdose epidemic, DHS is working with partners at every level of government to stop the illicit flow of fentanyl into the country, including through various surge campaigns launched this year.
DHS S&T is working with vendors and manufacturers of portable drug detectors to improve their ability to identify different narcotics, like fentanyl.
The DHS Science and Technology Directorate's (S&T) Opioid Trafficking Intelligence and Investigation Project provides research and development (R&D) support for improved investigative capabilities to aid in the confident discovery, identification, and disruption of illicit drug networks responsible for opioid smuggling. The project will include training on investigative processes for law enforcement partners and advanced analytic approaches to facilitate analysis of evidence, data fusion, and information sharing that enables automated discovery of high value targets and criminal associations. Project outputs will be integrated into HSI's existing suite of investigative capabilities, to support
prosecution as well as collaboration efforts in furtherance of interdiction and disruption of the opioid supply chain.
The DHS Science and Technology Directorate’s (S&T) Opioid/Fentanyl Detection Program, in collaboration with the S&T Office of Standards, is funding the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) to build spectral reference libraries of approximately 50 Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) restricted substances. including fentanyl, fentanyl analogues, and other emerging illicit drugs. Through Cooperative Research and Development Agreements (CRADAs) with industry partners, PNNL will collect reference spectra on 20 different field portable detectors currently deployed for operational use.
The DHS Science and Technology Directorate’s (S&T) Opioid Program is working with HSI and Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) to develop novel software applications that can be integrated with HSI’s Repository for Analytics in a Virtualized Environment (RAVEN) platform. This cloud-based platform enables users to perform analytics across datasets using a suite of search, analytical, and reporting tools. RAVEN serves as a central point to gather and conduct analyses across seemingly disparate datasets, replacing a largely manual process. This collaborative effort will apply advanced analytical approaches, like artificial intelligence and machine learning, to better recognize patterns in data and enhance investigators’ effectiveness.
DHS S&T has released a new Master Question List (MQL) for Synthetic Opioids.
S&T's Master Question List for Synthetic Opioids consolidates information and knowledge gaps to better focus investments on the most useful R&D.