<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>In a criminal case involving cutting and resale of amphetamine and cocaine in the Copenhagen area of Denmark, maltitol was used as a cutting agent. The analysis of maltitol in seizures of pure diluents as well as in amphetamine and cocaine powders was carried out using reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with high-resolution (HR) mass spectrometric detection. Maltitol was identified in four out of nine amphetamine samples and in five out of six cocaine samples from the case in question. The use of maltitol as a cutting agent was considered by the police as a specific marker of the particular criminal group under investigation. To support or reject this hypothesis, cocaine and amphetamine samples from a four month period after the involved persons had been arrested were evaluated, also as part of the police investigation. None of these samples contained maltitol. The work described covers the part of the case involving the department of forensic chemistry, and not the whole police investigation, but everything was done within the frames given by the police. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of a disaccharide polyol being used as a cutting agent for illicit drugs.</p></abstract>

In a criminal case involving cutting and resale of amphetamine and cocaine in the Copenhagen area of Denmark, maltitol was used as a cutting agent. The analysis of maltitol in seizures of pure diluents as well as in amphetamine and cocaine powders was carried out using reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with high-resolution (HR) mass spectrometric detection. Maltitol was identified in four out of nine amphetamine samples and in five out of six cocaine samples from the case in question. The use of maltitol as a cutting agent was considered by the police as a specific marker of the particular criminal group under investigation. To support or reject this hypothesis, cocaine and amphetamine samples from a four month period after the involved persons had been arrested were evaluated, also as part of the police investigation. None of these samples contained maltitol. The work described covers the part of the case involving the department of forensic chemistry, and not the whole police investigation, but everything was done within the frames given by the police. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of a disaccharide polyol being used as a cutting agent for illicit drugs.

A case story, involving the use of maltitol, a sugar alcohol, as a cutting agent in amphetamine and cocaine powders

Section of Forensic Chemistry, Department of Forensic Medicine, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Frederik V’s Vej 11, 3, DK-2100, Copenhagen, Denmark

Scandinavian Journal of Forensic Science

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

In a criminal case involving cutting and resale of amphetamine and cocaine in the Copenhagen area of Denmark, maltitol was used as a cutting agent. The...

A case story, involving the use of maltitol, a sugar alcohol, as a cutting agent in amphetamine and cocaine powders

Published Online: Jul 01, 2016

Page range: 6 - 10

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/sjfs-2016-0001

Keywords
Maltitol, sugar alcohol, mass spectrometry, cutting agent, illicit drugs, polyols

© 2016 Lotte Ask Reitzel et al., published by De Gruyter Open

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

A case story, involving the use of maltitol, a sugar alcohol, as a cutting agent in amphetamine and cocaine powders

Published Online: Jul 01, 2016

Page range: 6 - 10

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/sjfs-2016-0001

KeywordsMaltitol, sugar alcohol, mass spectrometry, cutting agent, illicit drugs, polyols

© 2016 Lotte Ask Reitzel et al., published by De Gruyter Open

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Keywords
Maltitol, sugar alcohol, mass spectrometry, cutting agent, illicit drugs, polyols