The rapidly changing New Psychoactive Substance (NPS) market and the growing number of substances to monitor have increasingly challenged early warning activities. As illicit drug classes expand, the key need is no longer simply “searching” for substances during investigations but providing rapid preliminary identification—tagging a substance as illicit, especially when it is new.
Although modern instruments with updated libraries can quickly identify drugs of abuse, this approach faces four major issues:
1. instrument libraries are not updated regularly;
2. matrix effects difficult to manage;
3. NPSs are trafficked/sold in smaller doses, complicating detection and identification;
4. routine forensic methods are less effective for screening parent drugs and metabolites due to limited structural information and lack of commercial reference materials.
NARCOSIS (Non-tArgeted foRensic multidisCiplinary platfOrm for inveStigatIon of drug-related fatalitieS) will provide a set of features to support fast, robust, reliable investigations across drug-related deaths (DRDs).
Core features include:
1) A set of selected orthogonal instruments operable both on-site and in laboratories (Raman/SERS, IR, HSI, HRMS) will be adapted to be used with the NARCOSIS platform.
2) Build a comparable and shareable (cross-organisation) reference spectra (meta-spectra) database for faster detection and identification of drugs of abuse.
3) Create an AI-assisted spectra management and integration toolkit for analytical measurements to support the EU Early Warning System to rapidly detect, assess and respond to NPS.
Objectives and ambition
NARCOSIS will apply a multidisciplinary approach to support the investigations in DRDs and drug-related operations by means of an up-to-date and updateable diagnostic platform.
Key features
• Updated instrument databases: a continuously updated, AI-analysable cross-organisation “need-to-share” database (potentially hosted by EUDA) containing harmonised, digitised spectral data from DRD and other operations.
• Harmonisation platform: an up-to-date screening, classification and identification environment enabling fast and robust multidisciplinary investigations.
• Analysis: combine portable orthogonal sensors (Raman/SERS, IR, HSI) with laboratory instruments (HRMS, GC-MS, LC-MS/MS) to improve NPS/metabolite detection, integrate field tools into lab/onsite protocols, raise confidence and reduce false alarms, exploit HSI for powders/tablets/packaging, and feed the platform with metabolite data from forensic/clinical toxicology.
• Processing: sensor-agnostic AI for spectra management and decision support (ML to compare, classify, and associate suspected substances).
• Sharing: cross-instrument, cross-organisation meta-spectra database to detect/identify substances and store suspected cases with metadata, supporting coordination among police, forensic labs, and toxicologists.
• Data assurance: digital chain-of-custody ensuring integrity and traceability; anonymised analytical data shareable EU-wide, classified data retained nationally.
• Investigations: tools such as geo-intelligence, spatiotemporal graphs, packaging/logo similarity search and trend analysis.
Expected impacts
• Better EU capability to analyse and cross-match seized drugs, link cases, and exchange information on emerging substances.
• More uniform EU-wide evidence collection for drug-related overdoses and improved response selection.
• Stronger forensic evidence for court and improved prevention via reliable, lawful, fast, easy-to-use sensors/kits.
• Overall improved ability to address forensic challenges in illicit drugs-related overdoses.
• Enhanced perception of citizens in public and private spaces that Europe is an area of freedom, justice and security.
• Tackle forensic challenges related to illicit drugs-related overdoses.
