Dubai Police has introduced a groundbreaking device, the Rapid Test Cup, at the World Police Summit, marking a significant advancement in the fight against drug abuse. This innovative tool is capable of swiftly and accurately testing for narcotics, drastically reducing detainee custody time from seven hours to just 10 minutes. By eliminating the potential for human error or bias, the Rapid Test Cup stands out from traditional drug testing methods.
The device is designed to identify 13 types of modern drug groups that are recognized in the schedules of the Federal Law on Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances. Its development was a challenging journey, involving 3,272 trials to ensure its effectiveness and reliability.
Faisal Al-Taniji, head of the Department of Biological Movement at the Narcotics Observatory Center, highlighted the efforts to overcome the high costs and complexities associated with conventional drug detection techniques. “Our goal is to proactively detect modern drug abuse with quick, easy, and high-quality screening techniques,” Al-Taniji stated, addressing the global challenges in narcotics detection and examination.
Ibtisam Abdul Rahman Al-Abdouli, Director of the Drug Observatory Center at the General Administration of Forensic Evidence and Criminology, emphasized the administration’s commitment to advancing forensic evidence and criminology methods. “We strive to provide advanced models that support laboratories, enhance performance levels, and facilitate optimal investment in testing techniques and tools,” Al-Abdouli shared.
Al-Abdouli also mentioned that intellectual property rights for the design and contents of the Rapid Test Cup have been secured, and the technology is available upon request through Dubai Police for criminal laboratories around the world looking to adopt this advanced drug testing solution.