Forensic lab launched to boost Singapore’s fight against new psychoactive substances

SINGAPORE – New forms of drugs are being created in laboratories to circumvent traditional drug laws and detection methods.

To combat this, the Home Team Science and Technology Agency (HTX) has launched a new forensic lab that will help the authorities here better detect such substances.

The Forensic Innovation and Research for Strategic Transformation Lab, or First Lab, was launched on April 14.

Details of the lab, including its location, remain confidential owing to the sensitive nature of the site and its operations.

In a statement, HTX said the lab will play a pivotal role in Singapore’s fight against new psychoactive substances (NPS).

Such substances mimic the effects of controlled drugs such as cannabis, heroin and cocaine, but have a modified chemical structure.

In its

recent annual statistics report

, the Central Narcotics Bureau said there are now 566 types of NPS on the market, of which 44 are newly identified.

The agency warned that there has been an emergence of nitazenes – a group of synthetic opioids – in several high-income countries.

Some of these substances are very potent, leading to fatal outcomes and a surge in overdose deaths worldwide.

In Singapore, there have been at least four NPS-related deaths since 2016.

At the launch of the lab on April 14, Minister for Home Affairs and Law K. Shanmugam said it will help the authorities identify such problematic substances even before they are produced and abused.

The lab does this by first identifying the effects of different chemicals, before figuring out the different possible chemical combinations that can produce highs when consumed.

Mr Shanmugam said: “It’s a very important, strategic capability. HTX, as a whole, has added many dimensions to our work in the Ministry of Home Affairs – the science and technology front.”

He added that the scientists in the lab are synthesising drugs that can provide them with a better idea of the consequences of taking them.

Singapore

amended its drug laws in 2023

, introducing a new framework that defines any substance that is abused for a high as a psychoactive substance, with some exclusions such as alcohol, caffeine and tobacco.

Previously, Singapore’s drug laws were playing catch-up with drug abusers and syndicates, and the authorities could only prosecute those found to have used or dealt in a list of pre-defined drugs.

The changes allow them to better tackle the scourge of NPS.

In May 2024, Mr Shanmugam told Parliament that there has been a

jump in NPS seizures

, as the substances were previously not available but have now become easily available because they can be created fairly easily in larger quantities.

Aside from NPS testing, the First Lab is also developing several other innovations in different forensic fields. These include the testing of DNA molecules in the air, a wearable for drug testing and predicting the sex of a person based on their fingerprints.

HTX chief executive Chan Tsan said the opening of the First Lab is a testament to HTX’s dedication to safeguarding the public.

“Drug abuse ruins lives,” he said.

“It is thus imperative that we stay ahead of the curve when it comes to tackling the threat that NPS poses to society, and we will achieve this by doing what we do best – using science and technology to force-multiply the efforts of the Home Team.”