Fingerprint test can tell if you’ve taken cocaine, even when you’ve washed your hands

Sign up for our free Health Check email to receive exclusive analysis on the week in health Get our free Health Check email Get our free Health Check email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Dr Melanie Bailey, of Surrey University, said the test should give police, prison officers and others the ability to establish if someone had taken cocaine much more quickly than at present. “And, as with previous methods we have developed, it is non-invasive, hygienic and can’t be faked – by the nature of the test, the identity of the subject, and their drug use, is all captured within the sample itself.” Currently drug tests involve taking samples of blood, saliva or urine. Dr Catia Costa, also of Surrey University, said the technique used, called “paper spray mass spectrometry”, was gaining increasing popularity in forensic circles “because it is incredibly sensitive and is very easy to set up a testing system”. “This is the first time it has ever been used to detect the presence of drugs in fingerprints, and our results show the technique was 99 per cent effective in detecting cocaine use among the patients,” she added.