 Officers will now be able to test suspected drugs on the spot |
A two-minute test to verify if a substance is cocaine has been given the go ahead by the Home Office. It will allow police officers to test for the drug on the spot, rather than send samples to a laboratory.
The decision to licence the test - which detects concentrations as small as one part per million - follows trials with forces across the UK.
Shares in manufacturers Cozart, which employs over 60 staff in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, rose 1.5p on the news.
The test has been licensed Cozart already supplies the Home Office with its RapiScan system, which analyses saliva samples for traces of heroin, cocaine, crack, cannabis or amphetamines.
It is used in 130 police custody suites, with a further 50 locations set to use it from April onwards.
Last month the company revealed half-year profits had risen by 131% to �196,000 on turnover of �2.5 million.
Shares in the company now stand at 41.5p, still below the flotation price of 48p.
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