CANNABIS TO SNIFF OUT THE DRUG LORDS

INTERNATIONAL drug smugglers will soon find their movements being more
closely monitored by police thanks to a pioneering process being developed
at Edinburgh University.

The work of the scientists, which is being supported by the United Nations
and Lothian and Borders Police, will allow authorities to discover where
drugs are coming from and whether anti-drugs measures are working.

The process involves using cannabis as a "tracker" drug under the
assumption that heroin and cocaine traffickers peddle the category C drug
as well.

Using advanced know-how unique to Edinburgh University, researchers can
tell how far north or south of the equator a batch of cannabis has been
grown according to the levels of hydrogen and carbon in the drug.

The altitude at which the crop has been cultivated can be gauged according
to nitrogen levels.

Finally, by cross-matching the information with samples taken from known
cannabis farms across the world, scientists will soon be able to tell the
origin of any cannabis seizure to within 100 miles.

David Kilgour, 26, has been working on the project with his supervisor, Dr
Patrick Langridge-Smith, for two years.

He said: "This research will give police a valuable head start on the drugs
gangs without having to rely on people infiltrating their ranks - which is
obviously very dangerous. Lothian and Borders Police initially said this
couldn't be done but we're proving that it can and they are now providing
us with cannabis samples to help our research.

"The UN is also very interested because this process will be able to show
how effective their anti-drugs measures are."

Mr Kilgour explained that the UN has a raft of measures it uses to dissuade
cannabis farmers around the world from producing the highly lucrative
contraband crop.

This includes paying them to destroy hemp plants.

Using the Edinburgh University breakthrough the UN will be able to see if
the measures are working in areas, such as Afghanistan, the Middle East or
Africa, by seeing how much cannabis from those areas turns up in drugs raids.

The UN is arranging for samples from known cannabis producing regions to
help Edinburgh University complete its research.

Mr Kilgour said: "This could be one of the most time-consuming parts of the
research because diplomacy over such a sensitive issue can take a long time.

"For instance we were able to obtain cannabis from Afghanistan just before
September 11.

"But if America decides to take military action against Iraq that could
complicate the process even further because so many Muslim countries
produce cannabis."

A spokesman for Lothian and Borders Police said: "This research could
provide useful intelligence on where cannabis in the Edinburgh area comes
from and what routes might be used for the drugs to arrive in this part of
the country."

A Customs and Excise spokesman said: "We work very closely with colleagues
overseas to try and find ways to stop drugs entering the country in the
first place. Knowing where drugs come from would be vitally important in
that respect."

The research is just one of the breakthroughs to be shown to Princess Anne
when she opens the University of Edinburgh's new Biomolecular Research
Centre today.

More than UKP8 million has been ploughed into the new centre off West Mains
Road by a number of groups, including The Wellcome Trust, Scottish Higher
Education Funding Council, and Scottish Enterprise.

The Princess Royal will also see how steroid analysis could help combat
heart disease and new ways of killing the potentially fatal parasites which
cause sleeping sickness in Africa.