BUNNELL, Fla. – The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office is using a new device to safely detect drugs and explosives.
The MX908 is a handheld device that can analyze solid, liquid, and aerosol samples in minutes.
Deputies can use the device without exposing themselves to lethal amounts of fentanyl or other deadly drugs and explosives.
With previous testing methods, investigators needed a substantial amount of a substance to use a traditional drug testing kit.
Officials said the device can also detect residue and trace-level amounts, allowing them to detain a suspect and recommend charges.
Before, they would have to let a suspect go and wait for a formal lab report from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
The device’s primary use is its “Drug Hunter” mode, which analyzes drugs and identifies mixed samples of street drugs.
In “Explosive Hunter” mode, investigators detect threats from military and commercial-grade explosives to homemade explosive materials.
In the “Chemical Warfare Hunter” mode, the device can detect deadly chemical threats and traditional chemical agents. This includes Novichok nerve agents, also known as A-series agents, which are among the deadliest and hardest agents to detect, according to the sheriff’s office.
“Not only will this new equipment protect our deputies during field testing from dangerous exposure to deadly narcotics but in its other testing modes can protect our community from suspected explosives or chemical agents,” Sheriff Rick Staly said. “While we still have to have an FDLE lab test the substances for court, the MX908 allows deputies to make an immediate probable cause arrest.”
The device cost over $101,000 and was paid for using state funding from the FDLE State Assistance for Fentanyl Eradication program.