Updated 12.50pm

A forensic laboratory is raising alarm over the rising purity of cocaine, which is increasingly linked to a growing number of drug-related deaths.

Cocaine was the most common drug found in post-mortem toxicology reports in 2024, according to data gathered by the Forensic Analysis Laboratory (FAL).

The lab carried out 84 post-mortem toxicology analyses in 2024 on patients who were suspected of using drugs.

“We never used to see it so often. Now, it’s become a general pattern. It is a drug of concern when you see these things,” forensic court expert Godwin Sammut told Times of Malta.

Sammut added that the deceased who have cocaine in their system are usually quite young and presumably healthy. The exact number of cocaine-related deaths is not known.

The 2024 report also said it found cocaine and cannabis present in victims of traffic accidents.

Cannabis was more commonly found in these victims.

“This is a pattern that we have noticed and are concerned about it,” Sammut said.

Forensic expert Godwin Sammut. Photo: Forensic Analysis Laboratory

The laboratory further found that the purity of cocaine has increased drastically, from an average of 26 per cent between 2017 and 2022, to an average of 48 per cent in 2024.

The maximum purity recorded from a sample in 2024 was 78 per cent.

“It’s more dangerous to have a higher purity of cocaine as it plays with the heart," Sammut warned.

"One day when you take it you might be fine, the next time you take it you get a heart attack."

From this study, the FAL said cocaine still “remains highly available, with evidence showing that higher-purity cocaine is increasingly accessible on the street.”

Cocaine started to become more prevalent five years ago, but Sammut said that it only boomed in popularity in the past two years.

A 2,000% increase in cocaine

In 2024, the FAL analysed a total of 108 kilos of cocaine and 50 grams of crack cocaine, which is the largest amount of any drug. This amount was gathered from samples of different drug hauls.

This amount means there has been a 2,178 per cent increase in the analysis of cocaine, compared to the previous year. Sammut said this increase seems to reflect more seizures of cocaine.

“While heroin used to be more of a concern, now cocaine usage has overtaken it,” Sammut said.

The 2024 report found that there was a 90.4 per cent decrease in the volume of heroin analysed in 2023.

A block of cocaine analysed by the lab. Photo: Forensic Analysis Laboratory

Cocaine is being cut with dangerous synthetics

Cocaine that is being imported into Malta tends to have a much higher purity of cocaine compared to the product found on the street, Sammut explained.

He said that once the dealer gets their hands on the drug, they will usually cut it with foreign agents to increase profits.

Besides the increased purity, Sammut is concerned about the synthetic drugs that are being cut with cocaine.

He mainly flagged a veterinary drug called levamisole that is commonly found in cocaine. This drug has an effect on people’s brains and cardiovascular system, which, alongside the increased purity, can create a fatal drug.

“This elevated purity, combined with harmful adulterants such as levamisole, poses a significant health risk and could contribute to a rise in cocaine-related fatalities,” the report said.

The FAL also found lidocaine which acts as a local anaesthetic which is used to “trick the user” as it creates a numbing effect, that is usually attributed to greater cocaine purity.

The laboratory also found that a substance called pink cocaine or tucibi has garnered a lot of popularity, but it does not share any resemblance to traditional cocaine.

“It is a compound derived from a mixture of MDMA, amphetamine, LSD, and other synthetic drugs, resulting in a potent and unpredictable substance,” the report said.

Cannabis NGO reacts

Reacting, cannabis NGO ReLeaf said cannabis use has increased in Malta and the presence of the drug remained in the bloodstream for weeks and months, irrespective of impairment levels.

“Therefore, when considering these two important aspects and the fact that tests were carried out postmortem, it is very difficult to reach conclusions if the detection of cannabis in the bloodstream is correlated to the actual accident,” ReLeaf said.

It added that data from the NSO and other reputable institutions showed that overspeeding and mobile use were more directly linked to fatal traffic accidents.