'The new research demonstrates that this is possible for the first time using high resolution mass spectrometry techniques. In contrast, if someone has touched the drug, cocaine and benzoylecgonine 'hotspots' do not match the location of the fingerprint ridges. 'The new research gets us further along the road to reconstructing the events that took place at a crime scene,' Dr Bailey explained to MailOnline. 'Now we think it is possible to tell, from a fingerprint left behind at a crime scene, whether or not someone has touched or ingested cocaine. 'Despite this, fingermarks are still the most commonly used piece of physical evidence left at a crime scene in forensic case work,' she said.

Source: Daily Mail May 20, 2021 11:50 UTC