In recent months the press has echoed several news reports on the use of drugs that nullify the will to perform different serious crimes (robberies, robberies with death or rape). One of the drugs included in this family within the guide published by the United Nations Office (UNODC) and which has been sadly news lately is scopolamine or "burundanga". The ease of obtaining it nowadays from ornamental plants or via the Internet, its highly narcotic properties and the fact that is odorless, colorless and insipid makes it one of the most used to commit crimes and assaults without the victims are aware.

The technician of the Central Service of Analysis of Bizkaia (SCAB), Dr. Luis Bartolomé, has had the opportunity to talk about this drug and the challenges that the state security forces, together with the centers of analysis, have for In order to be able to quickly, accurately and precisely analyze these types of compounds in biological samples. These challenges involve deep research in bioanalytical methodologies that can allow the detection of the drug or any of its metabolites in a greater time than the current one by means of separation techniques (GC or LC) coupled to mass spectrometry already available in our centers research.