Detection of co-extracted impurities from methamphetamine seized in Tanzania: a prediction of the source of the precursors

Abstract

Using UHPLC-HESI-MS/MS, the study investigated the co-extracted target compounds as chemically attributable signatures for the source of ephedrine. Through the investigation, we found EPH as the primary precursor used in the clandestine synthesis of methamphetamine used in this investigation. The samples also contained co-extracted impurities such as norephedrineedrine and methylephedrineedrine. N, N-dimethylamphetamine was also discovered not as a co-extracted impurity but as a degraded product of methylephedrineedrine. The impurities profiles indicate the source of EPH from an Ephedra plant. The findings can help shed light on the origins of the ephedrine used in the clandestine synthesis of methamphetamine and the practices that existed prior to the synthesis of methamphetamine.