New drug detection device can help Flagler County deputies catch criminals faster

FLAGLER COUNTY, Fla. — Flagler County deputies are using new technology to help keep them safe and catch criminals faster.

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The drug detection device is known as the MX908.

Chief David Williams with the Flagler Sheriffs Office said it can pick up even trace amounts of substances.

This means deputies won’t necessarily have to handle narcotics to get a positive sample. Instead, they can swab any surface they touched.

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Eyewitness News reported in August of last year that a deputy passed out after being exposed to fentanyl, despite wearing gloves and other personal protection gear.

Williams said the device could have helped prevent that situation.

“He opened the suspected substance to perform a test on it and that’s where the exposure occurred so in the case with the 908, we could have maybe just swabbed the top of the baggie without opening it and put it in here,” said Williams.

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The device does not take the place of formal lab testing but its results are admissible in court.

“So, in cases where a defendant tries to say the substance wasn’t what was tested, their defense would be indefensible against this device,” said Williams.

The device was about $100,000 and was purchased through a grant.

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