Police probe into manipulated drug test data extended

An investigation into the accusation that drug test result data has been manipulated has now been extended and will cover thousands of blood samples.

According to the National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC), many convictions could be overturned where there are no existing samples available for retesting. Most of the 6,000 samples to be collected will be from cases involving drug driving, but it is also possible that some of the samples could be from murder and rape cases. If the secondary tests of these samples reveal underestimation of toxicology levels at the time, it could now mean prosecution for suspects who were not charged then.

The police probe into the allegation of drug test data manipulation focuses on Randox Testing Services (RTS) – the laboratory in Manchester used by police throughout the UK to analyse blood samples, which are then used in prosecutions. Earlier this year, two Randox employees, aged 31 and 47, were arrested on suspicion of perverting the course of justice and were later bailed. At the time of the arrest, police chiefs stated that 484 cases, handled by Randox since November 2015, may have been manipulated, but the enquiry will now examine blood samples from 2014.

James Vaughan, deputy chief constable of the NPCC, said, “It would appear that staff at that lab have criminally corrupted or manipulated data in the results from some of those searches, which has undermined the integrity of a number of cases.”