Newspaper claims cocaine found across Exeter University campus
Exeter University’s student newspaper, Exeposé, says it has discovered cocaine residue across the campus.
Traces of the Class A drug were found in eleven university buildings, some of which were academic and administrative buildings.
The newspaper claims large trace quantities were found in the Physics tower and the Queen’s building, the University’s base for English and Modern Languages.
Meanwhile, the toilets in the University’s prestigious new buildings, the Forum library and INTO centre, and the corridor where the University’s Student Guild is based also tested positive, as did Northcote House.
The swab test used is manufactured by Crackdown Drug Testing and is widely used amongst the forensic science community, according to the company’s Director and Founder, Dave Rigg.
He added that Devon and Cornwall Police use them, as well as dozens of other UK constabularies, prisons and customs. He told the student newspaper that the results obtained are ‘95 to 99 per cent accurate’ and can detect cocaine traces on a surface for up to a month after its use, even after repeated cleaning.
When contacted for a statement, the University said they have ‘a zero-tolerance policy towards drug taking, and inform the police of all incidents as and when they occur’.
They pointed out that among 18000 students, there were only 23 reported drug incidents last year, ‘the vast majority of which were related to cannabis use’. They added that ‘the toilets tested are used by hundreds if not thousands of people each year- staff, student and visitors’.
They also said that if students ‘see anything suspicious’, they should contact estate patrol, the University’s on-site security. A Spokesperson for Estate Patrol told Exeposé that they generally do not seize large amounts of drugs on campus.
They added that although they sometimes receive phone calls from students who have noticed suspicious smells in Halls of Residence, the cause is virtually always cannabis.
Read the full investigation at http://issuu.com/exepose/docs/week1813
* Photo by Joshua Irwandi

