Metropolitan Traffic Police Division Kathmandu has brought a drug test machine to detect drivers driving ‘under an influence’. The device called the Sotoxa Drug Analyzer tests and detects hashish, opium, morphine, and cocaine if consumed by the drivers. In Nepali layman’s terms, it is called the La Pa Se test.
Prior to this, traffic police had an obligation to get the suspects medically tested. For drunk driving, a breathalyzer has been in use. The drug test machine will bring ease and convenience to the traffic police for their operation and also discourage the behavior of driving.
The traffic division Kathmandu’s Senior Superintendent Rajendra Prasad Bhatta shared that the division is bringing sotoxa drug analyzer machine for drug tests.
“Although all the check posts in Kathmandu already have ‘breath analyzers’, it was difficult to run tests on drug consumption. Now, we will soon have an arrangement for it too,” he added.
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How will the traffic police run drug test in Kathmandu?
A team of health technicians, police narcotics bureau and traffic police will be deployed to check La Pa Se (drug test in Kathmandu). If a driver is suspected to have committed a lapse, a urine test must be done to prove it.
“Until now, the detection of missing persons is done through urine test. Although it takes time, the results are reliable,” he said, “but testing with this method takes a lot of time. Also, this method is complicated.”
This is why the traffic division is using a sample of technology called ‘Sotoxa drug analyzer’ to make its drug test investigation effective. Bhatta said that this technique can be used to check La Pa Se in an effective manner.
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“If the mouth swab of the driver is placed in the drug analyzer, it can be known whether he has taken lapse or not. It makes the work of investigation quick and easy,” he added.
For the moment, the division has brought a number of machines but the authority will add more machines in the days to come to implement the test all over the country.
