Teledyne FLIR Defense to Deliver Portable Chemical Detectors to US Customs and Border Protection

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Teledyne FLIR Defense, part of Teledyne Technologies Incorporated, announced that it has received an order from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) for 15 of its Griffin™ G510x portable chemical detectors, specifically designed to analyze and identify explosives and narcotics, such as fentanyl and nitazenes, within five minutes.

Provided for CBP’s Laboratory and Scientific Services program, the G510x instruments will be fielded across the U.S. to help CBP identify the most challenging drug samples, such as those containing fentanyl in extremely low concentrations mixed with other compounds. Teledyne FLIR Defense expects to deliver all 15 systems to CBP this month.

More than 100,000 Americans died from drug overdoses last year, with over three-quarters of those deaths tied to opioids. Given the potency of fentanyl and its derivatives, even a microscopic amount can be life threatening. The Griffin G510x has proven uniquely capable of confirming lethal narcotics ‘hidden’ within other substances and cutting agents, where they are commonly missed by other field portable devices.

“Drugs like fentanyl remain a deadly threat and drain on our country, consuming lives and resources across America,” said Dr. JihFen Lei, president of Teledyne FLIR Defense. “We are proud to support U.S. Customs and Border Protection in their efforts to control drug trafficking by providing the G510x – a powerful tool that can quickly identify narcotics in the field, enhance investigations, and help law enforcement get these dangers off our streets.”

Teledyne FLIR’s Griffin G510x is a portable Gas Chromatograph-Mass Spectrometer (GC-MS) that provides operators with the fastest, most accurate, and most extensive capability to identify narcotics outside of a laboratory. Used widely by domestic and international public safety teams, G510x features an on-board SWGDrug database that can compare field samples with more than 3,500 illicit drugs, metabolites, and other compounds. The library is updated regularly, allowing the G510x to stay on top of emerging threats.

The Griffin G510x is designed and built at FLIR Defense facilities in West Lafayette, Indiana.