Which agency should unknown substances be sent to for analysis?

• A. Local Police Department
• B. FDLE
• C. FBI
• D. DEA

Answer: (B)

When unknown substances are found, they should be sent to a certified forensic laboratory for proper analysis. This ensures standardized testing, validated methods, and a documented chain of custody so the results are admissible in court. In Florida, that role is filled by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) forensic lab, which handles presumptive screening and confirmatory testing for unknown drugs or substances.

Local agencies can perform initial field tests, but final confirmation and more advanced analyses (such as GC-MS or LC-MS, toxicology, etc.) are typically conducted by the state-level FDLE lab to maintain consistency and reliability across cases. Federal agencies like the FBI or DEA perform analyses in federal or specialized contexts; they are not the usual first stop for routine unknown-substance analysis in standard local investigations. So, the proper practice is to submit to the state forensic laboratory, in this case, the FDLE.