Couple detained at Punta Cana airport claim household product was mistaken for cocaine
A Waterloo couple is grateful to be back home after they say they were detained for several hours at a Punta Cana airport, accused of carrying drugs.
Jamie and Dan Yanke travel to Dominican Republic often and said they never had a problem until earlier this month – changing the way they will travel forever.
The couple said their luggage was flagged at the airport before they boarded their flight back to Waterloo.
Jamie said she and several other passengers were taken in for questioning. She said that is where she learned their luggage was being inspected for an illegal substance.
“When we walked into the room there was a white substance on the table,” said Jamie. “They explained that they will be testing the product for cocaine on a cocaine test wipe.”
Henrik Andersen tells CTV News his family were four of 12 passengers taken into questioning.
“It was actually my daughter, my 8 year old whose suitcase it was, so they asked for her.”
Andersen said the instant security tested the substance, the wipe turned blue, indicating it was positive for cocaine.
“[My daughter] was freaked out, she was grabbing me tightly. [It was] a little traumatizing.”
Travellers blames household product
The passengers involved had packed a bag of DampRid, a moisture absorber, which can appear to look similar to cocaine.
The cocaine test wipes turn blue on contact to indicate a positive result.
“I remember turning to Dan and saying ‘am I going to a Dominican jail tonight?” said Jamie.
DampRid seen in their Waterloo home. (CTV News/Tyler Kelaher)
Former police officer reacts
Scott Blandford, a public safety professor at Wilfrid Laurier University and former police officer said there’s been a huge drug problem moving through several Caribbean countries including in the Dominican Republic.
“You are not in Canada anymore. You’re going to be liable and susceptible to their laws,” said Blandford.
False positive
After being released, the couple said they paid around $1,000 out of pocket to get home the next day.
Now the couple wonders how a household product could be mistaken for illegal drugs.
“They were going to detain us based on a wet wipe,” said Dan.
The couple said they purchased the same test kits police used and claim the DampRid caused a false positive when they tried it at home.
Last month the University Of Pennsylvania released a study showing that presumptive field drug test kits are known to produce false positive errors and were never designed or intended to provide conclusive evidence.
A photo of the cocaine detection wipe at their Waterloo home. (CTV News/Tyler Kelaher)
Why the cocaine test turns blue
At the University of Waterloo, chemistry professors Michael Chong and Graham Murphy discovered the pink cocaine test wipes contain cobalt thiocyanate, which turns blue when it comes in contact with cocaine.
Murphy says the test strips are packaged damp and will also turn blue when the moisture inside dries up.
“When cobalt is wet it is pink in colour,” Murphy said. “[DampRid] is a dehydrating agent. It will suck moisture out of the environment or a localized environment [such as] a test strip.”
Murphy adds once the Damprid touches the wipes it will instantly turn blue, indicating a false-positive for cocaine.
"As we saw in this case, an innocent household product led to a false positive cocaine test, and resulted in financial harm and emotional distress," said Murphy. "If our deductions about their underlying chemistry prove correct, these tests strips may have a design flaw that warrants immediate attention."
The Yankes said the experience has changed the way they'll prepare for airport security in the future.
Next time they go on vacation, any questionable product will stay at home.
Andersen says he hopes the Dominican government takes some responsibility for the incident.
“It was my 8-year-old daughter who was there. My 10-year-old was seeing me basically pulled into another room not understanding why we were being pulled over. It’s scary for them,” Andersen said.
CTV News reached out to the Dominican Republic’s National Drug Control Direction, but did not hear back.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Kitchener family says their 10-year-old needs life-saving drug that cost $600,000
Raneem, 10, lives with a neurological condition and liver disease and needs Cholbam, a medication, for a longer and healthier life.
'Do not consume': Gift Chocolate recalled due to undeclared milk, soy
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has issued a recall for a specific chocolate brand sold in Ontario and Quebec.
Key mediator Qatar urges Israel and Hamas to do more to reach a cease-fire deal
A senior Qatari official has urged Israel and Hamas to show "more commitment and more seriousness" in ceasefire negotiations in interviews with Israeli media, as pressure builds to reach a deal that would free some Israeli hostages and bring a ceasefire in the nearly seven-month-long war in Gaza.
BREAKING Quebec to invest $603 million to protect the French language
Quebec will invest $603 million over five years to counter the decline of French in the province, French Language Minister Jean-Francois Roberge announced Sunday.
Health minister 'deeply appreciative' of doctors but capital gains changes here to stay
Health Minister Mark Holland says while he is 'deeply appreciative' of the work doctors in Canada do, the federal government has no plans to scrap the proposed capital gains tax changes outlined in the latest budget, despite opposition from the Canadian Medical Association.
Invasive and toxic hammerhead worms make themselves at home in Ontario
Ontario is now home to an invasive and toxic worm species that can grow up to three feet long and can be dangerous to small animals and pets.
Here's where Canadians are living abroad: report
A recent report sheds light on Canadians living abroad--estimated at around four million people in 2016—and the public policies that impact them.
Murder charge laid after man falls to death from Toronto apartment balcony
One person has been charged with second-degree murder in connection with the death of a man who fell from a balcony following an altercation inside a Toronto apartment building.
Dozens in Italy give a fascist salute on the anniversary of Mussolini's execution
Dozens of people raised their arms in the fascist salute and shouted a fascist chant during ceremonies Sunday to honor Italian dictator Benito Mussolini on the 79th anniversary of his execution.