Delayed detection of trace triacetone triperoxide (TATP) from post-blast plastic samples, Bandung bombing, Indonesia – a case report constrained by operational reality

In December 2022 a suicide bombing occurred at a police station in Bandung, Indonesia. Constrained by operational reality, post-blast debris was collected several hours after the incident, packaged in clip seal plastic bags and stored at room temperature for two weeks in a tropical environment (~20–28ºC), under circumstances where it was not possible to fully mitigate potential loss of volatile explosive residues. Nonetheless, during subsequent laboratory examinations, trace amounts of the volatile explosive triacetone triperoxide (TATP) were identified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis of extracts of plastic pieces derived from the explosive device. This is notable as TATP is generally considered difficult to detect from post-blast residues not collected and appropriately stored in a timely manner. Based on these observations and analysis of the literature, the authors hypothesize that the TATP residue may have persisted due to potential micro-scale physical entrapment within heat-damaged plastic surfaces formed during the explosion, potentially supplemented by adsorption onto the plastic. While acknowledging limitations of this single-operational case study, these findings are relevant to forensic practitioners, suggesting that under certain circumstances TATP may remain detectable days to weeks after an explosion, with implications for post-blast evidence triage and analytical decision-making in non-ideal operational environments.