New Jersey

Thousands of New Jersey Drug Cases Could Be in Question Due to Botched Lab Work

The New Jersey Attorney General's Office has notified prosecutors that a lab technician botched an analysis in a drug case, calling into question more than 7,800 criminal cases he's worked on over the last decade.

Elie Honig, director of the Division of Criminal Justice, wrote in a memo last week that Kamal Shah was observed spending insufficient time analyzing a substance to determine if it was marijuana. Honig says Shah recorded an anticipated result without properly conducting the analysis.

Shah worked in the drug unit of the state police's North Regional Laboratory.

A spokesman for the state Attorney General's Office says Shah hasn't been charged. He wouldn't say whether Shah is under criminal investigation.

Shah was suspended without pay in January. He couldn't be reached for comment.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
Contact Us