JALLOH v. GERMANY JUDGMENT 21 76. This finding does not by itself warrant the conclusion that the impugned intervention contravenes Article 3. As noted above (see paragraph 70 above), the Court has found on several occasions that the Convention does not, in principle, prohibit recourse to a forcible medical intervention that will assist in the investigation of an offence. However, any interference with a person’s physical integrity carried out with the aim of obtaining evidence must be the subject of rigorous scrutiny, with the following factors being of particular importance: the extent to which forcible medical intervention was necessary to obtain the evidence, the health risks for the suspect, the manner in which the procedure was carried out and the physical pain and mental suffering it caused, the degree of medical supervision available and the effects on the suspect’s health (compare and contrast also the criteria established by the United States courts in similar cases – see paragraphs 51-52 above). In the light of all the circumstances of the individual case, the intervention must not attain the minimum level of severity that would bring it within the scope of Article 3. The Court will now examine each of these elements in turn. 77. As regards the extent to which the forcible medical intervention was necessary to obtain the evidence, the Court notes that drug trafficking is a serious offence. It is acutely aware of the problem confronting Contracting States in their efforts to combat the harm caused to their societies through the supply of drugs (see, in particular, D. v. the United Kingdom, 2 May 1997, § 46, Reports 1997-III). However, in the present case it was clear before the impugned measure was ordered and implemented that the street dealer on whom it was imposed had been storing the drugs in his mouth and could not, therefore, have been offering drugs for sale on a large scale. This is reflected in the sentence (a six-month suspended prison sentence and probation), which is at the lower end of the range of possible sentences. The Court accepts that it was vital for the investigators to be able to determine the exact amount and quality of the drugs that were being offered for sale. However, it is not satisfied that the forcible administration of emetics was indispensable in the instant case to obtain the evidence. The prosecuting authorities could simply have waited for the drugs to pass through his system naturally. It is significant in this connection that many other member States of the Council of Europe use this method to investigate drugs offences. 78. As regards the health risks attendant on the forcible medical intervention, the Court notes that it is a matter of dispute between the parties whether and to what extent the administration of ipecacuanha syrup through a tube introduced into the applicant’s nose and the injection of apomorphine posed a risk to his health. Whether or not such measures are dangerous is, as has been noted above (see paragraphs 41-44), also a matter of dispute among medical experts. While some consider it to be entirely harmless and in the suspect’s best interest, others argue that in particular the use of a