Dealers hit by cutting agent seizure

Two tonnes of a chemical used to bulk out cocaine has been destroyed following a long-term operation by the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA). By seizing the ‘cutting agent’, SOCA believes it has prevented large amounts of cocaine being diluted and distributed in the UK, cutting drug dealer profits by millions.

The chemical Benzocaine arrived in four consignments to the UK in one week. The importers were unable to provide SOCA with evidence of any legitimate customers in the UK, so the haul was incinerated.

In recent years, dealers have begun using pharmaceutical substances, including anaesthetics like Benzocaine and Lidocaine, rather than inert substances like sugar and baby milk, because their anaesthetic properties mimic the numbing effect of cocaine, and their consistency resembles the drug more closely. By the time the drug has been cut at every stage of the trafficking process, it can reach street level with a purity as low as two per cent.

Sharon Lemon, SOCA deputy director, said: “This seizure has taken millions out of drug dealers’ pockets – money which would have been reinvested in crime, [but] this is an ongoing process. We can expect to see traffickers try to switch to other methods. We know what these are and will be watching.”

Last month, a landmark ruling saw a woman jailed for nine years after the UK Border Agency (UKBA) Border Force proved that importing a cutting agent illegally was tantamount to supplying cocaine.