More than 220,000 seizures of illegal drugs made by police and Border Force
Drugs seizures by police and Border Force have increased by more than 20 per cent according to latest figures.
A report issued by the Home Office on Thursday (February 3) shows there were 223,106 seizures of illegal drugs in England and Wales in the year ending March 2021, up 21 per cent on the previous year (183,646).
Seizures of Class A drugs increased by 17 per cent and despite seizures of cocaine down by six per cent, the overall quantity of cocaine seized increased by 161 per cent to 11,148kg. In total, there were 17,641 seizures of cocaine in 2020/21.
For the third year running, the number of drug seizures made by Border Force for all drug types has soared – up 79 per cent from 2019/20 – which it says has been driven by “intelligence-led approaches to head-off drugs and the proceeds of drugs as they cross the UK border”.
The vast majority (89 per cent) of all drug seizures were made by police forces, with the remaining 11 per cent made by Border Force. Although police forces were responsible for more seizures, Border Force seized a much greater quantity of drugs.
Home Secretary Priti Patel said: “UK law enforcement is going after the criminals who blight so many communities and destroy lives through drugs.
“I continue to back the police and Border Force to use all available law enforcement powers to stop drugs from coming into our country and go after the kingpins destroying communities.”
Class A seizures included 11,148kg of cocaine, 1,973kg of heroin and 1.4 million doses of ecstasy, while Class B seizures included 17,213kg of herbal cannabis, 1,990kg of cannabis resin, and 187kg of ketamine
Class C drugs seized included 1.64 million doses of anabolic steroids, 55kg of GHB and 415,000 doses of temazepam
Steve Dann, Border Force chief operating officer said: “Drug supply chains are violent and exploitative, impacting communities across the UK.
“These seizures send a clear message to anyone prepared to smuggle illegal drugs into the country that we remain committed and prepared to tackle drug supply chains.
“Border Force Officers involved in these seizures can be proud of their work in stopping these dangerous drugs from entering our communities.”
Policing and Crime Minister Kit Malthouse added: “These seizures mean some nasty villains out there are nursing huge losses and probably can’t pay their debts. Good.
“Drug gangs ruin lives and dismantling their conspiracies for good means breaking their businesses and destroying their profits. Well done to the Border Force and the police for tackling this head on”.
Last month, Border Force officers seized 103kgs of cocaine with an estimated street value £7.5 million that had been concealed within a container of 20 pallets of bananas.
The container had recently arrived at a Southampton container port from Colombia on board the Merchant Vessel Maersk Bali.
The Home Office says securing the border to crack down on supply chains and criminal gangs profiting from the trade in illegal drugs is a key part of the Government’s ten-year Drug Strategy to tackle the harms caused by drug misuse.
“The strategy will see £300 million invested in pursuing and closing down the ruthless gangs who exploit and threaten our most vulnerable in society for financial gain through the illegal drugs trade and £780 million invested in treatment and recovery,” it added.