£3bn worth of illegal drugs seized by Border Force last year
Border Force seized 119 tonnes of illegal drugs with a street value of £3 billion last year in the highest number of seizures on record.
The volume of drugs seized by police and Border Force in the year ending March 2024 increased by 52 per cent compared with the previous 12 months.
Combined action from police and Border Force resulted in a total of 217,644 drug seizures in England and Wales last year, a 13 per cent increase compared with 2023. Border Force alone made a total of 40,639 drug seizures, the highest since records began and a 57 per cent increase from the previous year.
The total quantity of cocaine seized by Border Force and police rose by 52 per cent to more than 28 tonnes.
Border officials also seized 74 tonnes of herbal cannabis, the largest quantity since records began in 1973, and a 58 per cent increase from the previous year.
Minister for Migration and Citizenship Seema Malhotra, who visited Border Force officers at Stansted Airport on Thursday (January 16), said: “We are clear in our determination to protect the public from illegal drugs which pose a threat to people’s lives.
“I’d like to thank our dedicated Border Force officers who work tirelessly to seize illegal drugs, alongside our police forces and National Crime Agency (NCA), who keep them off our streets and the public safe.
“These statistics send a clear message to organised criminal gangs that they will be caught and face the full force of the law if they try to smuggle drugs into our country.”
Working in partnership with police forces, the NCA and international partners, Border Force uses a range of methods, including hi-tech search equipment, to detect and stop illegal and restricted goods that criminals attempt to bring into the country.