Cocaine seizures triple to 9½ tons in a year

THE shocking scale of the country’s cocaine problem was laid bare last night as figures showed seizures of the drug have hit record levels.

In all, nine and a half tons of cocaine were confiscated in 2018-19 – almost triple the amount seized in the previous year (three and a third tons), official figures show.

It was also the largest quantity seized since records began in 1973, the Home Office data covering England and Wales reveals.

Police forces and the Border Force made 153,136 drug seizures in total during the year – equivalent to one every three and a half minutes – a rise of 12 per cent year-onyear. Seizures of all Class A drugs, the most dangerous and addictive substances, increased 13 per cent to nearly 33,000 incidents, while the amount of heroin seized rose 53 per cent year-on-year to 1,660lb.

Meanwhile, the amount of ecstasy intercepted was the largest for 12 years. Some 2.2million doses were seized, compared with 683,000 in 2017-18.

And more than 54,000 doses of LSD were confiscated – a rise of more than 1,500 per cent on the previous year when there were just 3,300. David Raynes, of the National Drug Prevention Alliance, said the figures showed Britain was ‘ under sustained attack’ by drugs traffickers. He added: ‘There is over-supply in the drugs market worldwide and a lot of organised crime gangs trying to make money out of it.’

According to Home Office figures published earlier this year, 2.9 per cent of people aged 16 to 59 admitted to using cocaine at least once in the previous 12 months, equating to around 976,000 people.

In 2011-12, the figure was 2.1 per cent. Last year, then home secretary Sajid Javid warned middle- class professionals who take cocaine and ecstasy that they were fuelling bloodshed on the nation’s streets.

He condemned these recreational drug users for being responsible for warfare among gangs, including those running county lines networks, adding: ‘No one is innocent if they are taking illegal drugs.’

Deputy chief constable Jason Harwin, of the National Police Chiefs’ Council, said: ‘Police forces have substantially increased our seizure of the highest-harm illegal drugs over the past year.

‘These drugs feed a multi-million pound illicit market and are a key driver in other serious crimes.’