UK drug crisis as seizures of cannabis hit record levels

THE nation’s drug crisis was laid bare yesterday by figures showing a record 69 tons of marijuana were confiscated last year.

The amount of herbal cannabis, a Class B psychoactive drug, seized by police and Border Force, doubled year on year from 35 tons in 2021/22 to nearly 70 tons in 2022/23.

The Home Office said it was the ‘largest recorded quantity of herbal cannabis seized since records began’. Authorities confiscated 92 tons of illegal drugs in the year to March 2023 – the most in 18 years. It means that drugs with a street value of £2billion were confiscated.

The data also revealed that the amount of powder cocaine, a Class A drug, seized had doubled to a record 3.4 tons. Crack cocaine seizures were up 25 per cent to 54 kilos, but remained below a peak of 82 three years earlier.

Seizures of heroin were down by a third to 950 kilos. Ketamine, a veterinary tranquilliser which has surged in popularity as an illegal recreational drug, fell from a record high of 1.8tons to 1.4tons last year. By comparison, only three kilos of ketamine was confiscated in 2006/07.

The figures covering England and Wales also revealed there were 191,623 seizures in the year – an average of 525 a day – up one per cent on the previous 12 months.

Cannabis remained the most commonly-confiscated drug, and seizures increased by 7 per cent.

Chris Philp, policing minister, said: ‘We will not relent when it comes to disrupting criminal enterprises and locking up those involved in this soulless trade.

‘Today’s stats speak for themselves, sending a clear message to criminals that they will be caught. This Government takes a zero-tolerance approach to both supply and possession of illegal drugs and I am grateful to the dedicated Border Force and police officers for protecting our communities from these dangerous substances.’

Border Force’s 25,834 drug seizures was the highest since records began.

Tom Pursglove, borders minister, said: ‘We are committed to stopping dangerous drugs from coming into the country, where they fuel violence and exploitation.’

Harry Shapiro, director of drug advice organisation DrugWise, said it was unclear why seizures of some types of drug had risen so sharply.

He added: ‘It may be that law enforcement has had a stream of intelligence from a good source which has led to higher seizures.’

However, it is difficult to make a link between seizures and the quantity of illegal drugs being consumed.

‘Clear message for criminals’