GRAM OF HEROIN SEIZED EVERY 4 MINUTES
SURGE IN DRUGS BEING TAKEN OFF STREETS
THE amount of heroin seized by police in Greater Manchester has more than quadrupled in a year with a gram now recovered every four minutes on average.
Home Office data has revealed there has been a huge surge in the amount of certain drugs being taken off the streets.
In particular, heroin and ketamine seizures hit their highest levels since modern records began.
The data shows Greater Manchester Police found 119.5kg of heroin in 2017/18 – the equivalent of a gram every four minutes.
The amount seized has more than quadrupled from 25.6kg in 2016/17.
It is the biggest annual haul of heroin since records began in 2009/10.
The amount of ketamine seized has again soared to record levels from 0.4kg found in 2016/17 to 29.6kg in 2017/18.
That’s the equivalent of a dose being found every 18 minutes.
There were 93kg of cocaine seized in the area in 2017/18, double the 42.3kg seized in 2016/17.
Not all drugs saw record amounts seized in Greater Manchester in 2017/18.
The amount of crack and cannabis resin found by police fell year on year, as did the amount of amphetamines. Nonetheless, the figures show that on average across the Greater Manchester Police area:
■ A gram of cocaine is found every six minutes
■ A gram of crack is found every eight hours
■ A dose of ecstasy is found every 18 minutes
■ A gram of heroin is found every four minutes
■ A dose of methadone is found every four hours
■ A dose of morphine is found every 12 hours
■ A gram of herbal cannabis is found every one minute and 44 seconds
■ A gram of cannabis resin is found every five minutes
■ A cannabis plant is found every 23 minutes
■ A gram of amphetamines is found every three hours
■ A gram of ketamine is found every 18 minutes
■ A dose of anabolic steroids is found every two hours and 40 minutes
Nationally, 3,359kg of cocaine was seized by the police and Border Force in 2017/18, down 39 per cent from last year. Some 494kg of heroin was seized, a 37pc decrease on 2016/17, while 64kg of crack was seized, a 64pc increase. Three-fifths (61pc) of heroin seizures in 2017/18 weighed under one gram, as did 57pc of crack and 61pc of cocaine seizures. There was an increase of 37pc in the quantity of ecstasy seized in 2017/18 compared with 2016/17, from 498,331 doses to 682,864 doses. The total quantity of herbal cannabis seized in 2017/18 rose by 142pc from the previous year, from 11,861 kg to 28,666 kg. This is after a considerable fall in the quantity of herbal cannabis seized in 2016/17 compared with 2015/16. The increase over the last year is driven by Border Force seizures of herbal cannabis, which rose by 206pc over this period. The quantity of cannabis resin seized increased by 33pc to 7,781 kg, while a total of 351,881 cannabis plants were seized, an increase of 10pc since 2016/17. This was driven by an 18pc increase in large seizures of over 100 plants, from 629 seizures in 2016/17 to 742 in 2017/18.
In 2017/18, there were 1,593 kg of amphetamines seized, a 28pc increase on 2016/17, when 1,242 kg were seized. This is the highest quantity of amphetamines seized since 2008/09, when 2,939 kg were seized. Across England and Wales (on average):
■ A gram of cocaine is found every nine seconds
■ A gram of crack is found every eight minutes
■ A dose of ecstasy is found every 46 seconds
■ A gram of heroin is found every minute
■ A dose of LSD is found every two hours and 36 minutes
■ A dose of methadone is found every 10 minutes
■ A dose of morphine is found every 57 minutes
■ A gram of herbal cannabis is found every second
■ A gram of cannabis resin is found every four seconds
■ A cannabis plant is found every 1 minute and 30 seconds
■ A gram of amphetamines is found every 20 seconds
■ A gram of ketamine is found every two minutes
■ A dose of anabolic steroids is found every 18 seconds
■ A dose of benzodiazepines is found every 58 seconds