Narcotic Drugs: Illegal Importation (Hansard, 17 October 1985)

Lord Campbell of Croy
My Lords I beg leave to ask the Question standing in my name on the Order Paper.

§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office (Lord Glenarthur)
My Lords, we have recently announced measures which include the provision of further financial support to programmes in Pakistan, Latin America and other countries for reducing the illicit production of drugs; the appointment next year of 150 additional Customs Officers specialising in drugs work; and proposed legislation to allow for the tracing, freezing and confiscation of the proceeds of drug trafficking. The scope for other initiatives is continuously reviewed.

Lord Campbell of Croy
My Lords, I thank my noble friend for his reply. I am sure that there will be a general welcome for his announcement of new, strong measures. Is it intended that they should apply to soft drugs as well as to hard drugs? On the matter of the reported payment of a large sum to Pakistan, can my noble friend state how the Government intend to ensure that that money is spent on the objective intended; namely, the growing of alternative crops which are not connected with drugs?

§ Lord Glenarthur
My Lords, I am grateful for my noble friend's welcome for the measures. Yes, soft drugs are included. Although the advertising campaign is targeted against heroin, it is not confined to it and should help in soft drug areas. So far as concerns the administration of the money in Pakistan and elsewhere, that will be done by the United Nations Fund on Drug Abuse and Control, which reflects the international concern at the drug menace.

§ Lord Mishcon
My Lords, will the noble Lord the Minister accept congratulations from this side of the House on the various measures that are being taken, including the provision of 150 additional specialised Customs officers, for which we have been pressing from this Bench for some time, with replies that rather indicated that the Government did not think it was necessary to make this increase? Would he indicate to the House what measures of an effective nature in 702 connection with the illegal importation of drugs have been taken inside the EEC, so that there is joint action on this matter?

§ Lord Glenarthur
My Lords, I am glad that the noble Lord is pleased that the increase in the number of Customs staff is taking effect. There was of course a difference of emphasis in days gone by about what was best designed to meet the menace, but this measure should be effective. So far as the EEC is concerned, I do not think I can go further than to say that it is an international problem. I do not have figures on the EEC with me, but the UN fund which I mentioned to my noble friend just now is one source which covers the EEC as well.

§ Lord Mishcon
My Lords, I do not want to press the noble Lord the Minister if he has not got the information before him. However, I was asking not about the matters he was referring to, but as to what machinery had been set up for joint action with the EEC on the prevention of illegal importation. Is there any?

§ Lord Glenarthur
My Lords, I am afraid I have not got that information but I shall let the noble Lord know.

Lord Paget of Northampton
My Lords, since a considerable percentage of these drugs come from Afghanistan, and, indeed, drugs seem to be Afghanistan's principal export, have the Government considered asking the Soviet Union for co-operation?

§ Lord Glenarthur
My Lords, I said earlier in answer to my noble friend that this was an international menace. All those concerned internationally will take whatever steps they possibly can to meet the problem. That is why the United Nations look upon the matter as seriously as they do.

Lord Paget of Northampton
My Lords, is the Soviet Union included in the term "international"?

§ Lord Glenarthur
My Lords, it is certainly international in the widest possible sense, but I do not think I can take the answer any further than that.

§ Lord Diamond
My Lords, can the noble Lord say what steps the Government are taking, or are proposing to take, to remove the profit from drug trafficking?

§ Lord Glenarthur
My Lords, I did explain in answer to my noble friend that legislation is being proposed to allow for the tracing, the freezing and the confiscation of the proceeds of drug trafficking.

§ Baroness Phillips
My Lords, bearing in mind that the Minister has told us of the extra 150 Customs and Excise officers, can he confirm that this is in fact a real addition? The Customs and Excise officers themselves have said that there has been a depletion of 1,000 in their number.

§ Lord Glenarthur
My Lords, the figures they have given have been misleading. Yes, there has been a reduction, but since 1979 the number of preventive 703 staff has doubled from 121 to 262, as the figure will be by the end of the financial year 1985–86. Therefore, while there has been a reduction in one particular area there has been an increase in another.

§ Baroness Masham of Ilton
My Lords, may I ask the Minister whether the relatively new drug, "angel dust," which is now causing considerable concern in the United States because of its disastrous effects, is being imported and distributed here?

§ Lord Glenarthur
My Lords, if the noble Baroness is referring to what I believe are known as designer drugs and "angel dust" is merely one of them (although I do not know for sure), I can say that we are monitoring the situation carefully and we shall not hesitate to take action under the Misuse of Drugs Act if necessary.

§ Lord Hughes
My Lords, the Minister has referred to the possible confiscation of traced profits of convicted traffickers. Having regard to the difficulty of tracing these profits, have the Government considered placing the onus on a convicted trafficker to show that any assets he has have not come from drug trafficking?

§ Lord Glenarthur
My Lords, I think that perhaps the noble Lord had better await the Bill and see what it contains.