§ 21. Mr. HannamTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many seizures of illicit drugs have been made by police and Customs in 1989 to date; and what is the estimated value of drugs seized.
§ Mr. MellorAs I stated in my reply to a question from my hon. Friend the Member for Chelmsford (Mr. Burns) on 5 December, in the period 1 January to 6 November 1989 Customs reported a provisional total of 6,830 seizures of controlled drugs. It is estimated that these would have had an equivalent street value of some £230 million. Comprehensive figures are not yet available for police seizures in 1989; the latest information is for 1988 when police made 32,947 seizures and customs 5,288 seizures of controlled drugs.
§ 24. Mr. CryerTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the control of drug trafficking at frontiers by 1992.
§ Mr. MellorAs we have said on previous occasions, the Government are determined to maintain the frontier checks necessary to control drug trafficking and to promote close co-operation at the operational level between law enforcement agencies. A European committee to combat drugs has been established and held its inaugural meeting in Brussels on 1 December. My right hon. and learned Friend has nominated me to serve on the committee as United Kingdom national drug coordinator. Among the priorities which the committee has been asked to address are those of strengthening of controls at external frontiers and development of closer international co-operation between law enforcement agencies, as well as the need for early ratification by all member states of the 1988 UN convention against illicit drug trafficking.
§ 28. Mr. Tim SmithTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what are the latest totals for assets confiscated from convicted drug traffickers and assets frozen pending trials for drug trafficking offences.
§ 66. Sir Michael ShawTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what are the latest totals for assets confiscated from convicted drug traffickers and assets frozen pending trials for drug trafficking offences.
§ 72. Mr. ThorneTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what are the latest totals for assets confiscated from convicted drug traffickers and for assets frozen pending trials for drug trafficking offences.
§ Mr. John PattenIn 1988, £8.1 million was ordered to be confiscated by the courts under the Drug Trafficking Offences Act 1986. About £600,000 is known to have been recovered in confiscation orders during the financial year 1988–89; this mainly relates to orders made in 1987. The national drugs intelligence unit estimates that confiscation and restraint orders exceeding £13 million and £20 million respectively have been made since the Act came into force in January 1987.
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§ 46. Mr. Donald ThompsonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers are now employed in regional crime squad drugs wings.
§ Mr. Peter LloydThere were 228 officers on the strength of regional crime squads drugs wings on 27 November. In No. 9 region, which covers the Metropolitan police district, drugs investigation is not undertaken by the regional crime squad but by the Metropolitan police central drugs squad. Its strength on 27 November was 110.
My right hon. and learned Friend announced on 23 November at columns 12–13 that he is prepared to approve a further 51 police posts for regional crime squads specifically for their work in connection with drugs.
§ 59. Mr. MurphyTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the estimated revenue cost of the new anti-drugs network he recently announced.
§ Mr. MellorSubject to Parliament's approval of the Supply Estimates, up to £2.3 million is being made available in 1990–91 for the drug prevention initiative which was announced on 11 October 1989.
§ 64. Sir Fergus MontgomeryTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many British drug liaison officers are now stationed overseas.
§ Mr. MellorThere are at present 17 United Kingdom drug liaison officers based abroad.
§ Mr. VazTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many times and on what dates the ministerial group on drugs has met since its creation.
§ Mr. MellorThe ministerial group on the misuse of drugs has met 39 times, on the following dates
1984–23 July, 1 October, 1 November, 12 December1985–29 January, 4 March, 27 March, 7 May, 5 June,25 June, 30 September, 29 October, 10 December1986–29 January, 26 February, 16 April, 20 May, 24 June, 6 October, 18 November, 17 December1987–26 January, 4 March, 27 April, 6 July, 29 September, 18 November1988–25 January, 16 March, 4 May, 27 June, 29 September, 21 November1989–9 February, 11 April, 23 May, 26 July, 16 October, 6 December
§ Mr. VazTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the street value of the drugs destroyed by the authorities over the past 10 years; and if he will state the figure in pounds sterling for each year.
§ Mr. David MellorRecords are not kept centrally of drugs destroyed following seizures by police or customs. Information about seizures of controlled drugs over the past 10 years was published in Home Office Statistical Bulletin Issue 30/89 "Statistics of the Misuse of Drugs: Seizures and Offenders Dealt With, United Kingdom, 1988" a copy of which is in the Library.