§ Mr. FlynnTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the total value of seizures of heroin by(a) customs and (b) police in each of the last 10 years; and what percentage he estimates those figures represent of the totals of heroin consumed in the United Kingdom. [31485]
§ Mr. George HowarthThe value of heroin seized by Her Majesty's Customs and Excise in the last ten years was as follows:
Year Value (£ million—not inflation adjusted) 1987 48.9 1988 59.3 1989 85.3 1990 81.2 1991 40.0 1992 51.6 1993 97.9 1994 57.4 1995 115.6 1996 59.3 Whilst Customs produce estimates of the value of their drug seizures, police forces do not make similar estimates. This is because value varies from time to time and from place to place, and is dependent on purity. Information on established street value is not collected centrally.
Since drug misuse is by its nature a clandestine activity, there is no reliable information on the estimated quantity of drugs consumed.