§ Mr. FlynnTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many seizures of methylamphetamine have been made by(a) police and (b) HM Customs, in the last 10 years; and what was the total quantity seized. [79902]
§ Mr. George HowarthFigures for the number of seizures of methylamphetamine made by the police and Customs and submitted to the Forensic Science Service for analysis between 1995 and 1998 are given in the table. It should be noted that full information is not available for 1996 and 1997. Equivalent figures for earlier years
Purity of heroin submitted for analysis to the Forensic Science Service by police and Customs, for specific bands, 1997 Percentage purity Number of seizures Police Percentage of FSS total Quantity seized (grams) Number of seizures Customs Percentage of FSS total Quantity seized (grams) Less than 20 165 14 — 13 16 161,798 20–29 250 21 — 16 20 40,799 30–39 272 23 — 13 16 111,978 40–49 277 23 — 11 14 437,077 50–59 185 15 — 17 21 84,742 60 and over 57 5 — 11 14 261,723 Total submitted to FSS 1,206 100 — 81 100 1,098,117 UK total 12,311 488,700 163 1,747,200 Sources:
Forensic Science Service; and Home Office Research, Development and Statistics Directorate (UK totals)
580Wcan be provided only at disproportionate cost. Not all seizures of controlled drugs are necessarily submitted for analysis. Details of all seizures, whether analysed or not, can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Until late 1997, methylamphetamine represented less than 0.1 per cent. of all amphetamine cases in the United Kingdom. Furthermore, the amounts seized (mostly white powders) were generally small with typical purities of less than 10 per cent. The weight of tablets varies but is typically in the range 250–300 milligrams and perhaps has a drug content of 5 per cent.
Use of this substance is very rare in Europe but is more prevalent in the United States of America and Japan.
Seizures of methylamphetamine submitted to the Forensic Science Service for analysis by police and Customs 1995–98 Year Number of seizures Quantity seized Police 1995 12 309 grams, 1 tablet 1996 7 23 grams, 25 tablets 1997 (April-December only) 34 Less than 7 grams, 743 tablets 1998 81 7.75 grams, 4,955 tablets (includes one seizure of 3,000 tablets and another of 400 tablets) Customs 1995 Not available Not available 1996 (July-December only) 1 0.96 grams 1997 0 0 1998 2 19.24 grams Source:
Forensic Science Service