HC Deb 16 April 1996 vol 275 c368W
Mr. Flynn

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his estimate of the totals of class A and class B drugs confiscated at the United Kingdom's borders in each of the past five years; and what estimate he has made of the percentage these figures constitute of the totals imported into the United Kingdom. [24839]

Mr. Heathcoat-Amory

HM Customs and Excise has primary responsibility for preventing and detecting the illegal importation and exportation of controlled drugs. Customs seizes illicit consignments both at the United Kingdom's borders and inland, the latter frequently resulting from controlled deliveries or following an initial border seizure. The Department does not hold at the centre information broken down between border and inland seizures, but the following information on total seizures may be helpful.

The weights of drugs seized in each of the past five calendar years and their estimated street level value when they were seized were:

Year Class A (kg) value(£) Class B (kg) value(£)
1995 2,604 254,579,620 53,039 202,945,811
1994 3,301 298,730,928 47,761 251,691,927
1993 1,549 121,761,673 52,633 244,852,477
1992 2,702 403,908,338 44,673 141,149,414
1991 1,763 218,660,819 27,463 89,266,608

The proportion of the total quantity of illicit drugs targeted on the UK which is intercepted by Customs cannot, by the very nature of the trade, be estimated with any degree of confidence. While there has been academic research into the size of the UK drugs market, this has largely been based on an extrapolation from the numbers of registered heroin addicts. Similar use data are not available for other drug types. This research does not provide a sound basis on which any reliable performance indicator could be developed by Customs. It is, however, known that for each kilogram of drugs sized, more is prevented from entering the United Kingdom by the subsequent investigation of the trafficking organisation responsible for the smuggling attempt, the arrest of those involved and the confiscation of their drug-related assets.