§ Mr. Alex CarlileTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the latest estimate of the number of people involved in the illegal drugs market in the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement. [12726]
§ Mr. Sackville[holding answer 1 February 1996]: Since drug dealing is an illegal and, therefore, clandestine activity it is not possible to produce a reliable estimate of the number of people involved.
The number of offenders found guilty, cautioned or dealt with by compounding for drug offences is contained in table 1.1 of "Statistics of Drugs Seizures and Offenders Dealt with, United Kingdom, 1994", a copy of which is in the Library.