§ Mr. FlynnTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the proportion of(a) heroin and (b) cocaine seized in the last 12 months for which figures are available, with a degree of purity of (i) less than 20 per cent., (ii) 20 to 30 per cent., (iii) 30 to 40 per cent., (iv) 40 to 50 per cent., (v) 50 to 60 per cent. and (vi) 60 per cent. and above; and what quantity was seized in each band. [79898]
§ Mr. George HowarthFigures for the purity of heroin and cocaine submitted for analysis to the Forensic Science Service in 1997, the last year for which data are available, are given in the tables. The figures have been broken down by type of enforcement agency since the amounts seized in each purity band are only readily available for Customs. Further information can be provided only at disproportionate cost. It should be noted that only a small proportion of drugs seized are submitted for forensic analysis.
581W
Purity of cocaine 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 39 6 — 1 less than 1 309 20–29 66 10 — 5 1 3,592 30–39 78 12 — 12 3 15,714 40–49 94 15 — 18 4 24,070 50–59 81 13 — 55 12 49,897 60 and over 275 43 — 385 81 1,519,438 Total submitted to FSS 633 100 — 476 100 1,613,021 UK total 3,003 279,000 684 2,071,200 Sources:
Forensic Science Service; and Home Office Research, Development and Statistics Directorate (UK totals)