§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what quantities and value of contraband of(a) tobacco, (b) drugs, (c) alcohol and (d) other goods was seized by Customs and Excise in each of the last four years; what quantity and value of contraband alcohol was disposed of, and at what cost; and what are equivalent figures for the latest previous years for which statistics are available; [24805]
(2) if he will list for each of the last 10 years the quantities and estimated value of contraband seized, categorised by type, and indicate the means by which it has been destroyed. [24804]
§ Mr. Andrew SmithDetails of goods seized—including, where appropriate—their value, can be found in Customs Annual Reports, available from the House of Commons Library. Full seizure figures for 2000–01 will be published in the Annual Report for that year in due course. Details of tobacco seizures for 2000–01 were published in Customs' "Tackling Indirect Tax Fraud" paper on 27 November, also available from the House Library.
The disposal of alcohol and tobacco is covered by a single contract which also includes storage and transportation, and it is not possible to distinguish between the costs that relate to each commodity.
Seized goods are in general disposed of as follows:
Goods Disposal Drugs Burned at secure Government establishments Firearms Handed over the police firearms squads Alcohol products Recycled into agricultural feed or low grade spirit fuel, or poured away Tobacco products Shredded and compressed into pellets for furnace fuel Live animals Handed over to RSPCA quarantine facilities Endangered species Handed over to zoos or returned to their country of origin