§ 15. Mr. TynanTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what recent assessment he has made of the success of measures to interdict the smuggling of drugs into Northern Ireland. [146820]
§ Jane KennedyThe PSNI has had unprecedented success this year in preventing the importation of drugs into Northern Ireland. Drugs Squad officers have had their most successful year to date and I congratulate them for their work.
Some of the recent successes include the seizure of some £1 million worth of cocaine in Northern Ireland in October that led directly to the seizure of over £7 million in ecstasy tablets in Amsterdam by Dutch police. £2 million of cannabis was seized in August—the largest ever seizure of the drug in Northern Ireland and in September police officers seized cannabis resin with an estimated street value of £250,000 in Belfast.
This high level of seizures and arrests demonstrates the PSNI's and the Organised Crime Task Force's ongoing commitment and effectiveness in tackling this problem.