Seizures of Drugs in England and Wales 2007/08

This annual statistical bulletin contains figures for seizures of drugs made in 2007/08 by local police forces and HM Revenue and Customs within England and Wales. There are two main measures of drug seizures; number of seizures made and the quantity seized.

In 2007/08 there were 216,792 drug seizures made in England and Wales by the police and HM Revenue and Customs, an increase of 17 per cent since 2006/07 and the highest since electronic records began in 1973. There were increases in the number of seizures for all classes of drugs when compared to 2006/07:

• Class A drugs seizures increased by eight per cent;

  • Within class A drugs, cocaine seizures increased by 26 per cent, crack by nine per cent and heroin by two per cent;

  • Cocaine was the most commonly seized class A drug, as last year.

• Class B drugs seizures increased by four per cent;

  • Within class B drugs, amphetamine seizures increased by five per cent;

• Class C seizures increased by 20 per cent;

  • Within class C drugs, herbal cannabis seizures increased by 26 per cent;

  • Seizures of cannabis plants increased by 47 per cent;

  • Cannabis resin seizures decreased by five per cent.

The following quantity of drugs were seized in 2007/08:

• 3.4 tonnes of cocaine;

• 1.0 tonnes of heroin;

• 947,000 doses of ecstasy;

• 1.8 tonnes of amphetamines;

• 19.9 tonnes of herbal cannabis;

• 16.6 tonnes of cannabis resin; and

• 508,460 cannabis plants.

In addition to the report, tables providing a greater level of detail on drug seizures have een published.

Drug seizure statistics can fluctuate from year to year and are not a measure of drug revalence in society.

Notes to editors

The Home Office bulletin on drugs, ‘Drug Misuse Declared: Findings from the 2007/08 British Crime Survey, England and Wales’ was published on 30 October 2008. Both reports are available online on the UK Statistics Authority website as well as the Home Office Research, Development and Statistics website.

Link for Seizures of Drugs in England and Wales, 2007/08:

http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs09/hosb0809.pdf

Link for latest Drug Misuse publication:

http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs08/hosb1308.pdf

© Crown copyright material reproduced with the permission of the Controller of HMSO and the Queen's Printer for Scotland