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Big increase in drug shipments

Jenny Booth

The Scotsman

Wednesday 15 Jul 1998

Shipments of drugs arriving in Britain are getting larger
and are attracting higher street prices than ever before,
according to the annual report by the National Audit Office.

The average street value of a drugs seizure by customs
officers has risen by 75 per cent since the start of the
decade, to more than UKP80,000 at today's prices. The size
of shipments has risen even more.

The average heroin seizure has increased by 140 per cent in
weight since 1990 while consignments of cannabis have
doubled in size. Shipments of synthetic drugs such as
ecstasy have increased by more than 600 per cent.

Despite the increases, British customs officers are
regularly beating their performance targets in breaking
drugs rings and preventing imports. However, the prices of
drugs on the street have not been affected.

"Trends in street level prices of drugs over the last nine
years do not suggest that, nationally, supply has become
more restricted relative to demand," said Sir John Bourn,
the head of the National Audit Office, in his report.

From 1997 to 1998, customs officers seized about UKP3.3
billion of drugs entering Britain - nearly double their
target of UKP1.7 million. They also broke 130 drugs
smuggling rings, well above their target of 108.

 

 

 

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