NCJ Number
201376
Date Published
2003
Length
4 pages
Annotation
This document presents statistics for drug seizures made in the United Kingdom by law enforcement agencies in 2001.
Abstract
The statistics relate to drugs controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. Drugs are divided into three categories (A, B, and C) according to their harmfulness. Police made the seizures with information from HM Customs and Excise. Nearly 56 kg of crack were recovered, more than double the amount in 2000. Just under 4 tons of heroin were seized, a 16 percent increase on the previous year. The number of doses/tablets of ecstasy-type drugs seized rose to 7.7 million, an increase of 17 percent. The overall number of drug seizures rose by just under 5 percent to about 131,000. Seizures involving Class A drugs increased by 10 percent to fewer than 38,000. Cannabis seizures accounted for 71 percent of all seizures. HM Customs and the National Crime Squad (NCS) generally seized larger amounts while local police forces made a greater number of smaller seizures. Police seizures of crack, methadone, amphetamines, cannabis plants, and benzodiazepines were greater than either the NCS or Customs in terms of amounts recovered. The amounts of Class C drugs seized tend to vary considerably year to year. The quantity of benzodiazepines seized rose to over 11 kg, whereas there was little change in respect to temazepam. Considerable quantities of anabolic steroids were seized, mostly by Customs. The number of times Class B drugs were seized rose by 3 percent to fewer than 99,000. 2 figures, 2 tables