Parliamentary Search

Written question asked by Paul Flynn (Labour) on Wednesday, 31 March 1999, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 21 April 1999. It was answered by George Howarth (Labour) on Wednesday, 21 April 1999 on behalf of the Home Office.

Home Office

Question
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what was the proportion of amphetamines seized in the last 12 months for which figures are available, with a degree of purity of (a) less than 5 per cent., (b) 5 to 10 per cent., (c) 10 to 20 per cent., (d) 20 to 30 per cent., (e) 30 to 40 per cent., (f) 40 to 50 per cent., (g) 50 to 60 per cent., (h) 60 to 70 per cent. and (i) 70 per cent. and above; and what quantity was seized in each band.
Answer

Mr. Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the proportion of amphetamines seized in the last 12 months for which figures are available, with a degree of purity of (a) less than 5 per cent., (b) 5 to 10 per cent., (c) 10 to 20 per cent., (d) 20 to 30 per cent., (e) 30 to 40 per cent., (f) 40 to 50 per cent., (g) 50 to 60 per cent., (h) 60 to 70 per cent. and (i) 70 per cent. and above; and what quantity was seized in each band. [79901] Mr. George Howarth: Figures for the purity of amphetamines submitted for analysis to the Forensic Science Service in 1997, the last year for which data are available, are given in the Table. The figures have been broken down by type of enforcement agency since the amounts sized in each purity band are readily available only for Customs. Further information can be provided only at disproportionate cost. It should be noted that only a small proportion of drugs seized are submitted for forensic analysis. Purity of amphetamines submitted for analysis to the Forensic Science Service by police and Customs, for specific bands, 1997 _________________________________________________________________________________________________. Police Customs Percentage purity Number of Percentage of Quantity seized Number of Percentage of Quantity seized seizures FSS total (grams) seizures FSS total (grams) Less than 5 553 36 -- 2 10 4.6 5-9 371 24 -- 2 10 0.6 10-19 254 17 -- 2 10 678 20-29 159 10 -- 3 14 20,517 30-39 85 6 -- 3 14 52,964 40-49 51 3 -- 3 14 165,145 50-59 28 2 -- 1 5 95,500 60-69 34 2 -- 2 10 19,856 70 and over 4 less than 1 -- 3 14 14,708 Total submitted to FSS 1,539 100 -- 21 100 369,373 UK total 19,429 -- 2,260,600 146 -- 935,100 _________________________________________________________________________________________________. Sources: Forensic Science Service; and Home Office Research, Development and Statistics Directorate (UK totals)

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
79901; 329 c581-2W;329 c581W
Session
1998-99
Subjects
Customs and Excise Drugs Police Drug seizures Amphetamines