19 Mar 2019
Police are seizing record numbers of class A drugs in Scotland, new figures have revealed.
Officers made 1600 seizures last year, the equivalent of more than four a day, which is a four-year high.
The number is higher than last year’s figure of 1562, and compares to just 1051 raids in 2014/15.
Among the seizures, the quantity of crack cocaine and ecstasy reached new levels.
And the 118kgs of heroin removed in 2017/18 was more than double that of the previous year.
In addition to class A seizures, police also made around 2000 cannabis-related interventions.
Shadow justice secretary Liam Kerr said the statistics showed police officers themselves were doing more than ever to tackle Scotland’s drug problem.
But he added the rest of Scotland’s justice system was letting them down, as serious drug offenders are routinely let off with lenient sentences.
He also said the SNP government was failing to help addicts who wanted to beat their habit altogether.
Scottish Conservative shadow justice secretary Liam Kerr said:
“Police officers are expected to do more than ever when it comes to ridding our streets of class A drugs.
“They now need to be backed up by the rest of the justice system.
“Instead, we have an SNP government which is far too soft on the issue of hard drugs and refuses to get tough on drug dealers.
“Last year, the police presented the courts with hundreds of opportunities to come down on drug dealers like a ton of bricks.
“But we have an SNP administration more interested in making it easier for people to take drugs, instead of giving them the support they need to beat the habit altogether.”
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