Police seized £20m worth of drugs in one year

Published on Monday 22 September 2008 10:19

POLICE seized drugs worth more than £20 million and arrested 49 "serious and dangerous" criminals in the last year, a new report revealed today.

The Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency (SCDEA) annual report said 170 people involved in serious organised crime were arrested.

And they included 49 of the most serious and dangerous criminals, which exceeded the annual target for arresting serious criminals by 9%.

The report said that 5 million pounds worth of criminal assets was also identified, an 8% rise on last year.

Gordon Meldrum, in his first year as Director General of the SCDEA, said: "Our success in the last year is down to the hard work, determination and bravery of our people.

"But we know we cannot do this alone.

"That's why as an organisation we are committed to working with our law enforcement partners, as well as local communities and the public and private sectors, to lead the fight against organised crime.

"Despite our very positive results in the last year, we cannot afford to be complacent."

Key highlights of the SCDEA's success during 2007-08 included the seizure of over 220 kilograms of Class A drugs with a street value of 15.8 million – an almost three-fold increase on seizures during 2006-7.

More than 1,500 kilograms of cannabis was also seized with a street value of 5.1 million.