Fewer police drug seizures in Bedfordshire last year – as national haul reaches record high

It comes as authorities across England and Wales seized over 119 tonnes of illegal drugs, with a street value of at least £3 billion, in the year to March 2024.

This includes 2,367 individual drug seizures in Bedfordshire, a 2 per cent decrease on the previous 12 months, but a 49 per cent increase on the same period a decade ago.

A spokesperson for Bedfordshire police said: “Drugs underpin much of the violence, anti-social behaviour and organised crime which blight our communities and when it comes to tackling serious organised crime, we are taking a holistic approach and looking at the wider picture.

“We have our Operation Costello team who target top level drug dealers, and in December they reached 500 years of jail term for offenders and are focusing on larger scale seizures and intercepting supply chains.

“There was a large increase of 1,374 per cent in the quantity of cannabis seized between 2022/23 and 2023/24. As a force we have seized over 7500 Cannabis plants that would have a yield wait of 630 Kilograms that would retail on the street at £6.3 million.”

After the City of London, which technically had the highest rate due to its relatively small population, Cleveland Police had the next highest seizure rate, with 7,053 seizures per million people.

Thames Valley Police – which covers Buckinghamshire, Berkshire and Oxfordshire – had the lowest rate, with 242.

Across England and Wales, combined action from police and Border Force resulted in a total of 217,644 drug seizures, a 13 per cent increase compared to 2023.

Border Force made the highest number of illegal drug seizures since records began, with 40,639 separate finds – 57 per cent more than last year.

There were also record amounts of cocaine (28 tonnes) and herbal cannabis (85 tonnes) seized last year.

However, the amount of heroin recovered fell by 54 per cent to 441kg, the lowest quantity since 1989.

Lee Fernandes, lead therapist at drug treatment experts The UKAT Group, welcomed the news, but warned demand was switching from traditional Class A drugs to other substances.

"The UK is projecting a stronger demand for cheaper substances – ones that aren't yet deemed as a Class A substance," he added.

"This shift in demand from the 'typical' drug you'd find on the street to drugs that are now more difficult to classify and regulate will undoubtedly cause a problem for our police forces in the coming years."

In the year to March, officers in Bedfordshire seized 201kg of powdered cocaine, 2kg of heroin and 104kg of herbal cannabis.

The force added: “We are addressing key issues such as anti-social behaviour, targeting professional enables who support criminal groups, and targeting county line networks before the drugs get into the county. These activities are often the foundation of violence and exploitation, which we are determined to eliminate here in Bedfordshire.

“We are also continuing to build strong partnerships within our community to tackle organised crime, and we continue to urge residents to report anything they observe, even something as seemingly minor as anti-social behaviour in their area.”