Supplementary memorandum submitted by
the Home Secretary
I attended a session of the Home Affairs Committee
on 15 December to provide oral evidence in the Committee's
examination of the work of the Home Office. During this session,
I confirmed that I would provide an updated estimate of the quantity
of cocaine entering the country, which was requested during the
Committee's inquiry into the cocaine trade.
The covert nature of the production and trade
of cocaine means that it remains difficult to obtain reliable
estimates of the quantities trafficked internationally. However,
work has been carried out by the Serious Organised Crime Agency
(SOCA) to update the previous estimate of 35 to 45 tonnes
that was published in the 2008-09 UK Threat Assessment. SOCA's
updated estimate based on the latest data, seizure figures and
intelligence and is that around 25 to 30 metric tonnes
of cocaine is now imported annually into the UK.
February 2010
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