Drugs
Drug smuggling by organised criminals is a major threat. Class A drugs, specifically heroin, cocaine, crack cocaine and ecstasy, are widely available throughout the UK. However, the crack and heroin markets are much smaller in Northern Ireland.
The annual level of supply to the UK of heroin and cocaine, based on the numbers of users, levels of consumption and drugs purity, is 18–23 tonnes for heroin and 25-30 tonnes for cocaine.
The involvement of organised crime in drug trafficking
The UK illegal drugs market remains extremely attractive to organised criminals. The prices charged at street level are some of the highest in Europe, and are sufficient to repay the costs of smuggling the drugs into the UK.
The social and economic cost of illegal drug markets to the UK is estimated to be approximately GBP 17.6 billion per year. The traditional distinction between international importers and the UK-based wholesalers is becoming more blurred, with some regional wholesalers travelling to the continent to arrange their own imports.
British organised criminals are active at all levels of the UK drugs trade, from importing to street-level distribution. A large number of foreign nationals are also heavily involved in the illegal drugs trafficking in the UK. Some have ethnic ties to the countries the drugs come from or travel through – this makes it easier for them to take major roles in the trade.
Supply to the UK
Heroin trafficking
More than 95% of the heroin which ends up on the UK’s streets is derived from Afghan opium, most of which has probably transited Iran, either directly from Afghanistan or via Pakistani Baluchistan. From Iran, heroin is moved through Turkey, where a large proportion is then transported through the Balkans overland to the European Union (EU). Most of the heroin moved along these routes ends up in the Netherlands before entering the UK.
Cocaine trafficking
An estimated 65-70% of UK’s identified cocaine supply is produced in Colombia, or from the border areas of neighbouring Venezuela and Ecuador. Peru and Bolivia account for the vast majority of the remainder. Various routes and methods are used to get the cocaine to the UK, one of Europe’s largest markets. Traditionally, most of the cocaine destined for Europe, including the UK, has crossed the Atlantic by ship and entered via Spain.
Synthetics
Synthetic drugs are defined as artificial substances produced for the illicit market, almost entirely manufactured from chemical compounds in illicit laboratories. Those most commonly seen in the EU and trafficked to the UK are known as amphetamine type stimulants (ATS): amphetamine, methylamphetamine and 3, 4 methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA). The UK continues to be considered as the major market for amphetamine and MDMA in the European Union.
Cannabis
The UK wholesale cannabis market is worth in excess of GBP 1 billion a year. Substantial quantities of cannabis resin and herbal cannabis continue to be imported into the UK. There is evidence of widespread intensive commercial cultivation of the high potency cannabis ‘sinsimilla’ (or skunk) throughout the UK. Organised criminals involved in the supply of cannabis perceive it is a high profit, low risk activity that provides them with the money to acquire assets and to fund further organised criminal activity.
UK distribution
Once the drugs have been successfully brought into the UK, they have traditionally been transported to major cities such as London, Liverpool and Birmingham before being distributed. Many other cities and large towns act as secondary distribution points, with drugs moved in bulk before being sold on to local dealers.
Drugs destined for Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are mostly routed via England, reflecting the extensive use of the Channel ports.
Profits from drugs
Changes in drugs prices are managed in different ways, depending on the position in the distribution chain. The cash nature of the market at street level means that drugs are typically priced in denominations of £5, leaving little scope for marginal price changes. Wholesale (multi-kilo) dealers have more flexibility and will increase the kilo price when supply is limited.
Cutting
Most drugs are ‘cut’ by adding adulterants to increase their volume. Generally, adulterants used are chosen because they match the appearance of the drug being cut, mimic its effects or alter them in a sought-after way. Cutting can happen at any point in the chain and often takes place several times before the drugs reach the end user.
Cocaine is regularly cut at both wholesale and street level in the UK. Often what is being sold as cocaine by local dealers contains less than 20% cocaine hydrochloride, which by the time it reaches the end user is often further diluted. This extensive cutting of cocaine may be a result of dealers attempting to maintain their profits given its continuing high wholesale price of around GBP 50,000 per kilogram. There is less evidence of cutting taking place in the UK within the heroin market, particularly at wholesale level.