UK STREETS ARE 'AWASH' WITH ILLEGAL DRUGS

Home Affairs Editor DRUG cartels are tightening their grip on the UK because Labour has "lost control of our borders in every direction".

- BY MICHAEL KNOWLES

Border Force officers seized 148 tons of narcotics worth almost £3billion last year. The rise was driven by a sharp jump in seizures of class B drugs such as cannabis and ketamine, including 137 tons of herbal cannabis - the largest annual quantity on record.

Critics warned that communities are "awash with illegal drugs" because gang kingpins are exploiting porous borders, weak sentencing laws and falling police numbers.

Home Office statistics revealed how the gangs are trying to flood Britain with herbal cannabis, much of which was likely bought legally in the US, Canada and Thailand.

A record 137 tons of the class B drug was seized in the year to March 2025, up from 85 tons in the previous year.

Sources dismissed any suggestion this was a result of law enforcement agencies winning the war on drugs, instead pointing to a surge in supply of numerous substances.

David Spencer, head of crime and justice at the Policy Exchange, said: "Britain is awash with illegal drugs. Over recent decades we've seen an increasingly lax attitude which has only served to fuel violent and organised crime. We need an end to the liberal, soft on crime and criminals attitudes and, as Policy Exchange has previously advocated, zero tolerance policing when it comes to drugs." Britain's drug shame was laid bare by the highest ever number of cocaine seizures.

The Home Office said more than 60% of the 18.46 tons confiscated in 24,492 searches was amounts under a gram indicating the drug is being spread across the UK at an alarming rate.