Drug confiscations by police in England and Wales have surged to their highest level since the pandemic, with new figures revealing the substances most commonly seized on the streets of London.
Metropolitan Police Sees Dip Against National Trend
In the year ending March 2024, the Metropolitan Police carried out a total of 28,088 drug seizures within the capital. This significant haul included 14,132 cannabis plants, 939kg of powdered cocaine, 31kg of heroin, and 245,000 doses of ecstasy.
Interestingly, this marked an 18 per cent decrease from the 34,232 seizures made in the previous year. This decline bucks the wider national trend, which saw drug seizures across England and Wales rise by 13 per cent over the same period.
Cannabis Dominates, Crack Cocaine Follows in London
The data, released by the Home Office, confirms that cannabis remains the most prevalent illegal drug across the country, accounting for 70 per cent of all national seizures. Powdered cocaine was the second most seized substance nationally, making up 10 per cent of confiscations.
While this pattern of cannabis first and cocaine second holds true for almost every police force area, the figures detail the third most popular drug in each region. For London, that substance is crack cocaine, with the Met reporting 1,322 seizures. The drug, known for risks including respiratory failure and severe depression, was followed by heroin (1,280 seizures) and then nitrous oxide (312 seizures).
The Rise of 'Laughing Gas' in the Square Mile
Nitrous oxide, often referred to as 'laughing gas', 'hippy crack', or 'nos', has seen a notable rise in recreational use. The City of London Police, which patrols the financial district, reported it as the third most seized drug in their area after cannabis and powder cocaine, with 21 specific confiscations.
Although it has legitimate medical uses for pain relief, misuse of the gas can lead to fainting, loss of consciousness, or suffocation. The sight of discarded silver canisters in streets and parks has become increasingly common across the UK.
Nationally, the overall picture shows a post-pandemic peak in enforcement activity. There were nearly 218,000 drug seizures across England and Wales in the year to March 2024, the highest number since the lockdown year ending March 2021.
The detailed breakdown offers a stark insight into the illegal drug market, with cannabis plants, kilos of class-A powders, and hundreds of thousands of pills intercepted by authorities before reaching users.
