The Police Service of Northern Ireland is committed to building on recent successes in disrupting the supply of drugs in Northern Ireland by increasing the number of significant arrests and seizures and further reducing levels of drug-related crime.
Does the Minister share my concern about dissident paramilitary groups undertaking their own policing of drug issues? In particular, Declan Gallagher was apparently told by the Real IRA this month that he would be executed on sight for alleged drug offences and that the Real IRA is well armed and organised. What does the Minister have to say about that?
I join the hon. Gentleman in condemning activity of the kind that he has just described. Dissident republicans in Northern Ireland currently pose a threat, particularly to police officers. That needs to be dealt with, and it will be dealt with. There is no excuse whatsoever for any kind of parallel policing arrangements in Northern Ireland. The rule of law and order is there, and it should be seen to be followed.
Although we commend the success of the PSNI in obtaining large drug hauls, does the Minister share my concern, which is common to all communities in Northern Ireland, both urban and rural, about the daily peddling of drugs in the streets by so-called small fry? Our immediate concern as a community is to get the small peddlers away from our children and our streets. Will he ask the PSNI to redirect some of its energy to picking up all the small fry, who are well known to the community?
I thank my hon. Friend for his support on that important issue. He understands that we must tackle the problem at several different levels. We need to take out the organised criminal gangs that bring in drugs and distribute them to networks in local neighbourhoods, and we need to make sure that people who peddle drugs on the street are arrested and dealt with, and that young people in particular understand the dangers and harms associated with drug misuse. In that context, I met members of the district policing partnership and the community safety partnership in Craigavon yesterday. They are working to make sure that parents and children are well informed and that there is proper enforcement of the law in relation to drugs offending. A lot of very good work is happening locally.
The Minister is right that there have been significant drug hauls in Northern Ireland, many of which have taken place in my constituency since the port of Larne began to be used to import drugs. Does he accept that, as has been said, the problem is not being dealt with at street level? The assets of those who clearly live off the proceeds of such crime are not being seized in sufficient quantities. The real way to hit criminals is to put them behind bars and take their money.
I agree with the hon. Gentleman that it is important to take assets off criminals. I disagree with his view that that is not happening, because it is happening. Our approach has been reinforced by the coming together of the Assets Recovery Agency and the Serious Organised Crime Agency, which is beginning to make a difference. We need to take assets off criminals, and we need to make sure that where there is evidence of criminality, people are brought to court and dealt with.
What further progress can be made on the proceeds of crime? Where does Northern Ireland lie in the league table of confiscating criminal assets, especially from drug barons?
In Northern Ireland, we have a solid record on taking assets from criminal gangs and indeed from individual criminals. That effort has been reinforced by the coming together of the agencies, as I have described. I am committed to reporting to the Northern Ireland public on a quarterly basis how effective we have been in that particular quarter in relation to asset recovery. My hon. Friend is right: people want to see criminals being brought to book and having their assets taken from them, and they want to see those assets being put into funding front-line policing and other community services.
Will the Minister acknowledge the continued significant problem of cannabis in Northern Ireland, where seizures of cannabis increased by 16 per cent. last year? Will he also clarify whether the PSNI will have success in implementing the Home Secretary’s published policy of three strikes and out, given that the police national computer will not record the first offence when a warning is issued?
There has been considerable success in recent months in the closing down of 77 cannabis factories in Northern Ireland. Much of that cannabis was not for consumption in Northern Ireland and was for export to elsewhere. There have been 71 arrests, and cannabis worth £15 million has been seized. I am sure that the hon. Gentleman will join me in congratulating the PSNI on its very effective work in that regard. Cannabis is, of course, being reclassified to class B, and anybody who is found in possession of cannabis in Northern Ireland will be referred to the Public Prosecution Service.