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The number of defendants found guilty at all courts in England and Wales for drug trafficking offences, from 1998 to 2008 (latest available) can be viewed in the table. Court proceedings statistical data held by the Ministry of Justice do not include the circumstances of each case and therefore cannot identify any investigating agency.
The Serious Organised Crime Agency was set up to reduce the harm to the UK caused by serious organised crime. Criminal prosecution is only one of a number of tools SOCA uses. With its partners, SOCA undertakes a range of activities against drug trafficking, including work to secure criminal convictions. SOCA is not able to say how many people have been convicted of a specific drug trafficking offence since its inception. However, SOCA records show that the following number of people have been convicted as a result of operations countering drug trafficking.
UK Overseas 2006-07 215 20 2007-08 199 24 2008-09 197 20
Offence description 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 20084 Unlawful importation of a drug controlled under misuse of Drugs Act 1971 1,190 1,171 1,165 1,648 1,599 1,063 975 1,026 835 783 745 Unlawful exportation of a drug controlled under misuse of Drugs Act 1971 59 25 40 30 21 18 37 35 35 36 31 Production of or being concerned in the production of a controlled drug. 1,779 1,477 1,175 952 1,114 1,657 1,379 1,360 1,480 2,120 2,627 Having possession of a controlled drug with intent to supply. 5,549 5,069 4,607 4,405 4,452 4,834 4,887 5,097 5,062 5,499 6,443 Supplying or offering to supply (or being concerned in supplying or offering to supply) a controlled drug. 3,819 3,717 3,341 3,214 3,300 3,461 3,619 3,707 3,499 3,507 3,940 Having a controlled drug in possession on a ship; Being knowingly concerned in the carrying or concealing of a controlled drug on a ship. 16 1 1 6 1 1 1 1 1 1 — Concealing or transferring the proceeds of drug trafficking; Assisting another person to retain the benefit of drug trafficking; Acquisition, possession or use of proceeds of drug trafficking 16 30 26 42 38 49 27 20 6 7 6 Total 12,428 11,490 10,355 10,297 10,525 11,083 10,925 11,246 10,918 11,953 13,792 1 Includes offences under statutes: Customs and Excise Management Act 1979; Misuse of Drugs Act 1971; Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 as amended by Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994; Criminal Justice (International Co-operation) Act 1990; Proceeds of Crime Act 2002. 2 The statistics relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences the principal offence is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. 3 Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. 4 Excludes Convictions for Cardiff magistrates' court for April, July and August 2008 Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services - Ministry of Justice
Pursuant to the answer of 24 November 2009, the number of persons found guilty at all courts for drug possession and dealing in the Avon and Somerset police force area in 2008 (latest available) can be viewed in the following table:
Number of persons found guilty at all courts for the possession and dealing of drugs, Avon and Somerset police force area 20081,2,3Offence2008Having possession of a controlled drug707Having possession of a controlled drug with intent to supply154 Supplying or offering to supply a controlled drug64 Notes: 1. The figures given in the table on court proceedings relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. 2. Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. 3. Excludes convictions data for Cardiff magistrates court for April, July, and August 2008. Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services in the Ministry of Justice.