[holding answer 24 February 2010]: A formal assessment into the trends in the sales of illegal drugs by Somali nationals has not been made. Drug offences are not separately identifiable by nationality.
The illegal supply of drugs is a serious matter. Trafficking in controlled drugs of all classes needs to be tackled robustly in order to reduce the harm drugs cause to communities and organised criminality associated with their supply.
The Government’s strategy is to bear down on all points in the drugs supply chain in order to disrupt criminal gangs, stifle drug supply and reduce the harm caused to communities in the UK. Increasing quantities of drugs are being seized and organised crime groups and dealers disrupted.
The latest figure published show that in 2008-09, there were a record 241,090 drug seizures by police and UK Border Agency (including HMRC) in England and Wales, up six per cent from the 228,131 seizures the previous year. These figures include 3,988 drug seizures made by Essex police in 2008-09, an increase of 45 per cent. on seizures made in 2007-08 (2,747).