Drugs: South West Region

Mr. Steen
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many customs officers there were covering Devon and Cornwall in each of the last five years; and how many kilos of (a) heroin, (b) cocaine, (c) ecstasy and (d) cannabis were seized in Devon and Cornwall in that period.

Angela Eagle
Nationally, there are approximately 4,500 front-line customs officers deployed to tackle smuggling at the frontier. These officers are deployed on a flexible and intelligence-led basis to wherever the risk is greatest.

HM Revenue and Customs do not release information about seizures below a national level as they consider that to do so would assist those who seek to evade the controls. Information on seizures made by HM Revenue and Customs since 2003 is contained in their annual reports available at www.hmrc.gov.uk