Increase in heroin seizures by Cleveland Police

It comes as the National Police Chiefs' Council said officers across England and Wales have taken more of the highest-harm illegal drugs off the streets in recent years, preventing them from bolstering a "multi-million pound illicit market".

Home Office data shows Cleveland Police made 178 seizures of heroin in 2019-20.

At 313 seizures per million population, it was the highest rate for any police force in England and Wales apart from in the City of London, where many people work but few people live.

Heroin is categorised as a Class A drug, which are considered to be the most harmful.

Possession carries a maximum sentence of seven years in prison plus an unlimited fine, while those caught supplying it face life in prison.

In Cleveland, cannabis was the most commonly seized drug, which was involved in 50% of seizures where the drug type was known in 2019-20. This was followed by cocaine (15%) and unspecified class C drugs (9%).

Drugs could not be classified in 18% of seizures, according to the data.

A Cleveland Police spokesperson said: “Cleveland Police saw an increase in seizures of heroin towards the end of 2019 and beginning of 2020, particularly due to a large scale operation targeting class A drugs.

“This operation contributed to a large number of seizures, however, the amount of heroin seized in Cleveland was not the largest – 8kg of heroin over the course of the year in Cleveland, compared to much larger amounts seized by other Forces including Northumbria Police, Greater Manchester Police and The Metropolitan Police.”

Across England and Wales, the number of drug seizures increased for the second consecutive year, reversing the steady fall seen since 2011-12.

Police and border forces recorded 183,000 seizures, a 20% rise compared to 2018-19.

This was “mainly driven by an increase in the number of seizures of class B drugs”, such as herbal cannabis and cannabis resin, according to a Home Office report.

The Home Office said the Government is "committed to driving down drugs supply in the UK through tough law enforcement, which is reflected in the increase in drug seizures made by police forces".

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