𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Drug cartels are tightening their grip on Britain because Labour has “lost control of our borders in every direction”.

Border Force seized a staggering 148 tonnes of narcotics worth almost £3billion last year.

The rise was driven by a sharp jump in seizures of class B drugs such as ketamine and herbal cannabis.

But critics warned communities are “awash with illegal drugs” because drug kingpins are exploiting porous borders, weak sentencing laws and falling police numbers, with supply at record highs.

Home Office statistics revealed how gangs are trying to flood Britain with herbal cannabis, much of which was likely bought legally in the US, Canada and Thailand.

A record 137 tonnes of the class-B drug were seized in the year to March 2025, up from 85 tonnes in the previous year.

David Spencer, Head of Crime and Justice, Policy Exchange: “Britain is awash with illegal drugs. Over recent decades we’ve seen an increasingly lax attitude to drugs which has only served to fuel violent and organised crime.

“We need an end to the liberal, soft on crime and criminals attitudes and as Policy Exchange has previously advocated: zero tolerance policing when it comes to drugs.”

And Britain’s drug shame was laid bare by the highest ever number of cocaine seizures.

The Home Office said more than 60% of the 18.46 tonnes confiscated in 24,492 searches were under a gram, indicating that the drug is being spread across Britain at an alarming rate.

Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp told the Daily Express: “Cartels in Bolivia to gangs at our ports, from estates overtaken to children exploited, from users trapped in dependency to communities scarred by violence, each step magnifies the last.

“Record seizure numbers and record tonnage underline the scale of the flow feeding it.

“Labour have responded to this by cutting police numbers by 1,318 last year and letting nearly 50,000 prisoners out early under their reckless release scheme, all while organised crime professionalises. Labour are soft on crime as Keir Starmer is too scared to stand up to his own backbenches, let alone criminals.”

Matt Vickers MP, Shadow Minister of State for Crime and Policing, said: “Labour have lost control of our borders in every direction. Whether it be illegal drugs or illegal immigrants, Starmer has no command of what is coming into the country.

“Record seizures are a warning light. Organised crime has tightened its grip, gangs are operating at scale, and international cartels are exploiting this weakness at the cost to communities.

“Labour don’t have the backbone to stand up to this.”

Reform UK MP Sarah Pochin said: “These figures show the scale of the drugs crisis in Britain — not because enforcement is working better, but because criminal gangs are flooding our streets with dangerous substances.

“The increased influx of ketamine is of particular concern in my constituency.

“Reform UK has long warned that weak sentencing and inadequate policing have let these gangs prosper. We need more police officers, stronger borders and mandatory sentences for traffickers to protect our communities.”

The Home Office said seizures of cannabis, ketamine and nitrous oxide hit a record high in the year to March 2025.

Police and Border Force officers confiscated 137 tonnes of herbal cannabis, a 61% increase on the previous year.

Customs officers seized the vast majority, locking up almost 127 tonnes of herbal cannabis.

The National Crime Agency has repeatedly warned of crime gangs hoodwinking holidaymakers into carrying vast amounts of cannabis from the US, Canada and Thailand into the UK.

The drug is legal in parts of these countries, but those caught importing cannabis into the UK could be jailed for up to 14 years.

Some 65 seizures of herbal cannabis weighed more than 100kg, figures show.

A total of 269,321 drug seizures were carried out in the 12 months to March 2025, according to figures published on Thursday by the Home Office.

This was up 24% from 217,633 in the previous year and is the most seizures since comparable data began in 1973.

Sources dismissed any suggestion this was a result of law enforcement agencies winning the war on drugs, instead pointing to a surge in supply of numerous substances.

There were 194,682 seizures of cannabis, up 28% year on year from 149,459, with the majority being for herbal cannabis, at 173,215, up 29% from 134,570.

Cocaine seizures also surged last year, from 21,548 to 24,492. This included 23,706 confiscations by police forces – the highest number since monitoring began in 1992.

By contrast, seizures of heroin were down 10% from 6,102 to 5,496, continuing a long-term decrease and the lowest number since 1994.

The quantity of heroin secured jumped by 33%, however, from 441kg to 589kg.

Some 4.2 million doses of nitrous oxide were seized, the largest quantity since this drug was first recorded in 2017/18.

Home Office Minister Mike Tapp said: “Drug seizures are at a record high under this government – with British law enforcement depriving evil gangs of almost £3billion worth in one year alone.

“Every seizure strikes a blow at the heart of organised crime and stops dangerous drugs from inflicting misery on our communities.

“We will continue to do whatever it takes to secure Britain’s borders against those doing harm to our country.”