Pubdate: Sun, 12 Mar 2000 Source: Sunday Times (UK) Copyright: 2000 Times Newspapers Ltd. Contact: http://www.sunday-times.co.uk/ Author: Eben Black, Chief Political Correspondent POLICE TO GET NEW DRUG POWERS NEW powers for police to monitor and search nightclubs are planned by Tony Blair in a sharp crackdown on drugs. He is also to reappoint Keith Hellawell as his "drug tsar". Legislation to be unveiled in the Queen's speech this autumn will tighten the rules on confiscation of assets that may have been bought with drug money. Anybody convicted of drug trafficking also faces automatic confiscation of their passport to prevent flight before they are sentenced and to curb the movement of international traffickers. Treatment will be made compulsory for addicts convicted of a criminal offence. The prime minister, who is the father of teenage children, has been shocked by statistics revealing the high percentage of youngsters who are exposed to drugs. A senior government source said: "He was stunned by the fact that 40% of 15 to 16-year-olds in Scotland admitted using illegal drugs." Blair outlined his thinking in St Petersburg last week. He said: "We have got to crack down very, very hard. In co-operation with other countries we are doing a great deal, but it is important that people grasp the scale of the problem." Blair indicated yesterday that he is to reappoint Hellawell when the former police chief's three-year contract expires later this year. Hellawell has been criticised by some members of the government for "junkets" abroad - a claim he has strenuously denied. Blair is said to have been impressed with him at a recent private meeting in Downing Street and is determined to give him full backing and encouragement. - --- MAP posted-by: Derek Rea