Pubdate: Tue, 25 Jan 2005
Source: Scotsman (UK)
Copyright: The Scotsman Publications Ltd 2005
Contact:  http://www.scotsman.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/406
Author: Geoff Meade, PA Europe Editor, Brussels
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?207 (Cannabis - United Kingdom)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/coke.htm (Cocaine)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/heroin.htm (Heroin)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)

CRIME REPORT HIGHLIGHTS UK AND IRELAND DRUG PROBLEM

Illegal drug use in the UK and Ireland is among the highest in the world, a 
new report revealed today.

Both countries have a higher proportion of cocaine-users than anywhere 
except Spain, while Ireland tops the league table for ecstasy, says the the 
46-nation Council of Europe annual report on the state of organised crime.

About 185 million people worldwide -- 3% of the global population -- use 
illegal drugs. Nearly 80% of them use cannabis, 20% use ecstasy and 
amphetamines, 7% use cocaine and 3% use heroin.

The report shows the Russian Federation as having the biggest heroin 
problem, with 2.1% of the population using the drug. But the UK recorded by 
far the largest heroin seizures in 2002, with 3,929 kilograms impounded.

The UK also seized the most amphetamines, including ecstasy -- 1,716 kilograms.

Spain has the highest rate of cocaine use in the world at 2.6%, followed 
closely by Ireland (2.4%) and the UK (2.1%). Rates of cannabis use in 
Europe are highest in the Czech Republic (10.9%) and the UK (10.6%).

Ireland has the highest amphetamine use in Europe (1.6%), followed by the 
UK (1.6%) and Denmark (1.3%). Ecstasy use in Ireland, at 3.4%, is among the 
highest in the world, followed by the Czech Republic (2.5%) and the UK (2%).

Drug trafficking is considered a major "primary problem", in terms of 
number of recorded cases, in Albania, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, 
Estonia, Finland, Germany, the Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, 
Switzerland, Turkey and the UK.

The situation is now so bad that Europe is the most profitable market in 
the world for production and trafficking of drugs, and in about one-third 
of the Council of Europe's member states (including all 25 EU member 
countries), drug trafficking is deemed to be the most important activity of 
organised crime groups and networks.

And, when it comes to trafficking in human beings, the report says: 
"Information from different countries and regions points at strong "and 
violent trafficking organisations operating in Belgium, France Italy, the 
UK and other countries."

The report notes that in the UK more than 18,000 people are registered as 
sex offenders and that the country now considers "organised immigration 
crime" as one of the main threats from all forms of organised crime.

"Language and the presence of ethnic communities contribute to making the 
UK a particularly attractive destination," it says.

"It is believed that most illegal migration takes the form of a multi-stage 
journey, with migrants being passed from criminal to criminal along a chain 
of territorially-restricted criminal networks."

On tobacco smuggling, the report records the UK as again recording the most 
seizures -- 2,600 metric tonnes in 2002 compared with the next highest, 
Italy, where the authorities seized 502 metric tonnes

The report says that today the proceeds and material damage of economic 
crime cases appear to exceed those other forms of crime, observing that in 
the UK alone the economic cost of fraud is estimated at 14 billion a year.
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MAP posted-by: Beth