Less quantities of drugs raided by police last year, except “Speed”

THE amount of drugs raided by police in Spain last year fell in comparison to quantities seized in 2008, all except for synthetic narcotic “speed”, the Public Prosecutor's Office claimed yesterday.

The Prosecutor's annual report showed that there had been a 162.24 percent increase in the amount of “speed” found by police last year in comparison to 2008. The statistics had risen so sharply because of five raids which had resulted in the seizure of 81.75 percent of the total “speed” haul for the year - 148 kilos - the report explained. But this volume is apparently much less than the amounts of other drugs which fell into police hands last year.

Quantities of cocaine seized by police have fallen three years in succession and at a national level stood at 25'349 kilos last year, 9.41 percent less than in 2008.

Most was detected at customs or in international waters. There was 34.88 percent less hashish taken by police in 2009 than there was the previous year and figures for heroin were down 45.15 percent. Cadiz was the place in the country where most drugs were found (3'000 kilos) in 2009; 500 kilos were located in the Balearics in the same year.