Record drug seizures driven by jump in cannabis and ketamine haul
Border Force officials made 65 seizures of herbal cannabis that contained 100kg or more.
More than a quarter of a million drug seizures were made by police and Border Force officers in England and Wales in 2024/25, the highest number since current data began.
The rise was driven by a sharp jump in seizures of class B drugs such as cannabis and ketamine, including 137 tonnes of herbal cannabis – the largest annual quantity on record.
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.
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.
Some 14,448 seizures were for cannabis resin, up 32%, while 10,689 were for cannabis plants, up 10%.
Border Force officials made 65 seizures of herbal cannabis that contained 100kg or more, compared with 44 in 2023/24.
This helped push the overall quantity of herbal cannabis secured by the Border Force to 127 tonnes, an increase of 71% on the previous 12 months.
A further 10 tonnes were seized by police forces in England and Wales, bringing the overall total to a record 137 tonnes.
Cannabis plant seizures rose from 9,710 to 10,689, though the haul of cannabis plants fell slightly, from 480,000 to 430,000.
Around three-quarters (76%) of cannabis plant seizures involved 10 plants or fewer, though this might be an underestimate, as there are some instances of one plant being recorded by default when there were too many plants to count, the Home Office said.
The figures also show that seizures of ketamine increased by 50%, from 2,252 in 2023/24 to 3,382 in 2024/25, the highest number since data for this particular drug was first recorded in 2006/07.
Among class A drugs, 24,492 seizures were made of powder cocaine, up 14% year on year from 21,548 and the highest since 2008/09.
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.
The number of seizures can be “heavily affected by factors such as enforcement activity, changes in recording practices and the demand and supply of drugs”, the Home Office said.
It highlighted the example of the Metropolitan Police, which implemented a new recording system in February 2024 that records “more types of seizures than the previous system, including stop and search seizures, drugs found in public places, and substances handed in by the public”.
The Met saw a 42% increase in reported seizures in 2024/25.
