Customs had a record total seizure at the ports and post office of drugs with a street value of £2,961,488 – a 36 per cent increase on 2002.The police seized a total of £1,241,260-worth of drugs compared to £539,500 in 2002.Customs’ deputy agent, Steve Le Marquand, said that last year had been their most successful in targeting those in the higher echelons of the drug world in Jersey including dealers who caused misery on the streets.’There is no doubt that some major drug organisers got hurt by our work,’ he said.Although it was not always possible to catch people higher up the chain in an operation, enforcement officers often succeeded in causing maximum disruption to their illicit work.The amount of Class A drugs seized by Customs including heroin, cocaine and ecstasy – which the department are particularly targeting – totalled £1,008,893.
Heroin hauls totalled £717,629.Class B drugs seized (99 per cent of which was cannabis) by Customs had a street value of £1,952,595.Mr Le Marquand said that the record amount of seizures had been ‘a real team effort’,with significant contributions made by officers in all sections of the department.’The professionalism and commitment of these officers is to be commended,’ he said.Dog handlers Michelle Bouchard and Billy Douglas and their canines, Toad the springer spaniel and Forest the labrador, had a successful first year in operation – they ‘sniffed out’ 26 drug hauls with a total value of £554,000.
