Dramatic drop in heroin hitting the British streets
There has been a dramatic drop in the amount of heroin hitting the British streets in the last year.
The Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) claimed the drop was due to supply routes being cut off and as a result the street price of the drug has doubled.
Europe's biggest drug testing company, Concateno, said the number of addicts testing positively for heroin had halved in the past six months, reports the BBC.
Its figures show positive tests occurring in up to 48% of cases over recent years, but last December the rate fell to 22%.
However, it warned that suppliers were diluting heroin with other drugs.
If heroin purity returned to normal levels, addicts would face an increased risk of overdose.
There are an estimated 300,000 users of heroin in the UK.
The heroin that manages to find its way into the UK comes mainly from Afghanistan and Pakistan, in the UK. SOCA says that both better policing and environmental factors such as the floods in Pakistan have led to the drop.
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- groups:
- Community, News and Politics, Afghanistan News
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- tags:
- Drugs, Afghanistan, Heroin
