Drug-related arrests 673/2025

FOI Reference: 673/2025

Request:

1. Arrests and Stop and Search

• Annual number of arrests for cannabis and cocaine-related offences, disaggregated by:

o Possession

o Possession with intent to supply (PWITS)

o Trafficking

o Production/cultivation (for cannabis)

o Number of stop and searches where cannabis or cocaine was the suspected substance (with outcomes, where available)

2. Drug Seizures

• Annual quantity of cannabis and cocaine seized (kg/grams)
• Street or estimated value if recorded
• Location categories (e.g. public space, home or vehicle)
• If applicable, please confirm the internal classification or coding systems your force uses to record these seizures and offences (e.g. offence codes, controlled substance tags used to record your internal categories).

Please also distinguish, where possible, between the following types of cannabis and cocaine, as follows:

For cannabis:

• • Resin forms (e.g. hashish), including THC% levels if known
  • Herbal forms under 10% THC (e.g. ganja or “legacy” cannabis)
  • High THC herbal forms (e.g. skunk, sinsemilla), with THC levels of 10% and above
  • Synthetic cannabinoids (SSCs) such as Spice, K2, or HHC
  • THC edible products containing over 1mg of tetrahydrocannabinol per product
  • Known street-names of substances seized with THC and CBD levels, if recorded

For cocaine:

• • Powdered cocaine
  • Crack cocaine (rock form)

If your records do not routinely differentiate by these categories, please confirm this in your response.

3. Demographics and Geographic Data of Offenders

• Age breakdowns of individuals arrested or charged for the above offences (e.g. under 18, 18–24, 25–34, etc.)
• Gender and ethnicity breakdowns, where collected
• The borough names or policing districts controlled by your force
• Total number of cannabis or cocaine associated offences recorded within each borough / district

4. Outcomes and Classification Frameworks

• Annual number and description of disposal types used for the above cannabis or cocaine offences: e.g. warnings, community resolutions, cautions, charges or other outcomes
• Any associated offence codes, outcome codes, or internal classification systems used to record cannabis or cocaine-related offences.
• If these are recorded within a database or information system (e.g. crime recording systems), please include the relevant code labels or field descriptors.

5. Drug-Linked Secondary Offences

Any recorded incidents where cannabis or cocaine may not have been the primary offence but is noted as a contributing factor in the following offences (but not limited to):

• Violence against the person
• Domestic abuse-related incidents
• Public order or anti-social behaviour offences
• Weapons offences
• Youth offending charges or safeguarding referrals

Please include any internal tags, flags, or annotations used to denote drug involvement in these offences.

6. Drug-Related Motoring Offences

• Annual number of arrests or charges under Section 5A of the Road Traffic Act 1988
• Annula number of positive roadside swab tests for cannabis or cocaine with relation to the above offences
• Demographic breakdowns of motoring offenders (e.g. age, gender)
• Any recorded collisions or accidents involving cannabis or cocaine use

o Please indicate the substance detected

o Method of detection (e.g. swab, blood test)

o Resulting legal outcome where known

7. Online and Parcel-Based Drug Distribution

• Any measurable data showing how often social media platforms (e.g. Snapchat, Instagram, WhatsApp, Telegram), websites or dark web marketplaces were used to facilitate cannabis or cocaine sales
• Actual or estimated number of cannabis or cocaine sales conducted via digital / online means
• Number of seizures or interceptions involving parcel-based drug distribution (e.g. Royal Mail, courier services, drop boxes, etc.)

8. Encrypted Communication Devices

Please provide the number of arrests and charges involving the use of the following encrypted communication platforms or modified devices (including discontinued services), specifically in relation to cannabis or cocaine offences:

• • EncroChat
  • Sky ECC
  • ANOM / ANØM
  • Phantom Secure
  • Ciphr or other modified encrypted handsets

Offences may include:

• • Possession
  • Possession with intent to supply (PWITS)
  • Trafficking or importation into the UK

Also, please provide:

• • Number of encrypted devices seized and linked to cannabis or cocaine-related offences
  • Number of prosecutions where encrypted messages, images or drop-coordinates were used as evidence
  • Whether your force uses any internal tags, codes or intelligence flags to track encrypted device use in drug-related offences - please include these, if available

9. Acquisitive Offences with Drug-Linked Motivation

• Any recorded acquisitive offences committed where cannabis or cocaine were contributing factors, including (but not limited to):

o Theft (including shoplifting or vehicle-related theft)

o Burglary (residential and non-residential)

o Robbery and aggravated robbery

o Fraud or deception offences

Where available, please indicate whether these were linked to drug-seeking behaviour or substance dependence (e.g. flagged as offences committed to fund a drug habit)   

10. Harassment and Abuse Offences Involving Drug Influence

• Any recorded harassment, intimidation, or verbal abuse offences where cannabis or cocaine were noted as contributing factors, including:

o Towards members of the public

o Towards police officers or other emergency services personnel

Where applicable, please include any internal tags or narrative indicators used to denote behavioural intoxication or drug influence.

11. Format and Timeframe

With respect to all of the above, please provide the data on a year-by-year basis for the period 2000–2024. Where available, I would really appreciate any data tables, graphs, or charts that visually present this data in various quantitative and/or qualitative forms, in addition to raw data as requested.

 

Response:

Section 1 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 places two duties on public authorities. Unless exemptions apply, the first duty at Section 1(1)(a) is to confirm or deny whether the information specified in a request is held. The second duty at Section 1(1)(b) is to disclose information that has been confirmed as being held.

I can confirm that the cost of determining whether any information relative to question 1 of this request is or isn’t held is above the amount to which we are legally required to respond therefore we are withholding the whole of the requested information since we consider that the Section 12 (2) exemption the Cost of Compliance exceeds the Appropriate Limit applies to it.

Where exemptions are relied upon Section 17 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 requires Dyfed Powys Police, when refusing to provide such information (because the information is exempt) to provide you the applicant with a notice which: (a) states that fact, (b) specifies the exemption in question and (c) states (if that would not otherwise be apparent) why the exemption applies. The following exemption has been applied to the whole of the information you have requested:

Section 12(2) – The cost of compliance exceeds the Appropriate Limit

Section 12(2) states: “…Subsection (1) does not exempt the public authority from its obligation to comply with paragraph (a) of section 1(1) unless the estimated cost of complying with that paragraph alone would exceed the appropriate limit.”

The cost of determining what information is held, if any, relevant to your request is above the amount to which we are legally required to respond i.e. the cost of locating and retrieving the information exceeds the “appropriate level” as stated in the Freedom of Information (Fees and Appropriate Limit) Regulations 2004. It is estimated that it would exceed 18 hours (i.e. minimum of 7083 hours) to comply with your request. The regulations can be located @ https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2004/3244

The Freedom of Information Department has been advised that the information in respect of your request is not held in an easily retrievable format. Therefore, in order to establish what information, if any, is held in relation to your request would require the individual interrogation of reports between 2018-2024.

Please be advised that data from 2000-2017 is no longer retrievable.

Please note that each question would require an individual time estimate, which would exceed 18 hours per question.

For example:

It has been established that for question 9 between 2018-2024 there are a total 42503 reports that would require researching. It has been estimated that it would take a minimum of 10 minutes to research a single report for relevance to question 9 of your request as outlined above, resulting in the following time estimate.

2018 – 7009 reports x 10 minutes each

2019 – 6495 reports x 10 minutes each

2020 – 5096 reports x 10 minutes each

2021 – 5249 reports x 10 minutes each

2022 – 6194 reports x 10 minutes each

2023 – 6150 reports x 10 minutes each

2024 – 6310 reports x 10 minutes each

Total of 7083 hours to complete task

In accordance with the Freedom of Information Act 2000, this letter acts as a Refusal Notice for the WHOLE of this request under Section 17(5) A public authority which, in relation to any request for information, is relying on a claim that section 12 or section 14 applies must, within the time for complying with section 1(1), give the applicant a notice stating that fact.

You may wish to refine and resubmit your request so that it reduces the time shown above to fall within the 18 hours, however with due regard to the time estimate provided above it is unlikely that refining your request will fall under the 18 hours as the same method and format will have to be undertaken. Should you require any further advice in relation to this matter please don’t hesitate to contact the Freedom of Information Unit.

Please also be advised that should the request be refined, it does not remove the Force’s right to cite exemptions if relevant.                                                     

                                                            

(This is a response under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and disclosed on 30/07/2025)

Os oes angen y wybodaeth yma arnoch yn Gymraeg, cysylltwch â: [email protected] If you require this information in Welsh, please contact: [email protected]