“The international cocaine market is ‘in retreat’ after a year of successful operations around the world, the Serious Organised Crime Agency claims. It says its undercover work has helped send wholesale prices soaring.Prices per kilo have risen from £39,000 in 2008 to over £45,000 (50,000 euros), but street prices have remained stable. Prices per kilo have risen from £39,000 in 2008 to over £45,000 (50,000 euros), but street prices have remained stable”.

I’m not entirely sure that’s a good thing or a success at all, really – completely the opposite, in fact.

The cocaine producers and wholesalers (I have visions of dealers piling down to Makro to get their stock in) have seen a 15% increase in turnover, whilst at the same time the retail price on the street has remained the same; this isn’t like O’Neill’s absorbing the cost of the last budget’s duty increase on the price of beer to keep the price at the pump the same, instead the dealers have included even more cutting agent – rat poison, worming powder, cancer-causing phenacetin etc – in with the cocaine itself; recent seizures of street cocaine have seen purity levels as low as 9%, the lowest ever.

So this ‘success’ means increased profits for the producers, increased profits for soap powder suppliers, increased demands made on the health service due to the increased amount of insecticide people are snorting up their hooters. And, of course, increases in the statistics for SOCA making them look good at a time when it is under increasing pressure to demonstrate its effectiveness. So that’s alright, then.