Mr Pearson said the SDEA is tackling organised crime

SDEA director Graeme Pearson said it had fulfilled its pledge to "move up a gear" and hit organised crime.

Heroin seized over a six-month period this year exceeded the quantity of the drug seized by the agency in 2003.

Justice Minister Cathy Jamieson said the SDEA had shown that Scotland is not a soft target for organised crime.

The SDEA's latest report says the agency has made progress in tackling drug trafficking, immigration crime and child abuse.

Today's interim report shows that the SDEA is delivering real results Justice Minister Cathy Jamieson

Mr Pearson said: "In June 2004 I said the SDEA was preparing to move up a gear and hit criminals hard, using the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 to target the cash and assets belonging to major criminals."

Interim figures released showed that the agency is on track to meet the target, with some �10m of assets frozen so far.

Since April, the agency has identified �8.5m in "realisable criminal assets" for potential seizure by the Crown Office, he said.

Mr Pearson said the agency was "committed to arresting those involved in organised crime, wiping them out financially and destroying their whole criminal network in the process".

Criminal networks

Operations involving the SDEA since April this year resulted in the arrest of 157 people and the disruption of 48 criminal networks.

And the agency responded to 393 requests for specialist help from Scottish police forces and other enforcement agencies.

Ms Jamieson said the agency was delivering tangible results.

"Today's interim report shows that the SDEA is delivering real results - in seizing class A drugs, identifying millions of pounds of criminal assets and cracking organised criminal networks in Scotland," she said.

"These successes reflect the agency's increasing capacity to reduce the impact of serious and organised crime in Scotland's communities.