 The SDEA has seized more than �22m in drug money from criminals |
The head of Scotland's drugs busting agency has said he wanted his officers to carry firearms. Graeme Pearson, director of the Scottish Drug Enforcement Agency (SDEA), believes there should an armed unit to respond to emergencies.
His comments came as the SDEA's annual report revealed that throughout 2004 and the first half of 2005 more than �22m in drugs were seized.
Some �30m was taken back in realisable assets and 225 people were arrested.
Mr Pearson insisted that the war on drugs was being won but he added that the SDEA needed "latitude" to be able to do its job.
He said: "Under current arrangements we require to make contact with the local police force and ask for firearms support from them and that sometimes may take some deal of time.
'Duty to protect'
"Either it becomes so obvious that we're there and we've lost all our impact, or else it takes time to organise."
He went on: "In the dead of night when we are dealing with those that we identify as the most serious criminals in Scotland, and sometimes in Europe, we could have an emergency situation where firearms predictably become an issue.
"I think that my officers have the right to be protected and also have a duty to protect the public."
The agency has confiscated more than 400kg of Class A and B drugs from criminals since 2004.
Mr Pearson added that the SDEA had also proved to be good value for money, returning �3 to the public purse for every �1 spent on it by the taxpayer.
 |  I think that my officers have the right to be protected and also have a duty to protect the public |
David Liddell, chairman of the Scottish Drugs Forum, welcomed the agency's report but said there was no room for complacency. He added: "We have one of the largest drug problems per head of population in Europe, 50,000 or so, and proportionally one of the highest death rates in Europe.
"The drug problem is fundamentally a social issue and in the long run we should be providing better and earlier help to people who have problems.
"We do know from the 50,000 who have drug problems that many of them have suffered trauma and loss in their lives that has led them to develop a drug problem.
"We can do more to intervene to help particularly vulnerable young people who have become homeless or have been sexually abused."
He said it was vital that there were sufficient services to move people on when they stabilise their drug use or become drug free.
Mr Pearson promised to keep up the pressure on the supply of drugs.
He said he wanted to "up the risk" in Scotland so those involved in organised crime would go elsewhere.
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