04/08/2006 (Agence Europe) - The EU holds the world record for the amounts of heroin and cannabis resin seized in 2005, it is revealed in the latest report from the World Customs Organisation (WCO). Of the 735 seizures of heroin recorded in the world (around 5 tonnes), the Europe region (Western, Central and Eastern Europe and the Community of Independent States) accounts for 86% of the total. “Customs and Drugs 2005” provides a broad overview of drug trafficking across the globe: - 49 tonnes of plain cocaine were found and seized in 5,773 incidents, with South America remaining the main production region; - herbal cannabis seizures fell dramatically across the world, with 71.6 tonnes reported, compared with 99.3 tonnes in 2004; - the volume of amphetamines seized increased by 15% to 7.1 tonnes (more than 82% of the quantity seized was recorded in Saudi Arabia); the number of MDMA (ecstasy) seizures decreased significantly from 361 cases in 2004 to 203 in 2005; khat (a hallucinogenic substance), principally cultivated in Eastern Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, does not have a uniform legal status in Europe and so is exported legally in great quantities to the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, where it is not considered to be an illegal substance, then is re-exported towards other countries where it is illegal.