Headline-grabbing claims of record drugs seizures by Britain's answer to the FBI - the Serious Organised Crime Agency (Soca) - have prompted calls for a parliamentary investigation amid suspicions that the organisation is "spinning" its success.
Soca's recent boast that it has seized a record 73 tons of cocaine in its first year was widely reported across the media. But the agency is refusing to provide any evidence to back up its dramatic claims.
According to Soca's chairman, Sir Stephen Lander, a former MI5 chief, the huge haul of cocaine had a street value of £3bn and equalled one-fifth of the annual supply to Europe. But when The Independent on Sunday asked the agency to provide a breakdown of its cocaine seizures it stalled for 11 days before saying it was "unwilling" to provide any details.
Soca's recent boast that it has seized a record 73 tons of cocaine in its first year was widely reported across the media. But the agency is refusing to provide any evidence to back up its dramatic claims.
According to Soca's chairman, Sir Stephen Lander, a former MI5 chief, the huge haul of cocaine had a street value of £3bn and equalled one-fifth of the annual supply to Europe. But when The Independent on Sunday asked the agency to provide a breakdown of its cocaine seizures it stalled for 11 days before saying it was "unwilling" to provide any details.
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