China Concerned About Drug Situation in Central AsiaChina keeps a watchful eye on the drug situation in the Central Asian region, according to a Chinese police officer.Wang Qianrong, of the Narcotics Control Bureau of the Ministry of Public Security, made this remark at the ongoing Fifth ICPO-Interpol Heroin Conference, which opened in Beijing. Evidence and statistics show that more and more drug-trafficking organizations frequent Central Asia, and an increasing quantity of drugs is being smuggled from Afghanistan, through Central Asian countries, and finally into Russia and other European countries. Wang pointed out that, although most drug traffickers opt for Europe as their final destination, the possibility cannot be ruled out that they may cross the Chinese border when other channels are blocked. By the end of 1999, China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, which borders Central Asia, had more than 24,000 drug addicts, scattered across the autonomous region's 84 counties and cities. He said that, although most of the opium and heroin now consumed in Xinjiang is smuggled from the Golden Triangle Area, in Southeast Asia, the large number of addicts in the autonomous region provides a potential consumer market for drugs from Central Asia. The officer affirmed the positive role played by Interpol and other international organs in the fight against narcotics, adding that the Chinese government is willing to join hands with other countries to eradicate the drug problem in Central Asia. |
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