China Cracks 160,000 Narcotics-Related CrimesChinese police cracked 159,565 narcotics-related crimes in the first six months this year, 32.6 percent more than over the same period in 2000, the National Commission for Narcotics Control said Monday.More than 165,000 people were seized for involvement in drug- related crimes; out of this total, 28,000 were investigated for smuggling, trading, transporting and producing drugs. The number of suspects arrested represented an increase of 15.4 percent over the January-June period last year. The sharp increases in drug-related crimes and numbers of people arrested have been a result of the Chinese government's intensified crackdown, an NCNC official said in an interview. Narcotics police as well as officers in frontier defense, customs, railroads and civil aviation departments have made a united effort to block smuggling and transporting of illegal drugs, and to stop the infiltration of foreign drug lords into China. Crystal methamphetamine, commonly known as "ice", "shaking head pills", and chemicals that may easily be turned into drugs have come under tight control of police. According to statistics, in the first six months this year, police seized 6.2 tons of heroin, 1.9 tons of opium, 2.9 tons of " ice", up 75.3 percent, 109.7 percent and 17 percent up over the corresponding time last year, respectively. In addition, a record number of 640,000 granules of "shaking head pills" were confiscated, together with 40 tons of opium shells and 80 kilograms of caffeine. China also successfully blocked 211 tons of chemicals that can be easily turned into drugs from illegally crossing Chinese borders to overseas market this year, the commission said. China is also running a "drug-free community" pilot program across the country. In the first six months, more than 66,000 drug addicts were sent to medical centers for compulsory treatment, and 11,000 went to re-education-through-labor camps. |
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