Pubdate: Thu, 26 Jun 2003
Source: China Daily (China)
Contact:   http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/911
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GET-TOUGH POLICY IN NARCOTICS FIGHT

Drug control agencies and all levels of government are being urged to join 
forces in the war against narcotics dealers and drug-related crimes on the 
eve of International Anti-Drug Day.

In a stark warning to those who profit from a trade that blights and 
destroys lives, three leading traffickers were Wednesday executed in South 
China.

The same day, and also in Guangdong Province, judges sentenced 18 other 
defendants convicted of drug dealing to either the death penalty or life 
imprisonment.

Illegal drug trafficking not only brings about rampant criminal behaviour 
but also disturbs the public order and social stability, Zhou Yongkang, 
head of the China Narcotics Control Commission (NNCC), told a recent 
conference.

In an all out effort to crack down on illegal drug trafficking, Chinese 
police arrested 90,000 suspects for drug-related offences last year while 
confiscating 9.29 tons of heroin, 3.19 tons of crystal methamphetamine 
(ice) and 3 million ecstasy pills and more than 300 tons of chemical 
narcotic elements.

Still, China's drug fighters have to deal with new problems and tougher 
situations in narcotics control, said Zhou, who is also the minister of 
public security.

Owing largely to easy access to the notorious Golden Triangle, a narcotics 
hotbed located on the borders of Thailand, Myanmar and Laos, the nation has 
witnessed increasing drug infiltration.

Drug traffickers Wednesday wait for trail in Changsha, capital city of 
Central China's Hunan Province.[newsphoto.com.cn] Drug transportation and 
distribution in Yunnan and Guangdong provinces has been rampant recently.

In a move from the past, the illegal production and trade of new types of 
drugs such as ice, ecstasy and other chemically-based narcotics are 
increasing rapidly, officials said.

To deal with this grave situation, the NNCC has hammered out an ambitious 
plan to fight back.

A large-scale education campaign has been launched throughout the nation 
among youngsters, the migrant population, nightlife workers andchemical 
factory staff that manufacture products which can be made into narcotics.

Another measure is the construction of more drug-free communities and 
counties, said the minister.

To root out drugs at the very beginning, Chinese police aim to co-operate 
with frontier authorities and customs, to crackdown on smuggling in 
drug-saturated border areas or regions, Zhou said.

The latest statistics from the General Administration of Customs indicate 
that from January to May, customs departments at all levels have dealt with 
29 drug trafficking cases with the confiscation 47.9 kilograms of drugs.

The three drug dealers executed yesterday were apprehended in Shenzhen, 
Guangdong Province in May 1999, with 7,654 ecstasy bills, 2,310 grams of 
heroin and a large quantity of raw drug materials.

They were sentenced by the Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court, which also 
dealt with the 18 other drug traffickers Wednesday.

Shanghai Customs officials Wednesday announced a bust in a major smuggling 
case of psychotropic substances found in January and February, confiscating 
more than 8,000 diazepam pills. 
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