Pubdate: Thu, 26 Jun 2003 Source: China Daily (China) Contact: http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/911 Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/areas/China (China) 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. - --- MAP posted-by: Thunder