Beijing bureau destroys drugs

The Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau held a ceremony in Beijing on Sunday to announce the destruction of 1.4 metric tons of illegal drugs. The ceremony marked International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, which falls on Monday.

Of the total, methamphetamine accounted for 177 kilograms. Other drugs included heroin, cocaine and ketamine. Drug materials, including 1 ton of opium poppies, were also destroyed.

According to bureau, the drugs were confiscated in 2014 and 2015.

After the ceremony, the contraband was transported to an incinerator in a suburb of Beijing to be burned in compliance with environmental protection standards.

Liu Yi, head of the bureau's narcotics control squad, said the fight against drug trafficking has been a serious problem this year.

He said 1,366 cases were cracked last year, with a total of nearly 11,000 people arrested. Beijing had 36,000 registered drug users last year — a 7.5-percent increase from 2015 — with nearly 10,000 users having been addicted to methamphetamine for more than five years, bureau number show.

Narcotics control officers briefed members of the public at the ceremony on Sunday about the consequences of using illicit drugs and explained how to prevent misuse of controlled substances.

Li Jian, a narcotics control officer in Beijing's Dongcheng district, said increasing numbers of young people have been found using drugs in recent years, and that a rising number of minors are gaining access to drugs at entertainment venues.

In the past 10 years, 700 people under 18 years old were caught using drugs in the capital, about 200 of whom were students. Some were even in primary school.

The possession of firearms in drugs cases in Beijing was also found to be a serious problem. Last year, more than 20 firearms and about 600 rounds of ammunition were seized in drug cases.

The number of registered illicit drug users nationwide at the end of last year was 2.5 million, a rise of nearly 7 percent over 2015.

Meanwhile, a total of 82 metric tons of illegal drugs were seized across the country last year.

Contact the writer at zhang_yi@chinadaily.com.cn