Beijing police burnt 224 kilograms of drugs -- with an estimated
street value of more than 100 million yuan (US$12 million) -- at a
northwestern suburban area on Friday.?
The drugs, most of which were heroin, "ice," marijuana and
pills, were collected during raids against drug dealers and addicts
in 2002 and 2003, according to the Beijing Municipal Public
Security Bureau.
The drug-burning move took place on the 166th anniversary of the
famous Humen Opium Destruction.
On June 3, 1839, Lin Zexu (1785-1850), a senior official of the
Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), ordered the destruction of about 1,000
tons of smuggled opium confiscated from foreign dealers at Humen in
south China's Guangdong
Province.
Lin's move was regarded as China's first battle against
opium.
Beijing police have burnt drugs every two years since the late
1990s, and the last burning in 2003 destroyed more than 600
kilograms of drugs, said Cheng Ping, an official with the public
security bureau.
Last year, Beijing drug enforcement agents uncovered more than
1,800 drug-trafficking cases and captured more than 1,370 suspected
drug dealers, confiscating nearly 74 kilograms of drugs, according
to the bureau's statistics.
Last November, Beijing police cracked down on a drug smuggling
gang and seized nearly 14.6 kilograms of narcotics. It was the
biggest drug case Beijing police had smashed since 1949. Sixteen
other cases, each of which involved more than 1 kilogram of drugs,
were cracked last year. The number of such serious cases increased
by 42 percent compared with that of 2003, said Cheng.
She said cracking down on drug dealers and drugs will remain one
of the bureau's top priorities in the coming years.
Between January and May this year, Beijing police uncovered more
than 350 drug cases, captured more than 360 suspected drug dealers
and confiscated more than 30 kilograms of drugs, Cheng said.
The municipal government plans to carry out a citywide census of
drug-users this year, which will be the most thorough one since
1949.
The city will also provide free HIV tests for addicts who
receive treatment at rehabilitation centers and make health records
on them, said Qiang Wei, a leading official with the municipal
government.
Statistics from the public security bureau show that the number
of drug-users rose by more than 3,800 last year, and those users
have been sent to rehabilitation centers.
And 1,140-plus new drug addicts were reported in the first five
months this year, said the bureau.
According to statistics provided by the municipal anti-drug
committee, there are more than 26,000 registered drug-takers in
Beijing, 88 percent of whom are young people under 35 years
old.
(China Daily June 4, 2005)