Chinese courts handled 50,928 drug-related criminal cases last year, up 16.5 percent from the year before, the Supreme People's Court said Thursday ahead of the annual international anti-drugs day.

More than 56,000 people were convicted in the cases. About 31 percent of them, or 17,462 convicts, received severe penalties ranging from five years imprisonment to capital punishment, an increase of 8.8 percent year-on-year, and and the proportion was 14.81 percentage points higher than the average rate of severe penalties in all criminal cases last year, according to a press conference held by the Supreme People's Court.

The International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking falls on Saturday, and police have started publicly destroying drugs nationwide.

Sun Jungong, spokesman of the Supreme People's Court, said most drugs seized last year had come from outside the country and mainly from the Golden Triangle, the border region of Thailand, Myanmar and Laos.

Almost 59 percent of drugs seized last year were traditional types including heroin and opium, a decrease of 7 percent year-on-year, while new types of drugs including ketamine (known as K powder) and methamphetamine (known as ice) accounted for about 40 percent, an increase of about 7 percent year-on-year, Sun said.

"More and more new types of drugs have emerged while drug criminals are getting crafty. Anti-drug crackdowns face big challenges," Sun said.

Gao Guijun, an official with the court, said at the press conference that the Supreme People's Court would resolutely approve drug-related death penalties sentenced by local courts in line with the law.

In general, the Supreme People's Court, or the country's top court, has become increasingly cautious in upholding death penalties from lower courts in order to ensure fair trials.

"Heads of drug smuggling rings, repeat offenders, and violent drug dealers must be severely punished according to the law," Gao said, adding that drug criminals who surrendered themselves and contributed to investigations would be shown lenience.