Drug traffickers targeting China will soon face a new deterrent
as a device which can detect drugs which have been ingested will be
recommended for nationwide use this year.
The x-ray detector, used experimentally in southwest China's Yunnan and Guizhou provinces since 2003, passed the final
appraisal last year. It would be used at checkpoints across the
country, especially those along the borders, the Ministry of Public
Security told a press briefing yesterday.
Liu Shuo, deputy director of the ministry's science and
technology bureau, said wide use of the detector would assist catch
drug traffickers in China as pedestrian pathways at border
checkpoints had become a popular channel for moving drugs.
Official figures show that more than half of the 117 kilograms
of heroin and drug-related chemicals seized by Chinese border
police in the first two months of this year had been found in
clothing or had been ingested.
"Before development of the detector it was very hard to find
drugs inside the body like the stomach, intestines or vagina," Liu
said. "We relied on experience and manual checks but mistakes were
easily made and caused disputes over human rights.
"But the use of the new device in Yunnan significantly brought
down drug trafficking cases and we hope it can be installed at
checkpoints across the country," he said.
A policeman surnamed Li, who works at the Kunming Railway
Station, told China Daily that on average they found four
suspected traffickers a day using the detector.
Working in a similar way to a medical fluoroscope the detector
uses domestic, innovative technology, said Luo Shanzhong, another
bureau official.
He said suspects stood in front of the detector, which can be
fixed or portable, for only a minute before the results were
given.
"In terms of accuracy our detector compares well to any similar
foreign products," he said.
He added that the machine did no harm as the x-ray was only
around one tenth of the strength of the machines used in hospitals
for regular medical examinations. “Only suspects will be required
to go through the check,” he said.
So far, 62 detectors are in use at checkpoints in Yunnan and
Guizhou, the Guangxi Zhuang
Autonomous Region and Shanghai.
“Although we recommend that checkpoints install these devices it
may not be easy for some,” Luo said.
Insufficient finances may cause problems. "Checkpoints receive
money for new equipment from local governments," he said. "Although
a detector costs only 200,000 yuan (US$24,700) some checkpoints in
poor rural areas may not be able to afford them.”
(China Daily April 7, 2006)
