In a campaign started on June 1, police in South China's Guangdong Province have successfully co-operated with their Hong Kong and Macao counterparts in fighting cross-border organized crime, in particular drug trafficking.
The month-long operation, code named Fire Phoenix, has cracked 5,745 criminal cases, broke up 361 gangs, detained a total of 5,895 suspects and seized large amounts of drugs, guns and ammunition.
"The action has contributed to peace and stability prior to the celebration of the fifth anniversary of Hong Kong's return to the motherland coming up in July," said Zheng Dong, director of the Investigation Department under the Guangdong Provincial Bureau of Public Security.
The action has had great success in cracking down on drug trafficking and production in the three regions, Zheng said. Altogether 41 kilograms of heroin, 17 kilograms of methamphetamine and over 20,000 ecstasy pills have been seized by the police.
The campaign covered 10 major cities such as Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Foshan and Shunde in the Pearl River Delta, as well as the Macao and Hong Kong special administration regions.
A large number of suspects, including several on the wanted list of Hong Kong and Macao police, were detained or arrested in these areas.
Zheng said that the close co-operation among the three regions has dealt a heavy blow to drug production and related crimes in China's southern region.
This kind of co-operation started back in 1981, and involves a special liaison system and a 24-hour hotline.
(China Daily June 27, 2002)
