Procuratorial organs help deal severe blow to narcotics crimes: official

Procuratorial organs across China have helped deal a severe blow to narcotics crimes by approving arrests of and prosecuting criminal suspects, according to the Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP) Tuesday.

Narcotics and drugs. [File photo: IC]

From 2018 to May 2019, procuratorial organs nationwide approved arrests of a total of 139,084 individuals in drug-related criminal cases, which accounted for 9.45 percent of all the arrests in criminal cases, down 9.69 percent year on year, said Chen Guoqing, deputy procurator-general of the SPP, at a press conference.

A total of 164,494 individuals in narcotics criminal cases were prosecuted during the same period, accounting for 7.07 percent of all those prosecuted in criminal cases, down 9.63 percent year on year, Chen added.

"China has witnessed a drop in both the number of arrests approved by procuratorial organs in drug-related criminal cases and the number of such cases prosecuted since last year," Chen said, noting that the high incidence of drug-related crimes has been curbed.

Drug-related crimes rank third in the total number of criminal cases in China, following dangerous driving and theft, data from the SPP shows.

Drug-related crimes are intensive in some provincial regions including Guangdong, Sichuan, Hunan, Yunan and Guangxi, said Chen, adding that the suspects have been selling and buying drugs via the Internet with fake identities and paying for the drugs online.

Chen also warned about the rapid growth of new synthetic drugs, which have been abused in some regions.

There were about 2.4 million drug users nationwide at the end of 2018, down 5.8 percent from the year before, according to a report on China's drug control situation issued by the China National Narcotics Control Commission.