Society

China destroys drugs ahead of int'l anti-drugs day

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-06-25 17:01

HUMEN, Guangdong - China's General Administration of Customs incinerated more than a ton of smuggled drugs Friday in South China's Guangdong province, on the eve of the 24th International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking.

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A total of 3,750 packages of heroin, weighing a total of 1,033.36 kg, were destroyed Friday morning in eight incinerators at a square in Humen township of Dongguan city, said Zhao Fudi, a customs spokesman.

The drugs were seized after Huangpu Customs of Guangdong cracked a series of heroin trafficking cases in October of 2009, he said.

"We hope this action shows our resolution in combating drugs and deters drug traffickers," Zhao said.

The action mirrored a historic event two centuries ago when in 1839 Lin Zexu, an official of the Qing Dynasty, burned 1,000 tons of smuggled opium confiscated from foreign dealers in the same area.

From January 2009 to May 2010, the Chinese customs broke up 657 drug trafficking cases, seized 2,433.5 kg of various drugs and arrested 721 suspects, Zhao said.