17% increase in foreigners caught for drug crimes

Drug offenses involving foreigners rose sharply last year, according to an official at the Ministry of Public Security.

Most of the foreign drug trafficking suspects caught are Africans, said Liu Yuejin, director of the ministry's narcotics control bureau.

The ministry said police handled 1,491 drug-related crimes involving foreigners last year, a year-on-year increase of 15.4 percent. A total of 1,963 foreign drug suspects were arrested, an increase of 17.3 percent.