Guns a growing factor in narcotics enforcement

Authorities worry about the increasing danger to society posed by armed criminals

Nearly 500 guns were seized in major drug cases in China last year, a significant growth of firearms associated with drug manufacturing and trafficking, the drug control authority said on Thursday.

Police departments at or above city level cracked 257 drug cases last year, an increase of 52 percent from the previous year, according to the latest data from the China National Narcotics Control Commission.