1,000 drones used by police across country

At least 1,000 drones have been put into use by police nationwide to assist in a wide range of operations, including tracking suspects, monitoring traffic and locating opium farms, according to the Ministry of Public Security.

The actual number is likely to be much higher, according to Li Mu, who works at the ministry's test center for special police equipment and oversees the quality of unmanned aircraft.

"The last time the ministry counted the number of police drones on the mainland was in September 2015," he said. "At that time, about 300 unmanned aircraft were used by nearly 150 police authorities in 25 provincial regions."