Chinese police destroy 1.5 tonnes of illicit drugs

HAIKOU -- Police in South China's Hainan province destroyed 1,534.2 kg of illicit drugs and raw materials on Tuesday.

The destroyed drugs include 1,236.6 kg of ketamine and 297.6 kg of hydroxylamine hydrochloride, a raw material for making drugs, according to local police in Tunchang County.

The drugs and raw material were seized by the Tunchang police in a special operation in east China's Jiangxi Province in 2015. They were worth around 247 million yuan (about $35.8 million), the police said.

Hainan initiated a three-year drug control campaign in November 2016. As of March, the province had seized a total of 8.72 tonnes of drugs and arrested 5,889 suspects, according to the Hainan Daily.