China detains over 11,000 suspects amid narcotics control campaign

BEIJING - The Chinese narcotics control authority uncovered 10,715 drug-related criminal cases and arrested 11,496 suspects amid a one-year-long anti-drug campaign launched in January 2020, the China Police Daily reported Monday.

During the crackdown, a total of 11.4 tonnes of narcotics and 794 tonnes of drug-making materials had been seized as of May 15, said the paper, citing figures released by the China National Narcotics Control Commission.

Launched by the commission, the special campaign has taken Southwest China's Yunnan province as its major front line in the battle against drugs.

Yunnan borders the Golden Triangle, an area notorious for its association with drug production and trafficking.

Despite the continued efforts to curb drug-related crime along the southwestern border in the past two years, drug trafficking from the Golden Triangle has been on the rise, posing a major threat to China, said the report.

A total of 34.8 tonnes of narcotics from the Golden Triangle were seized in 2019, an increase of 18 percent year on year, said the paper.