Police smash drug trade ring

By Zou Qi and Li Xinran  |   2008-6-27  |     NEWSPAPER EDITION

A policewoman explains the country's new anti-drug laws to students from Gezhi High school yesterday at the transfer hall of the People's Square Metro Station where a public education base for the city's anti-drug campaign was launched. Metro authorities issued 300,000 one-way Metro tickets to promote the new law. More in photo gallery

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LOCAL police have cracked a drug trade ring and seized 15 kilograms of ice, the biggest city drug haul this year, police said yesterday.

Five members of the ring which was based in Guangdong Province have been detained by police.

The illicit drug-related money amounted to more than 500,000 yuan (US$72,886), police said.

The suspects were caught by police in February, and 13 kilograms of ice were confiscated at the scene.

Ice is crystal methamphetamine hydrochloride, a powerful, synthetic stimulant.

The leader of the ring surnamed Zhao allegedly put 13 kilograms of ice in his bag to conduct trading on February 21. He was unaware his four partners had already been caught by police, and walked into an ambush.

Earlier on that day, Zhao traded with one of the suspects surnamed Yuan in a restaurant.

After completing the trading of 2 kilograms of the drug which was hidden in a bag of Chinese tea, Yuan was caught by investigators at the restaurant after Zhao had left.

Zhao was followed by another group of investigators. Police soon caught his other three partners.

That evening, after Zhao entered a house, police surrounded the building and seized 13 kilograms of ice in Zhao's bag when he came out, police alleged.

Also yesterday Shanghai People's Prosecuratorate First Branch charged 18 people for alleged participation in 11 drug involved cases. The cases involved 7.74 kilograms of illegal drugs.

One of the defendants had been jailed for more than seven years for drug offences and was released in 2004.

China's criminal law stipulates that trafficking or vending drugs more than 50 grams face the death penalty.

According to the Shanghai Public Security Bureau, police have solved 5,276 drug cases since 2005, with 5,802 suspects arrested.

About 795.41 kilograms of drugs have been seized, involving more than 18.97 million yuan over three years.

In the same period, the city has helped 4,559 drug addicts to be employed, and 1,353 people addicted to drugs have received job skill training.

According to the Shanghai Anti-Drug Commission, the number of people addicted to newer drugs, such as ice, ecstasy, ketamine and methamphetamine, was rising.

There were about 480 new drug addicts registered in the city in 2005, and about 1,600 in 2006.

The number reached 5,000 by the end of last year.