Guangdong introduces real-name express mail rule to curb drug trade

Users of express delivery services in Guangdong Province will need to provide their real names from July in an attempt to curb the transportation of drugs, according to a press conference held Monday for the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, which falls on June 26 every year.

Domestic and overseas drug traffickers have increasingly turned to logistics delivery companies to distribute drugs in recent years, said Wang Junke, head of the Narcotics Control Division, Guangdong Provincial Public Security Department, at the press conference in Guangzhou.

Last year, local police detected more than 230 packages containing drugs for shipping to nationwide destinations at Guangzhou's Baiyun International Airport, and 55 international packages, the Guangzhou Daily reported Tuesday.

Without a real-name registration system, it is hard to trace the source, Wang said, adding that not having real-name registration systems for cellphones, Internet services and express deliveries helps form a complete chain for criminals to exploit.

In March, Lianyungang police in Jiangsu Province spent days in sorting offices to check thousands of packages to find one package sent by a drug trafficker from Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, the Yangtze Evening Post reported Tuesday.

In November 2011, Guangzhou police busted a ring of drug traffickers who used express delivery services to send drugs to 34 cities in 14 provinces, while the criminals just used cellphones or the Internet to contact the buyers.

Guangdong provincial narcotics control authorities have studied how to implement the real-name registration system, and advanced technologies will be used to secure the safety of people's personal information, according to Wang.

"It will be difficult to carry out the real-name registration system in the logistics industry; however, the system will be pushed forward," Wang said.

People often do not use real names to send packages, said Liang Yuxia, a senior staffer from the Guangdong Logistics Profession Association.

However, Xie Weiliang, a contact person from the Guangzhou Anshuda Logistics Company, told the Global Times he believes that it will be very difficult to implement such a system.

"People can use fake IDs to register, which the delivery companies won't be able to do anything about," Xie said.