Drug users in Beijing grow at an annual rate of 10 percent

Police authorities in Beijing have released a drug control report for 2013, showing the number of drug users in Beijing has grown at an annual rate of 10 percent. The Beijing Narcotics Control Committee held a press conference on Wednesday to brief the media about their work in 2013.

"In 2013, more than 18-hundred drug-related cases were recorded, up 21 percent from 2012. Police also nabbed more than 1-thousand nine hundred drug addicts, an increase of 26.8 percent from 2012. And 112.8 kilogram of drugs were seized, up 67 percent year on year. The numbers of drug-related cases, addicts and seized drugs have hit a historical high." Jiang Liangdong, deputy director of Beijing Narcotics Control Committee, said.

Police in Beijing launched a rigorous campaign to crackdown on drug-related criminal activities in 2013. Authorities say drug use has expanded among more low-income earners, rural migrants and people living in the suburbs. And drug criminal activities involving foreigners were on the rise, with more than 30 arrested and over 790 grams of different drugs seized last year. Apart from harsh penalties for drug dealers, police have beefed up their publicity campaign on internet trafficking of drugs, and the regular monitoring of recreation centers and public places.