90% heroin, meth from Golden Triangle
China faces increasing problems from drugs from overseas penetrating the country, with about 90 percent of heroin and methamphetamine tablets seized in 2015 originating in the Golden Triangle in Southeast Asia, according to a 2015 drug report released Thursday.
The Golden Triangle, an area bordering Thailand, Myanmar and Laos on the Mekong River, remains the primary source of domestic heroin and meth tablets, said the 2015 China Drug Situation Report, released by the China National Narcotics Control Commission (NNCC).
About 8.8 tons of heroin and 12 tons of meth tablets were seized in China in 2015, according to the report.
There are some 46,700 hectares of poppy fields in the Golden Triangle, which can produce over 600 tons of opium or 60 tons of heroin every year, and the annual production of meth tablets in the area was far more than heroin.
International drug traffickers from regions such as Africa have been transporting heroin from Central and Western Asia's Golden Crescent to China, which is another major problem, the report said.
The Golden Crescent extends through Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan.
Authorities found that drug dealers from Africa, South America and Hong Kong smuggled cocaine from South America hidden in delivery packages and suitcases to South China's Guangdong Province and to Hong Kong. Authorities seized 98 kilograms of cocaine from nine provinces in China in 2015.
"Foreign suspects in drug-related crimes not only transported drugs into China but also smuggled domestic drugs and precursor chemicals out of China," said Liu Yuejin, vice commissioner of the NNCC, at a press conference in Beijing Thursday.
A total of 1,927 foreign suspects were arrested and 13 tons of drugs seized in 2015. The suspects came from 39 countries, including Myanmar, Vietnam, Nigeria, and Pakistan.
Of the 122 cross-border cases targeted by the Ministry of Public Security, 1,287 suspects were arrested, up by 42 percent year-on-year.
Liu said that the growth in the number of foreign suspects detained last year was a result of stricter police crackdowns and deeper international communication.
Africa connection
"Drug dealers from West Africa are the biggest group among foreign drug suspects in China," a narcotics control officer with the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau, who asked for anonymity, told the Global Times.
Some suspects from Africa present more difficulties to police, the officer said, as they often use obscure dialects as jargon in the illegal drug trade, so translators were needed to help in the investigation.
By amount seized, most foreign drugs originated from the Golden Triangle, but of foreign suspects arrested, most were African, he said.
As to whether these newly arrested foreign suspects could be sentenced to death, Liu said Thursday that everyone is equal before the law whether Chinese or foreign.
China has executed dozens of foreign drug suspects in recent years, although no accurate figures are available. Five Filipino drug traffickers were sentenced to death in 2011 for carrying over 4 kilograms of heroine to China. Four Japanese drug traffickers have been executed in China since 2010.
According to China's Criminal Law, people who are convicted of smuggling, selling, transporting or producing more than 1 kilogram of opium or 50 grams of heroin or meth or a large amount of other drugs may face the death penalty.
Foreign drug dealers usually obtain Chinese visas by posing as students or refugees, and then traffic drugs in China with other compatriots. If they get deported, they change their identity and reapply for a visa, returning to China to continue their trade, news website gmw.cn reported in 2014.
Growing domestic problems
"The drug situation in China remains severe and complicated. It will continue to expand, and narcotics enforcement will come under tremendous pressure and face grave challenges for a long time to come," Liu said at the news briefing Thursday.
China seized 79 tons of domestically-made illegal drugs including meth and ketamine in 2015, accounting for 77 percent of the total drugs seized in the country, according to the NNCC report.
Chinese authorities arrested 194,000 suspects in 2015, and seized 102.5 tons of drugs of various kinds, up 15 and 49 percent respectively, according to the NNCC.
Young people under 35 made up the majority of the drug users and traffickers in 2015. Among the current 2.3 million registered drug users in China, 1.4 million or 60 percent were aged from 18 to 35, and 43,000 or were under the age of 18.
There were more gun-related drug cases and instances of armed drug trafficking and violent resistance to law enforcement by drug dealers in 2015, which posed a huge threat to drug enforcement action, Liu said.
