Xinjiang battles rising drug problems

Xinjiang police said drug-related cases in the northwestern region have been on the rise and authorities need "quick battles" to crackdown.

"Faced with rising drug cases, the police launched several special operations targeting drug trafficking, drug use, online drug sales and mailed drugs," said Xiong Xuanguo, director of an anti-drug commission in Xinjiang.

Xiong said police seized 1.12 tons of drugs from January to August in "hard and quick battles against drugs". They broke 1,413 drug cases, up 11 percent from a year earlier, and arrested 1,622 suspects, up 19 percent from last year.

Police also found 9,506 drug users, half of whom were new addicts. The other half were relapsed addicts. A total of 2,850 drug users have been sent to rehab centers, and about half of them have rehabilitated, he added.

"We need to intensify management of the growing number of drug users, provide them with medical and social support. Police will also help them look for jobs and resume normal life," he added.

The Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region faces growing threats by drugs originating in the Golden Crescent area, a major source of drugs along the borders of Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran.

Police have noted a trend of drug smuggling via and into Xinjiang in the last few years.

Last year, a cross-border drug campaign, organized by China and Tajikistan, led to the arrest of 38 suspect, and a seizure of 181 kg of drugs, including heroin, opium, marijuana and methamphetamine. Endi