China arrests over 660,000 drug suspects in 5 years

BEIJING - A total of 660,600 criminal suspects were arrested in 536,704 drug-related cases between January 2013 and April this year, said China's top procuratorate Tuesday.

The Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP) also said that local procuratorates prosecuted 741,260 suspects and 597,608 cases for drug crimes during this period.

"China's crackdown on drugs has seen positive results, while there are still a large number of drug cases and suspects," said Huang Weiping, an official with the SPP.

"The number of crimes related to new types of synthetic drugs - mainly crystal meth, yaba (a stimulant composed of methamphetamine and caffeine) and ketamine - has been rising rapidly in recent years, and suspects tend to commit the crimes at a noticeably younger age," Huang said.

Procuratorates in China have taken several measures for the country's anti-drug fight, including providing anti-drug education in communities and rural areas, as well as releasing information about anti-drug work via new media.

In December 1987, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution to observe June 26 as the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking. Activities in China to mark the day this year are themed "Healthy life, green and drug free."