Society
85 arrested in drug raid
(chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2009-12-02 13:47
Five criminal gangs producing illegal drugs from the cold medicine ephedrine have been busted by police resulting in 85 arrests and the discovery of eight factories used to refine the substance, the Chengdu Evening News reported Wednesday.
The investigation by Yibin police in southwest China's Sichuan province targeted 64 companies in 21 provinces estimated to be producing 13.6 tons of the narcotic, which can be used to make the powerful stimulant crystal methamphetamine hydrochloride, also known by the street name Ice. The drug dealing operation was believed to be worth 2.17 billion yuan ($317 million).
Yibin Food and Drug administration discovered a batch of the drug missing and tipped off police, who launched an investigation involving 80 officers spanning 188 days, according to the report.
Police seized 22,220 doses of the drug, 415 kg of ephedrine and 955 kg of the street drug Ice, three illegal guns, 21 cars and ten houses used by the five criminal gangs.
