China, Vietnam destroy drugs in joint campaign

NANNING -- China and Vietnam destroyed 1,000 kgs of illegal drugs Monday in South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region in a joint anti-drugs campaign.

The burning of the drugs, mainly heroin, was carried out at a square in Ningming county, which borders Vietnam, and was witnessed by police officers and representatives of youth groups from the two countries.

"It's a demonstration of the improvement made by the two countries in cracking down on cross-border drug crimes and safeguarding the harmony and stability in the border region," said Gao Xiong, chief of the regional public security department.

"The move is also to improve public awareness, especially among the youth, about the dangers of drugs," said Gao.

In addition to Yunnan, Guangxi has also become a major entrance point for drug-trafficking into China in recent years.

China and Vietnam launched a joint anti-drug operation along their shared border on February 28, vowing to establish an effective information exchange mechanism and to work together to crack a number of major drug-related cases.