Capital cracks down on drug users, dealers

Beijing police have arrested 1,500 suspects in a monthlong crackdown on drug users and dealers, and will extend such efforts in the capital city to the end of this year.

As of Wednesday, 189 drug-related cases had been cracked, with 1,300 drug users arrested since the operation started on Oct 8.

"The tipoffs and intelligence we got from various channels have played a significant role in the operation. In addition, our squad uncovered several drug laboratories, nipping the problem in the bud," said Zhang Jihong, deputy head of Beijing Public Security Bureau's anti-drug squad.

Zhang said that more than 280 cases involving about 600 suspects have been cracked as a result of 426 tips provided by members of the public since the beginning of this year. Nearly 1 million yuan ($148,000) in cash rewards have been given to whistleblowers in such cases.

Zhang said a total of 40 metric tons of chemical materials for producing drugs had been recovered in the operations. "Such hazardous materials pose a danger to the public, because some of them are highly explosive," he added.

Drug trafficking has been in the bureau's crosshairs as the number of known drug users has risen by 17 percent in the past few years.

An anti-narcotics officer with the squad said members of the public are encouraged to report information on suspects by calling 110, sending mail to the drug squad, or via the Beijing Public Security Bureau's WeChat account.

According to regulations regarding rewards for tips, cash rewards start at 1,000 yuan and are determined by the value of a tip. There is no upper limit set for cash rewards.

According to bureau statistics, Beijing has about 33,000 registered drug users, with more than half of those using synthetic drugs. Last year, there were 2.3 million registered users of illegal drugs nationwide.