China marked International Anti-Drug Day yesterday with the execution of four
traffickers and the start of the trial of an alleged drug kingpin accused of
having made more than 18 tons of methamphetamine hydrochloride, known as "ice."
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Smoke signals emanate from the
Juyongguan section of the Great Wall yesterday, not as a sign of a threat
as in ancient times, but to alert the public about the dangers of drug
use. More than 1,000 volunteer took part in the event organized by the
Beijing Anti-Narcotics Commission. [China
Daily]
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The four drug traffickers were
executed in Wuxi, East China's Jiangsu Province.
Lian Yongming, Wu Bing, Liu Hongwei and Su Chuwen were accused of trafficking
59 kilograms of heroin. From March to October 2004, the four set up a purchase,
transport, storage and sales network in Chongqing, Shanghai and Wuxi. Some 53
kilograms of heroin were sold before they were caught, court sources said.
The Wuxi Intermediate People's Court sentenced the four to death last year;
and in February, the Jiangsu Provincial High People's Court rejected their
appeal and upheld the original sentence. The Supreme People's Court reviewed the
case and gave the final nod to the death penalty.
Meanwhile, the Guangzhou Intermediate People's Court started the trial of Liu
Zhaohua, 41, who is accused of having produced 18.075 tons of ice during the
last decade.
It is roughly the same amount seized around the world each year, court
sources said; and reportedly has a street value of a staggering US$7.5 billion
in some countries.
According to Chinese law, a person who has produced more than 50 grams of the
drug can be sentenced to 15 years in prison, life imprisonment or death.
Liu's wife Li Xiaoqing and four other accomplices are also on trial.
The court did not release any information about the trial yesterday citing
sensitivity, as it involves many details about drug-making techniques and his
arrest.
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Suspect drug kingpin Liu
Zhaohua [file photo]
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Liu had been on the run
since 1999 when police in South China's Guangdong Province found 11 tons of
"ice" stored at a warehouse in Guangzhou.
After failing to locate him for a long time, the Ministry of Public Security
asked the public for help in late 2004, offering a record 200,000 yuan
(US$25,000) reward for a tip-off. Liu was arrested last March at his hometown of
Fu'an in East China's Fujian Province.
The Supreme People's Court yesterday also made public two other cases, one in
Guangdong and the other in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.
Qin Tengjun, along with his accomplices, produced and transported 18.2
kilograms of "ice" since October 2002. The Supreme People's Court upheld the
death sentence meted out by a local court, and Qin was executed last Friday.
The Supreme People's Court overturned a death sentence given by a Xinjiang
court and sentenced Zhou Jianjun, who transported 800 grams of heroin in 2004,
to death with a two-year reprieve.
The highest court said Zhou had helped police catch seven other suspects with
180 grams of heroin.
In another development, the Beijing No 1 Intermediate People's Court
yesterday sentenced to death Lu Chunming, who was convicted of selling 680 grams
of heroin last November. Lu has 10 days to appeal.
Official figures showed that courts handled 47,232 drug cases from 2005 to
May 2006, in which 53,205 were sentenced.
Poppy acreage at record low
KUNMING: Poppy cultivation acreage in the Golden Triangle has been reduced to
roughly 13,000 hectares, a record low level in the past century, said a senior
anti-drug official in Southwest China's Yunnan Province.
He disclosed that Chinese anti-drug authorities arrived at the figure using
satellite remote sensing and inspection technology.
Figures in 2005 and 2004 stood at 26,600 hectares and 36,000 hectares, said
Sun Dahong, deputy director of the Public Security Bureau of Southwest China's
Yunnan Province, which borders the Golden Triangle.
The area, located on the borders of several Mekong countries, including
Thailand, Myanmar and Laos, is considered one of the major drug sources for
Chinese drug addicts.
Sun attributed the continuous reduction of poppy plant acreage partly to
China's persistent anti-drug campaign, as over 95 per cent of the heroin Chinese
drug addicts consume comes from the Golden Triangle.
The Chinese Government has also helped farmers in the Golden Triangle plant
cash crops to replace poppy cultivation.
Campaign warns youth 'drugs are not child's play'
More than 2000 students attended the launch of an anti-drug campaign in
Wuhan, capital of Central China's Hubei Province, yesterday.
Organized as part of the International Day on Drug Abuse and Illicit
Trafficking, and with the theme "drugs are not child's play," the campaign is
designed to teach youngsters how to resist the temptation of drugs.
Students signed their names on a long scroll, vowing not to try drugs.
About 20,000 primary and middle schools in the province will also hold
activities to inform students about the danger of drugs, said the campaign's
initiator, the Hubei Provincial Narcotics Control Commission.
Meanwhile in Northeast China's Jilin Province, about 30,000 books and 3,000
picture pamphlets on drug abuse were distributed to students.
The provincial government urged primary and middle schools in Jilin to run
special courses informing students on how to prevent HIV/AIDS and drug abuse.
Also yesterday in Haikou, in South China's Hainan Province, about 2,200
students witnessed the destruction of 45 kilograms of drugs seized from
traffickers.
Young people are vulnerable to drugs, because they usually lack knowledge of
the harm drugs can do, said Yang Fengrui, director of the narcotics control
bureau under the Ministry of Public Security.
And in addition to heroin, new types drugs such as "ice," or methamphetamine,
and ketamine are also growing in popularity among the young, he warned.
Karaoke bars, discos and gaming lounges, are becoming places where young
people can get their hands on drugs, he said.
Also marking the day, police departments in Shenzhen, South China's Guangdong
Province, yesterday said they would co-operate further with Hong Kong police in
fighting drug smuggling.
Drug bosses in 35 per cent of the drug cases unearthed in Shenzhen last year
were from Hong Kong, according to local police. And local customs officers have
also uncovered 54 drug smuggling cases since June 26, capturing 69 smugglers, of
whom 40 were Hong Kong residents.
On June 11 police raided an apartment and captured three Hong Kong residents
who were making methamphetamine. The gang leader was seized later.
Police found 34 kilograms of finished methamphetamine, as well as about 2
kilograms of half-finished products and 3 kilograms of raw materials in the
apartment.
The Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court yesterday officially announced the
arrest of the gang, along with five others suspected of making and trading
drugs.
Another nine people, aged 20 to 35, have received sentences ranging from
three years in jail to death for drug crimes.
(China Daily 06/27/2006 page1)
