Number of drug abusers drops for 4th year

The number of drug abusers in Shanghai dropped by nearly 27 percent to 26,725 last year, a decrease for the fourth consecutive year, authorities said on Tuesday ahead of International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking on June 26.

"Shanghai has been cracking down on drug-related crimes, helping drug abusers fight drug addiction and promoting public anti-drug awareness, which has continuously brought down the numbers of related crimes and drug abusers," said Wang Shiping, director of the city's narcotic control office.

He said the city's public security bureau had cracked down on 921 crimes involving illegal drugs last year, with more than 72 kilograms of drugs seized, up 29.94 percent from the previous year.

These included a cross-border drug trafficking case in December with 23 people caught and more than 8 kilograms of four new types of addictive drugs seized.

Police in Shanghai found 40-year-old Spaniard Marced Barra China Pedro, a drug abuser, had been organizing drug abuse activities via WeChat.

Wang said online communication platforms and courier services have become the new channels for drug traffickers and abusers to make deals, making drug control more challenging.

He said new types of drugs have been emerging. Last year, more than 1,000 people in the city were found to have bought diet pills online that had addictive ingredients, with most unaware of the risks of the medicine they had bought.