Shanghai cracks over 3,300 drug crimes in 2017

Police in Shanghai confiscated 484.5 kg of drugs in 3,338 drug-related cases in 2017, according to a press release on Thursday.

More than 3,400 suspects were held for drug-related crimes.

Shanghai had over 42,000 drug addicts by the end of 2017. Those below 35 years old accounted for 36.5 percent of the total.

Wang Shiping, director with Shanghai drug control office, said that addicts who used synthetic drugs accounted for over 70 percent of the total, and they had become popular among younger people.

"In 2017, 63.2 percent of drugs seized by Shanghai police were methamphetamines, with new methods to manufacture, smuggle and distribute drugs constantly emerging," Wang said.