China, Laos seize more than a ton of methamphetamine in raid
Beijing, Jun 24 (EFE).- Chinese and Laotian police seized 1.44 tons of methamphetamine after a joint operation resulting in the arrest of two suspects, state media reported Friday.
The Public Security Department of Yunnan (south), a Chinese province bordering Laos, stopped drug traffickers from smuggling the haul in the Mekong River basin area, contacting authorities from Laos, Thailand and Myanmar, state agency Xinhua said.
Two Laotian citizens possessing illegal substances were arrested in early June.
According to the Yunnan Police, quoted by Xinhua, the collaboration between the four countries in the last decade has strengthened the security of the Mekong basin (called Lancang in China) and has made numerous raids against drug networks possible.
The border area between Thailand, Laos and Myanmar, close to China, is traditionally known as the “Golden Triangle” and has historically been notorious for the trafficking of heroin and other drugs.
In the last three years, more than 8,000 international cases related to drug trafficking in the area have been resolved, leading to the arrest of some 8,200 suspects and the seizure of more than 47 tons of illicit substances, Xinhua said.
China’s Public Security Ministry said Thursday that the country is the nation with the “strictest drug control system in the world” and with the largest number of prohibited substances.
Large-scale drug trafficking is a crime that can be punished by the death penalty in China. EFE
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