A press conference is held by China's Supreme People's Procuratorate on June 25, 2024. Photo: Courtesy of China's Supreme People's Procuratorate

China's procuratorial organs have been cracking down on drug-related crimes, arresting more than 61,000 offenders from January 2023 to May 2024, with the figure down 14 percent compared to the same period year-on-year, and overall number of drug-related crimes maintaining a downward trend over recent years, an official from China's Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP) said during a Tuesday press conference.

June 26 marked the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking. June is also designated as drug abuse awareness month in China, with regions across the country actively promoting anti-drug events and raising awareness about the dangers of drug abuse.

More than 65,000 people were prosecuted for drug crimes, a decrease of 33 percent compared to the previous reporting period. The downward trend of the overall number of drug-related crimes reflects a significant achievement in the national anti-drug efforts, Chen Guoqing, deputy prosecutor general of the SPP said at the press briefing. 

In recent years, China's procuratorial organs have heightened efforts to crack down on drug-related crimes, including those involving the trafficking of drugs through postal services, taking a tougher stance on new types of drugs and utilizing big data to enhance the effectiveness of combating drug crimes.

In 2023, national procuratorial organs prosecuted over 2,100 individuals involved in drug trafficking through postal services. In a case handled by Jiangxi procuratorial officials, an individual named Huang was charged with selling, transporting drugs, and money laundering. Huang was found to have transported 38.04 grams of methamphetamine through express delivery. 

Despite Huang denying the charges, authorities put forward 23 supplementary investigation suggestions to the investigative organs, enhancing the evidence. Huang was sentenced to 13 years and three months in prison in accordance with law, Chen said.

Procuratorial organs also have strengthened legal supervision of drug-related crimes includes enhancing investigation supervision and strengthening trial supervision. 

From January 2023 to May 2024, national procuratorial organs filed second-instance and retrial appeals in over 590 drug-related criminal cases, resulting in more than 200 cases being overturned. 

In one case, the procuratorial organs successfully appealed for a harsher sentence for Guo and others involved in drug trafficking, leading to Guo's sentence being increased from nine to 15 years. 

The prosecution believed that the first-instance that the judgment handed down failed to establish the fact that the defendant Guo had trafficked 40 grams of heroin, which is considered a factual error leading to a lenient sentencing, according to Chen.

Officials also emphasized the need to deepen comprehensive governance of drug abuse and shared 10 typical cases of criminal violations.

Among the 10 cases, prosecutorial authorities in Central China's Henan Province successfully won a case involving smuggling, drug trafficking, rape, and forced indecency. Authorities discovered evidence of omitted crimes and offenders, and seven offenders for sexual assault and five omitted offenders in the drug supply chain were finally prosecuted in accordance with law, officials said. 

As of the end of 2023, the number of drug users in China stood at 896,000, marking a 20.3 percent decrease compared to the previous year, according to an official report issued by the office of China National Narcotics Control Commission on June 19.

Global Times