ANTI-DRUG authorities are stepping up efforts to stamp out trafficking and related crimes.
To help curb the problem, the National Anti-Drug Commission has introduced compulsory treatment programmes in areas plagued by drugs and set up 632 clinics for addicts and 61 correctional centres to help rehabilitate them.
Last year, police cracked more than 180,000 drug-related cases and arrested about 34,200 suspects, of whom about 27,200 were sentenced.
Authorities seized 7.3 tonnes of heroin, up 34.3 per cent from the previous year, 1.6 tonnes of 'ice', up 20.5 per cent, and 5.1 tonnes of marijuana, up 137 per cent from 1997.
The number of registered drug addicts last year increased to more than 596,000. They were found in more than 2,033 cities and counties across the country, according to the commission.
The drug problem on the mainland has worsened significantly, with drug-related crimes accounting for as much as 80 per cent of all offences.
