New | Chinese celebrity apologises for meth use amid high-profile nationwide drug crackdown
Chen Wanning is the latest figure from the entertainment industry to be detained as police attempt to tackle China's growing drug problem
Chen Wanning, one of China’s most popular online novelists, admitted he had taken methamphetamine shortly before being detained on Tuesday at his apartment in Beijing, according to a police statement.
More commonly known by the pen name Ning Caishen, Chen expressed remorse and vowed to stop consuming narcotics in the future, Beijing police said.
Chen, who has become a television personality since finding fame online, is one of several Chinese celebrities held in recent months as authorities crack down on drugs.
National broadcaster CCTV aired his admission of drug use on Thursday evening amid a series of well-publicised trials and public burnings of narcotics throughout the country to mark the United Nations international day against drug abuse and illicit trafficking.
Earlier this month, film director Zhang Yuan was detained by railway police at the Beijing South Railway Station after running away from a routine check. Zhang tested positive for methamphetamine and has since been formally detained, Legal Daily reported.
