Chinese customs seize 117 kg of drugs since start of 2006

China's Customs Offices have seized 117 kilograms of drugs and cracked 22 drug-trafficking cases since the start of 2006, almost doubling the amount in the same period last year.

Spokesman Liu Guangping of the General Administration of Customs of China made the announcement in Beijing on Wednesday at a press conference.

"A total of 23 suspects were captured during the period," Liu said.

Smuggling drugs through people has become the main channel for the flow of narcotics into China, and figures this year show 90 percent of the drug-trafficking incidents were discovered this way.

"More ketamine is being smuggled into China," he said. Figures show that since the beginning of this year, four such cases have been cracked down on, with 9 kg of ketamine captured.

About 45 percent of the drug trafficking cases handled this year were cracked in southern China's Guangdong Province, Liu said.

In 54 percent of the cases this year, drugs were hidden inside human bodies, and in 35 percent of the cases, drugs were hidden in luggage, he said.

Source: Xinhua