China police arrest 68 in largest drug case this year

Police in southwestern China said on Thursday that they arrested 68 alleged members of four drug rings in the country's largest drug case this year, following a nine-month investigation.

Ma Hong, director of the public security bureau in Meishan City, Sichuan Province, said one drug ring, headed by Wang Huixiang and Xu Zhengbang, had allegedly produced 40.35 kg of methamphetamine and sold an additional 37.85 kg since December last year.

The other three rings had allegedly produced and sold 3.5 tonnes of ephedrine since 2007, worth 175 million yuan (26.3 million U.S. dollars), which could be made into 2.45 tonnes of methamphetamine, Ma said.

Police also seized six guns and 127 bullets, and froze 11.2 million yuan in cash and 50 million yuan worth of real estate, he told a press briefing.

The alleged drug ring members are from the provinces of Sichuan, Yunnan, Liaoning and Jilin and Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Ma added.

Source:Xinhua