Falun Gong Practitioner Arrested for Selling DrugsA 36-year-old nurse who is a known Falun Gong practitioner has been arrested on suspicion of selling drugs in Zhengzhou, capital city of central China's Henan Province.On January 18, local police officers Su Xiaowu, Zhang Qing and He Guanghui received a tip that Cao Dongmei, the nurse at Qiaoguang Hospital, was selling drugs. The officers searched Cao's residence and found 30 buprenorphin hydrochloride injections, 10 ketamine hydrochloride injections, five bottles of triazolam, and diazepam 205, all psychotropic, or mood-altering, drugs under state control, along with numerous Falun Gong publications, cassettes and videotapes. Cao confessed that she sold drugs, claiming that she did so out of the belief that drugs could "save people" by helping them reach a heightened state of awareness and ultimately nirvana. Cao, who began to practice Falun Gong in 1997, confessed that she took part in the illegal gathering of Falun Gong practitioners in Beijing in 2000. Convicted drug user Wang Li informed local police that her drugs came from Cao. Wang's boyfriend said that he had paid Cao 1, 600 yuan (about US$193) for six ketamine hydrochloride injections to give to Wang. Wang said that the drugs were "very strong" and produced hallucinations which made her feel "very comfortable." "Once I tried it, I wanted more," she said. Cao was arrested on January 31 on suspicion of dealing drugs. Psychotropic substances such as those in Wang's possession are banned by a set of rules issued by the State Council in 1988 and they can only be used by administrative departments of health at county-level or above. Retail sale of these drugs is illegal. |
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