Guangdong police's war against the illegal drug world has proved victorious -- blitzing open 104 huge drug-related crimes, and detaining 1,744 suspects.

The special crackdown took place between October 25 and Sunday.

A total of 170,340 grams of heroin, 13,775 grams of "ice," popular name for methamphetamine hydrochloride, and more than 300,000 ecstasy pills were seized during the campaign, titled Chunlei Action (Spring Thunder).

In addition to domestic people, the suspects include three foreigners, and 261 Hong Kong and Macao residents.

Chunlei Action was jointly conducted by Guangdong Provincial Bureau of Public Security and its counterparts from Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions (SAR).

Zheng Dong, director of the criminal investigation department under Guangdong Provincial Bureau of Public Security, said a large amount of cash and criminal tools for drug purchase and production were seized.

Addressing a press conference yesterday, Zheng said the action had administered a significant blow to drug production and drug-related crimes in the prosperous southern Chinese region, including Hong Kong and Macao SARs.

Zheng said more than 110,000 police from his bureau participated in Chunlei Action, the second of its kind in Guangdong. The first took place in April.

They investigated a total of 58,255 suspected entertainment venues in the province during the campaign, which proved most fruitful in the cities of Guangzhou -- capital of Guangdong Province -- Foshan, Dongguan, Shenzhen and Zhuhai special economic zones, Zheng said.

A number of drug processing bases and sales centers were targeted in the cities. And a drug trafficking organization, which illegally smuggled drugs from Kunming in Yunnan Province to Guangdong Province bordering Hong Kong, was believed to have been successfully taken down in the wake of Chunlei Action.

Zheng said a drug distribution center was destroyed in Dongguan during the Chunlei Action.

(China Daily November 7, 2001)