Chinese police have uncovered their largest ever case of international ketamine smuggling, seizing 1,010 kilograms of the illegal drug and 80,000 yuan (US$9,864)?in illicit funds, and detaining six suspects on September 19, the Ministry of Public Security said yesterday.

Police in Shandong and Guangdong provinces and Hong Kong were coordinated by the ministry for the operation, Liu Yuejin, deputy director of the ministry's Anti-narcotics Bureau, told a press conference in Beijing.

Guangdong police received information in July that an international gang planned to smuggle more than one ton of ketamine from India to the Chinese mainland.

It was hidden in 700 barrels of chemical material and transported from Mumbai (also known as Bombay) to Yantai in Shandong via Singapore and South Korea. The smugglers reportedly planned to transport the drug to Guangdong for sale.

The drug arrived at Yantai on September 10 and police struck nine days later as the smugglers began distribution.

Three suspects confessed that they aimed to open a new channel for smuggling drugs via Yantai.

One of the major suspects, Kung Ka Sam, a Canadian, remains at large and the ministry is contacting Interpol to issue an order to arrest him, said Liu.

He said drug traffickers used to smuggle drugs from overseas to the mainland via Guangdong and Fujian in south and east China, or the southwestern province of Yunnan, said Liu, but since police had cracked down there, they sought new channels in the north of the country.

"Chinese police dare not relax supervision and management at all ports, and will not give a chance to the drug smugglers," Liu added.

Ketamine is a powerful anesthetic that has been used for both humans and animals. It can change people's perceptions and cause hallucinations, and carries serious risks, especially when combined with alcohol or other drugs.
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(Xinhua News Agency October 13, 2005)