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Authorities in Beijing say drug use is a rising concern in the capital city, with an increasing number of women and youth drug users being identified as a major issue.
This comes as the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking is one week away.
Jiang Liangdong is the deputy director general of the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau.
"The number of drug addicts here in Beijing has been increasing by 10 percent annually over the past few years, and the problem shows no signs of slowing down. As of May, the number of registered drug addicts reached 25 thousand. More than 5000 suspected drug dealers have been arrested in the last three years, with the number of arrests increasing by more than 5 percent year on year."
Sun Li, vice dean of the Beijing Higher People's Court, says the internet now plays a key role in the drug trade, connecting dealers and users and teaching people how to produce drugs.
He blames that for the rising number of young people and women who have become hooked on drugs.
"It is becoming more common to use the Internet to spread information on how to produce drugs, along with information about using and dealing drugs. An increasing number of suspects are using Wechat or QQ to make appointments, using international credit card to pay for the drugs and to facilitate express delivery. 318 suspects under the age of 25 were recently found to be involved in drug crimes, 20 percent of all the suspects arrested over the past three years. The number of women suspects rose to 290, an increase of 26 percent."
The authorities have launched a number of new measures to crack down on online drug dealing.
Jiang Liangdong adds the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau has identified over 80 online drug dealing cases with these new methods.
That represents an increase of more than 60 percent over what would have been expected without the new technology.
