Virus controls contribute to fall in drug prosecutions

Measures taken to prevent and control the spread of COVID-19 in China contributed to a 19.1 percent year-on-year decline in prosecutions for drug-related crimes in the first three quarters of the year, the country's top prosecuting organ said on Tuesday.

A statement posted on the website of the Supreme People's Procuratorate said 63,872 people were prosecuted for drug-related crimes in the first nine months of this year.

While prosecutions were down substantially nationwide－with the implementation of more stringent social management measures in response to the novel coronavirus outbreak a key factor in the decrease－there were regional variations, it said, with the incidence of drug-related crimes still high in Guangdong and Sichuan provinces.

New types of drug-related crimes were also more prominent, with some criminals using the internet to buy and sell drugs and materials for making drugs, as well as to find middlemen.

Some criminals made use of logistics services to deliver drugs and collected money through third-party payment platforms and virtual currencies, making it harder for authorities to bust such crimes, the statement said.

The use of logistics services to deliver drugs had increased rapidly since the start of the pandemic, it said.

The use of new synthetic drugs and new psychoactive substances is also on the rise, it said, with the abuse of new drugs in some entertainment venues and among certain groups of people a prominent problem.

Another problem was connections between domestic and foreign gangs, the statement said. Some gangs smuggled drugs into China by sea or international express services or asked people to carry drugs into the country, it said, with groups in China then transporting and selling the drugs and storing the illegal gains.

The number of drug crimes by foreigners handled by prosecutors in Zhejiang province had risen rapidly, the statement said.

The Supreme People's Procuratorate urged prosecuting organs to strengthen investigation and supervision of drug cases and ensure that no criminals or crimes were overlooked. They were also asked to correct cases in which criminals received light punishment or no punishment due to errors in the determination of facts and the application of laws.

In response to the increasing use of logistics services to deliver drugs, it asked provincial-level procuratorates to carry out further investigations. Procuratorates in Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Sichuan provinces and the Inner Mongolia autonomous region have asked local postal administration departments to carry out rectification work.