Drug crime on the increase in China

China dealt with 541,000 drug crimes, sentencing 543,000 criminals from 2012 to 2016, according to a white paper issued Tuesday.

The white paper, issued by the Supreme People’s Court (SPC), revealed that drug-related crimes were among the fastest growing.

In 2012, drug crimes accounted for 7.73 percent of total criminal cases, but by 2016 it had risen to 10.54 percent.

Ye Xiaoying, a chief SPC judge, said that the country’s drug crimes had expanded all over the country, but mainly occurred in southern, southwestern, eastern and central China.

“China had handled more cases involving smuggling, producing and trading drugs, and dealt with cases of new types of drugs,” she said. “The SPC has always adhered to severely dealing with drug crimes in accordance with the law.”

From 2012 to 2016, a total of 119,000 criminals were sentenced to five years or more in prison due to drug crimes, accounting for 21.91 percent of drug criminals.