Chinese police detain 50 foreigners for drug-fuelled party under Shenzhen overpass
PUBLISHED : Monday, 22 February, 2016, 10:29pm
UPDATED : Monday, 22 February, 2016, 10:29pm
Nectar Gan
[email protected]
The overpass where the drug-fuelled party took place is cordoned off by police. Photo: Southern Metropolis News
Ninety-three people, including 50 foreigners, have been detained on suspicion of drug use after police raided a party beneath a Shenzhen overpass.
Another two foreigners were detained on suspicion of trading drugs following the raid on Sunday, Nanshan district police said on Weibo.
Police removed 491 people from the scene after being tipped off that a large crowd had gathered there and that some were using drugs.
READ MORE: China’s drug offenders on the rise as more than a million are arrested in 2015
Of these, 118 tested positive for drugs, mostly marihuana.
Police said they were still investigating.
Due to its proximity to Hong Kong and Macau, Shenzhen had become a popular hub for drug distribution and cross-border drug smuggling, Deng Guangsheng, the city’s top official for narcotics control told the Shenzhen Evening News in a report published before the raid.
Photographs at the scene of the party at the Shenzhen overpass. Photo: Southern Metropolis News
Deng said that popular venues for drug deals and use had spread from nightclubs to urban villages, small hotels and dark corners in alleyways.
Drug offences on the mainland have been steadily rising in recent years.
More than a million people were arrested on suspicion of drug use in China last year, a 20 per cent increase from the previous year, according to the National Narcotics Control Commission.
Roughly half of all the 1,062,000 drug users arrested in 2015 were new offenders, a 14.6 per cent increase from 2014.
A huge stash of empty bottles of alcohol were left at the scene of the party. Photo: Southern Metropolis News
By the end of 2015, there were more than 2.3 million drug users in China – 60 per cent of whom were between 18 and 35 years old.
In response, authorities have intensified crackdowns on drug offenders, busting more than 5,800 drug trafficking gangs last year – an 18 per cent increase from 2014.
Of those arrested for drug trafficking, almost 1,500 were foreigners, hailing from 39 countries including Myanmar, Vietnam, Nigeria and Pakistan.
