China and Vietnam will bolster judicial cooperation to combat cross-border drug trafficking between the two countries, China’s public security ministry announced on Thursday, Nov. 5.
The border area between Vietnam and the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region has become the second-biggest channel for smuggling drugs into China, surpassed only by that of the country's border with Myanmar, the Ministry of Public Security said in a statement.
China borders two major international production hubs for opium and methamphetamine--the Golden Triangle and the Golden Crescent.
The Golden Triangle, which encompasses parts of Myanmar, Laos and Thailand, is a major international drug-producing area, while the Golden Crescent overlaps Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan.
According to the ministry, Yunnan Province and Guangxi are the worst-hit trafficking areas in China.
China and Vietnam have been conducting a campaign since September against drug smuggling, targeting major trafficking rings in the region.
The ministry said that since mid-September, law enforcement officers from both countries have discovered 1,466 drug smuggling cases, arrested 2,054 suspects and seized 2,383 kilograms of narcotics. 960 of the cases where uncovered by Chinese police, who also arrested 1,196 suspects including eight Vietnamese. They also confiscated 2,299 kg of drugs and 1.27 million yuan ($200,000) in "dirty" money.
A command center in Guangxi has also been set up to collect evidence and a hotline opened to exchange intelligence with Vietnam, the ministry said.
To date, Chinese authorities have exchanged 28 items of valuable information with their Vietnamese counterparts for measures to be taken to deal with such crimes. Police from 17 provinces and regions across China have also been deployed to take part in joint actions.
Law enforcement officials from both countries have also tightened security checks on key roads, airports and ports to curb drug smuggling.