Use of illegal drugs has been a rampant problem in Guangdong. (Photo : Reuters)
As a response to rampant trafficking issues, the government of Guangdong Province said that it plans to strengthen its efforts to rehabilitate drug users, converting some compulsory rehabilitation facilities into hospitals.
For Guo Shaobo, the deputy director of the Guangdong Provincial Narcotics Control Commission, "the rapid spread of drug problems and high incidence of drug-related crimes is plaguing Guangdong at present and will do so in the years to come."
Guo was speaking at a news conference organized by the State Council Information Office and the Office of the National Narcotics Control Commission in Guangzhou on Sunday, a Global Times article cited.
Guo added that the province will continue to be "one of the country's synthetic drugs manufacturing site, an international drug trafficking channel and a transfer point for the domestic illegal drug trade in the near future," the report said.
For Deng Jianwei, the director of the Narcotics Control Bureau of the Guangdong Provincial Public Security Department, one of the causes of the area's increasing drug problems is that many drug users with infectious diseases are being turned away by rehabilitation centers.
Deng shared that the centers who do so have insufficient specialized facilities that will help treat the users.
Meanwhile, the provincial government has also teamed up with 40 countries, including Russia and the U.S., to do drug case investigations. Last year, they were able to nab 503 drug traffickers from 42 countries.
As of November this year, Guangdong has busted at least 1,708 drug trafficking gangs and has seized a total of 34.8 tons of illegal drugs.
