The number of drug trafficking cases in China almost doubled last year with the country increasingly being used as a transit point and domestic consumption rising, a top anti-smuggling official said yesterday.

Border police cracked 355 drug smuggling cases last year, a sharp increase of 91.9 percent over 2005; and about 790 kg of drugs were seized, up by 65.5 percent, according to figures released yesterday at a press conference by the Ministry of Public Security.

"More domestic and foreign drug traffickers are transporting drugs to or via China, posing a great threat to our social stability," said Li Wenjian, deputy director of the ministry's anti-smuggling bureau.

Related readings: China's police seize 789 kilograms of drugs in 2006

The increase in cases is also a result of an intensified police crackdown, he added.

Li said that compared with the infamous "Golden Triangle" area in Southeast Asia, there is more likelihood of drugs coming from the "Golden Crescent" region, which encompasses the mountain valleys of Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Figures from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime show that an unprecedented 6,100 tons of opium was harvested in Afghanistan last year, accounting for 92 percent of the global supply.

One of the major drug routes is through Pakistan to Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, and onward to other Chinese cities such as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, as well as Russia and Eastern Europe, according to police authorities in Xinjiang.

Li also said more cases involving "human mules" - people who ingest heroin in condoms or other plastic bags to smuggle the drug - have made detection more difficult.

"It's a new tendency (in drug-trafficking)," he said, adding that border police came across about 80 such cases last year, accounting for more than a fifth of the total.

Li said it is difficult to detect drugs concealed inside the human body with the current equipment at customs - and most times, it is usually the experience and vigilance of police officers which bring results.

Media reports have detailed such cases. Guangzhou Daily reported that border police at Guangzhou Baiyun Airport found four traffickers with 2.65 kg of heroin inside their stomachs on March 15.

All smugglers were Beninian and took the same flight from Hong Kong to Guangzhou.

The newspaper also reported that three men were found hiding drugs inside themselves at Guangzhou Tianhe Bus Terminal a few days later.

To tackle such cases, Li said customs would be equipped with more advanced facilities this year.

"Suspects will no longer have to go to hospital for X-rays, as the new machines can detect drugs inside the human body on the spot," he said.

Travellers from high-risk areas, such as Africa and West Asia, will be under close scrutiny as well.

Meanwhile, ministry spokesman Wu Heping revealed yesterday that 37 corrupt officials were repatriated to China last year, but did not disclose how many are still at large abroad.

Media reports said that of the more than 800 suspects accused of embezzling nearly 70 billion yuan ($9.04 billion) worth of property and funds who had fled abroad, around 500 are still to be repatriated.

Wu said the ministry would strengthen cooperation with foreign counterparts on extradition and repatriation of suspects.

(China Daily 03/28/2007 page1)