Cao Dongmei, a 36 years old nurse, was convicted of illegally selling narcotic drugs during the past year.

Local police found syringes containing buprenorphin hydrochloride, 10 syringes containing ketamine hydrochloride, five bottles of triazolam, and diazepam 205 in Cao's dormitory and house.

The distribution of these narcotics is firmly controlled by health administrations and private selling is sternly prohibited by law, police said.

The police also discovered plenty of printed material and video cassettes about the Falun Gong cult at her residence.

Cao claimed that her aim was to help out the drug addicts based on the belief that drugs could "save people" by helping them reach a heightened state of awareness and ultimately nirvana.

She started to practice Falun Gong in 1997 and then became obsessed with it. In June last year, she went to Beijing to participate in an illegal gathering of Falun Gong members, which cost her about 10,000 yuan (1,200 U.S. dollars) and achieved nothing.

After returning home, she increased her drug trafficking partly to earn back the expenditure.

Su Xiaowu, the policeman in charge of the case, believed that Cao did the deals primarily for money because as a nurse she knows that people are more likely to become addicted to narcotics than cocaine.

The police also found part of a ledger roughly recording the income Cao earned from the drug deals.

Official statistics show that in the last couple of years, more than 1,600 Falun Gong practitioners have died unnatural deaths throughout China, which has affected thousands of families.

Like other evil cults in the world, Falun Gong not only incites its followers to commit suicide, but also instigates them to kill or injure others, thus bringing disaster to the victims and deep sorrow to the victims' families.

The Chinese government has made great efforts to ban on the Falun Gong cult. So far, many Falun Gong followers in China have learned of the cult's nature and Li Hongzhi's tricks.

Thanks to the government's help, many innocent people, especially women, children and the elderly, have been protected and have returned to normal life.

(People's Daily 04/20/2001)