Drug traffickers targeting China will soon face a new deterrent as a device that can detect drugs ingested by the smugglers will be recommended for nationwide use this year.

 

The X-ray detector, used experimentally in southwest China's Yunnan and Guizhou provinces since 2003, passed the final appraisal last year. It would be used at checkpoints across the country, especially those along the borders, the Ministry of Public Security told a press briefing yesterday.

 

Liu Shuo, deputy director of the ministry's Science and Technology Bureau, said wide use of the detector will assist in catching drug traffickers in China as passenger pathways at border checkpoints have become a popular channel for moving drugs.

 

Official figures show that more than half of the 117 kilograms of heroin and drug-related chemicals seized by Chinese border police in the first two months of this year had been found in clothing or had been ingested.

 

"Before development of the detector it was very hard to find drugs hidden inside human bodies, such as in the stomach, intestines or vagina," Liu said. "We relied on experience and manual checks but mistakes were easily made and caused disputes over human rights.

 

"But the use of the new device in Yunnan has significantly brought down drug trafficking cases and we hope it can be installed at checkpoints across the country," he said.

 

A policeman surnamed Li, who works at the Kunming Railway Station, told China Daily that on average they find four suspected traffickers a day using the detector.

 

Working in a similar way to a medical fluoroscope the detector uses domestic, innovative technology, said Luo Shanzhong, another bureau official.

 

He said suspects stand in front of the detector, which can be fixed or portable, for only a minute before the results are given.

 

"In terms of accuracy our detector compares well to any similar foreign products," he said.

 

He added that the machine does no harm as the X-ray is only around one-tenth of the strength of the machines used in hospitals for regular medical examinations. "Only suspects will be required to go through the check," he added.

 

So far, 62 detectors are in use at checkpoints in Yunnan, Guizhou, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and Shanghai.

 

"Although we recommend that checkpoints install these devices, it may not be easy for some," Luo noted.

 

Insufficient finances may cause problems. "Checkpoints receive money for new equipment from local governments," he said. "Although a detector costs only 200,000 yuan (US$24,700), some checkpoints in poor rural areas may not be able to afford them."

 

(China Daily April 7, 2006)