Beijing police burnt 224 kilograms of drugs - with an estimated street value of more than 100 million yuan (US$12 million) - at a northwestern suburban area on Friday.

The drugs, most of which were heroin, "ice," marijuana and pills, were collected during raids against drug dealers and addicts in 2002 and 2003, according to the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau.

The drug burning move took place on the 166th anniversary of the famous Humen Opium Destruction.

On June 3, 1839, Lin Zexu, a senior official of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), ordered the destruction of about 1,000 tons of smuggled opium confiscated from foreign dealers at Humen in South China's Guangdong Province.

Lin's move was regarded as China's first battle against opium.

Beijing police have burnt drugs every two years since the late 1990s, and the last burning in 2003 destroyed more than 600 kilograms of drugs, said Cheng Ping, an official with the public security bureau.

Last year, Beijing drug enforcement agents uncovered more than 1,800 drug-trafficking cases and captured more than 1,370 suspected drug dealers, confiscating nearly 74 kilograms of drugs, according to the bureau's statistics.

Last November, Beijing police cracked down on a drug smuggling gang and seized nearly 14.6 kilograms of narcotics. It was the biggest drug case that Beijing police had smashed since 1949. Sixteen other cases, each of which involved more than 1 kilograms of drugs, were cracked last year. The number of such serious cases increased by 42 per cent compared with that of 2003, said Cheng.

She said cracking down on drug dealers and drugs will remain one of the bureau's top priorities in the coming years.

Between January and May this year, Beijing police uncovered more than 350 drug cases, captured more than 360 suspected drug dealers and confiscated more than 30 kilograms of drugs, Cheng said.

The municipal government plans to carry out a citywide census of drug-users this year, which will be the most thorough one since 1949.

The city will also provide free HIV tests for addicts who receive treatment at rehabilitation centers and make health records on them, said Qiang Wei, a leading official with the municipal government.

Statistics from the public security bureau show that number of drug-users rose by more than 3,800 last year, and those users have been sent to rehabilitation centers.

And 1,140-plus new drug addicts were reported in the first five months this year, said the bureau.

According to statistics provided by the municipal anti-drug committee, there are more than 26,000 registered drug takers in Beijing, 88 per cent of whom are young people under 35 years old.

(China Daily June 4, 2005)