Police in southwest China's Yunnan Province cracked 22,946 drug-related cases, nabbed 25,728 criminal suspects and seized 10.75 tons of narcotics of various types in 2005, the first year of the nationwide campaign against drugs.

The achievements came after the provincial government earmarked special funds for the local anti-drug campaign and reinforced the crackdown on the production, purchase, transport and use of drugs, and intensified anti-drug education among drug addicts and common people, according to Meng Sutie, head of the provincial public security bureau.

Yunnan is a major route for drugs smuggled out of Southeast Asia's "Golden Triangle" region of China, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand.

The Chinese government initiated the "people's war against drugs" in April last year. Since then, a series of achievements have been made in detecting the source of drugs, curbing the harmful influence of drug crimes and controlling the number of drug addicts.

Customs houses across China handled 9,627 smuggling cases in 2005, which involved a combined goods value of 9.85 billion yuan (US$1.23 billion), figures from the General Administration of Customs show.

(Xinhua News Agency January 17, 2006)