60,000 arrested in China anti-drug operation

Beijing: Police in China arrested 60,500 suspects for drug-related crimes in an operation that saw the seizure of 11.14 tonnes of narcotics, the ministry of public security announced Thursday.

The police have dealt with 52,800 drug crime cases from late September to the end of December last year, amid a nationwide campaign to "ban drugs in hundreds of cities", the ministry said in a statement. The campaign will last until April this year, Xinhua reported.

In its next move, the ministry and national drug control authority will begin to "speak with local drug control officials", the ministry said, implying further measures.