Beijing: Chinese officials have destroyed 1.04 tonnes of narcotics worth over $ 57.5 million in the country's east Zhejiang province, state media reported on Friday.
The narcotics, seized in various operations over the past four years, consisted of 102 kgs of heroin, 665 kgs of methamphetamine, 129 kgs of ketamine and 146 kgs of other drugs.
Given that traditional outdoor burning can emit a large amount of pollutants, police in Zhejiang decided to incinerate the narcotics in furnaces at a temperature of over 850 degrees Celsius, Miao Minhong, head of the local anti-drug team said.
From January to November this year, Zhejiang police arrested about 7,200 suspects in more than 4,800 narcotics related cases, Xinhua news agency reported.
Miao said Zhejiang ranks sixth in China in the number of drug abusers, with 70% below 35 years old, amid a growing number of young abusers purchasing drugs on the Internet.
