Shanghai police seize 2.4 tons of methamphetamine

World Today

Methamphetamine hydrochloride

Chinese police seized 2.4 tons of methamphetamine  in one of the country’s largest drug busts, authorities in the eastern city of Shanghai said Thursday.

Twenty-eight people were arrested in the joint operation with police from the southern province of Guangdong, where the drug lab was discovered, Shanghai police said in a statement on their official microblog.

They said the hunt began with the discovery of a drug dealer in August and that evidence led police to the lab in Guangdong.

Illegal drugs remain a major problem in China despite tough laws, including the death penalty for offenders.

Last year, Guangdong police used 3,000 armed police officers in a drug sweep that seized nearly 3 tons of methamphetamine and 23 tons of raw materials to manufacture the stimulant drug.

This story is compiled with information from The Associated Press.