Locals form majority of Shanghai court drug case suspects

More than 70 percent of the 45 people involved in drug cases the Jing'an District People's Court of Shanghai handled from January to May were locals, the court announced yesterday.

And of those seen by the court, 22 percent were female and 46 percent aged over 50.

A 60-year-old local drug addict, surnamed Li, was caught selling drugs at home last August. Police found 13 grams of methylamphetamine and 5 grams of nimetazepam in three packets of white crystals and 26 pink tablets they seized at the scene. Li was unemployed and made a living as a drug dealer, the court said. Li was given a reprieve after helping police find other dealers.

According to the court, 15 of the 42 cases dealt with occurred in the homes of dealers or in hotel rooms.

Most of the 45 people in court over drugs cases graduated from middle school, high school, university or higher, the court said. Forty of them had no work, mainly earning money from drug trafficking.

A man surnamed He took a flight to Guangdong Province and brought drugs he bought there back to Shanghai on a bus. He was found with 51 grams of red tablets containing methylamphetamine in a cigarette case last October. He was jailed for 15 years.