NARCOTICS STING NABS TWO RUSSIAN DEALERS

Narcotics control police in Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province teamed
up with Russian authorities to crack down on a cross-border
drug-trafficking ring and arrested two Russian suspects.

On April 28, local police in the city of Suifenhe seized two Russian
suspects who were processing marijuana, and authorities in turn confiscated
1.6 kilograms of drugs, 20 kilograms of marijuana leaves and some
processing equipment at the site, said Cui Cunde, head of the Heilongjiang
Public Security Department's anti-drug brigade.

"This was a successful team effort under the bilateral anti-drug mechanism
between Chinese and Russian police," Cui said.

"As well, it's the first case that has involved Russian citizens committing
drug-related crimes in China."

After interrogation, the suspects confessed that they had entered
Heilongjiang Province by train and that a third Russian party was used to
transport the drugs back across the border.

At the same time, police also recovered a notebook from the suspects which
listed hundreds of Russian addresses, according to a Russian anti-drug
official. The Russian police hope to find more clues to other possible
suspects involved with the case.

These moves demonstrate good co-operation between Chinese and Russian
police, Cui said.

"It will help prevent the eastern part of the Russian-Sino border from
becoming a major drug-trafficking passage," he said.

In June 2002, the Heilongjiang Public Security Department signed agreements
with three states and one district in Russia to fight against cross-border
drug-trafficking crimes, officials said.

According to the agreements, authorities in the two nations will exchange
information pertaining to narcotics cases, co-operate in the apprehension
of suspected traffickers and conduct inspections along frontier areas,
officials said.