Shanghai customs officials find 670 grams of cocaine in the sandwich layers of the suspect's slippers. Photo: Courtesy of Shanghai Customs

Shanghai customs recently intercepted a foreigner who hid 670 grams of cocaine in the sandwich layers of his pair of slippers at an airport security check, according to an official release on Wednesday, International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking. 

The man did not have much baggage, only a backpack, which is obviously abnormal for long distance travelers, customs officials said, noting they became suspicious when he was on board of a flight from Ethiopia to China. 

When checking the passenger's personal belongings, customs found a pair of slippers identical to the pair he was wearing but were much lighter. A thorough examination by the officials found the cocaine in the inlays of the slippers he wore. 

The report did not identify the suspect's name or nationality. 

Shanghai customs officials find 670 grams of cocaine in the sandwich layers of the suspect's slippers. Photo: Courtesy of Shanghai Customs

Shanghai customs have busted 32 drug smuggling cases in the past year, seizing more than 4 kilograms of drugs and precursor chemicals, according to the release it sent to the Global Times on Wednesday. 

The release also said that in the first half of 2019, 21 drug smuggling cases have been handled by Shanghai authorities, a 30 percent rise compared to the same period last year. 

"The overall anti-drug situation remains stable and within control. However, more and various drug concealing methods have emerged," it noted. 

On the same day, media revealed that an anti-drug operation led by South China's Guangdong Province stopped an illegal chain of a marijuana seed trade and arrested 41 suspects and seized 4.3 tons of seeds, which marked the first case in China where marijuana seeds were traded illegally in large amounts for drug use.

Guangdong police arrested a suspect planting marijuana and tracked the online store where the suspect bought the seeds. They followed the chain and finally located dealers who sell the seeds at grain and oil markets in East China's Jiangsu and Shandong provinces, southcn.com reported on Wednesday.

The Supreme People's Procuratorate said at a Tuesday press conference that drug dealers are increasingly doing their business online, increasing the difficulty of catching them. 

Chinese customs busted 604 drug smuggling cases in 2018, seizing 37.5 tons of drugs and precursor chemicals, representing a three-year drop in the number of drug-related cases.

The country is also making great efforts to curb domestic drug sources. Domestic drug-making has been effectively curbed, with 412 cases uncovered and 14.7 tons of drugs seized in 2018, a 30.8 and 37 percent decline year-on-year, according to China's National Narcotics Control Commission work report on China's drug control situation in 2018. 

Global Times