Local residents watch anti-drug promotion billboards in a park in Tangshan, North China's Hebei Province, on June 26, 2023.

China's top court disclosed 10 cases of drug-related crimes on Monday, the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, making public for the first time a death penalty case involving crimes related to new types of drugs.

According to the Supreme People's Court of China, two criminals surnamed Yan and Dong were executed in August 2022 for having made, transported and sold a total of 5,126.4 kilograms of Methcathinone in 2016 and 2017.

As a new type of drug that could lead to permanent brain damage or even death, Methcathinone is illegal in China.

China has prosecuted a total of 467,000 individuals for drug-related crimes in the past five years, representing a 33 percent decrease over the previous five-year period, the Supreme People's Procuratorate said on Sunday, noting that the decline in arrests and prosecutions indicates the effectiveness of anti-drug efforts and the successful containment of drug-related crimes.

Whereas the numbers of traditional drug crimes and individuals involved are declining, the number of cases related to narcotic and psychoactive drugs sold by perpetrators as an alternative to traditional drugs is on the rise.

Among the 10 cases revealed by the court, four cases involved the misuse of medical narcotic drugs and psychoactive drugs.

There have been cases in which medical personnel have repeatedly sold psychotropic substances to drug users and traffickers for profit, said the court, which vowed to severely punish crimes related to narcotics and psychoactive drugs and enhance the public's awareness on the safe use of medication.