BEIJING, June 21 -- China's drug-related crimes have decreased to their lowest figures in nearly a decade, according to a report released Wednesday by the country's Ministry of Public Security.

The "China Drug Situation Report 2022" showed that the overall drug situation in the country has continued to improve, with drug-related crimes decreasing and the scale of narcotics supply, consumption, and abuse continuing to shrink.

The report revealed that in 2022, Chinese authorities cracked 35,000 drug-related criminal cases, and seized 21.9 tonnes of narcotics, marking a year-on-year decrease of 28.6 percent and 18.7 percent, respectively.

The scale of drug abuse in the country also continued to shrink, with 1.124 million drug users recorded at the end of 2022, a decrease of 24.3 percent compared to the previous year.

The number of drug users has been declining for five consecutive years, while the number of those who have quit drug use for three years without relapse has been increasing for ten years, according to the report.

The report also pointed out that more and more criminals are using the internet to conduct drug-related activities. In 2022, authorities investigated 2,761 cases of drug trafficking on the internet and seized 1.2 tonnes of drugs, an increase of 119 percent compared to the previous year.

"China's public security departments have continued to carry out strict crackdowns on drug-related crimes while innovating and improving the drug governance system," said Wei Xiaojun, head of the Ministry of Public Security's narcotics control bureau. "The overall situation of China's anti-narcotics fight is showing a positive trend."

The official added that the effective crackdown on drug-related crimes has led to a significant case decrease, from a peak of over 160,000 in 2015 to 35,000 in 2022.