China has taken more effective measures to enhance border enforcement and curb the infiltration of narcotics from abroad and the smuggling of narcotic substances out of China, according to the National Immigration Administration.

The immigration administration organs have intensified efforts to strengthen drug control and cut off the flow of drugs from the source, Chen Jie, spokesman of the administration, said at a news conference on June 25, a day ahead of the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking.

In accordance with the arrangement of the National Narcotics Control Commission, since the start of this year immigration authorities have taken the southwest border area as the main battlefield to carry out a strict investigation and crackdown on drug crime, Chen said.

In the first half of this year, immigration authorities nationwide have cracked 571 drug cases, including 131 cases involving more than 10 kilograms, according to the administration.

The immigration police officers also arrested 665 suspects, and seized 5.55 metric tons of drugs and 323.5 tons of materials for making drugs during the same period, it said.

At present, drug crimes in the border areas appeared both online and offline, and the phenomenon of drug dealers domestic and abroad connecting to bypass border checkpoints and conduct transactions is prominent, Han Bin, an officer in the Gongxin border police station of Pu'er border management detachment, Yunnan province, said at the conference.

In addition, new types of drug trafficking and using logistics services to deliver drugs, combined with other cross-border crimes interwoven with drug crimes, make the investigation and crackdown on drug crimes more difficult, he said.

To cope with the situation, immigration authorities have extensively set up checkpoints along the border, and dynamically adjust the deployment of police forces to enforce stricter checks on people, vehicles and materials entering and leaving the border areas, Han said.

"In combination with the special fight against crimes against border management, we have also strengthened the crackdown on drug trafficking through logistics," he said.

Through improving the coordination among regions and departments, deepening the coordinated law enforcement with neighboring countries, authorities have constantly improved the effectiveness of joint operations, according to the administration.

Apart from strengthening drug crime intelligence collection and deepening the application of big data in the crackdown of drug crimes, immigration administration agencies have also worked with local governments to publicize drug prevention knowledge to improve the public's anti-drug awareness, it said.