The Chinese government issued a circular Monday to tighten restrictions on online transactions of drug precursor chemicals, in a bid to fight Internet-enabled drug trafficking.
According to the circular jointly issued by five government departments including the Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, individuals are banned from selling precursor chemicals – that is, chemical substances that are used to manufacture narcotics – over Internet.
Only companies having a license to produce and sell these chemicals are allowed to publish sales information online, the circular said.
In addition, when it comes to four chemical substances on the strictest control list – such as ephedrine and lysergic acid – no individuals nor organization is allowed to trade online.
Operators of business websites are required to carry out strict checks of precursor chemical suppliers, submit photocopies of their licenses to Internet service providers, and publish the formal name of suppliers and their license numbers on the website, the circular said.
“As e-commerce in China grows quickly, drug dealers are taking advantage of the Internet for making anonymous transactions. In recent years, the Internet has become a key channel for drug dealers to trade precursor chemicals,” Zhang Xinfeng, vice minister of public security, said in an interview with Xinhua.