As anyone who has been on Sanlitun Bar Street after 9pm knows all too well, drug dealing is fairly common in the area. A journalist from Xinhua decided to go undercover and discover how easily it is to acquire drugs in Beijing. He first contacted a drug dealer directly on the street, and then via wechat, saying he wanted to buy ‘ice’.
After a shady meeting in the shadows of Sanlitun SOHO, the journalist haggled over the original price of 1,200 per gram. Whilst talking to the man, the journalist discovered that he used to be a student but he turned to drug dealing to make money, and now he doesn’t really go to class any more.
A couple of days later, the journalist reported the man to the police who was arrested and is now awaiting deportation. Drug dealers often enter the country the way many illegal workers do, on student visas. Once they have gained entry, they will then use their residence permits for other, not always legal, pursuits.
Source: Xinhua.net
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Keywords: Sanlitun Drug Dealer Arrested
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Not so undercover, these guys are popping out of every nook and cranny in SLT. It always amazed that there is a police station, so very close to the dealers, OH of course, they get the kick backs. No way these guys are hustleing on their own.
Jun 05, 2014 00:14 Report Abuse
Wow, what a "brave" journalist! Not exactly Hunter S. Thompson's gonzo journalism:) The only news here is that there is apparently a journalist in Beijing who had to go "undercover" to find out how easy it is to buy drugs in Sanlitun and didn't already know this.
May 31, 2014 12:08 Report Abuse
It's all hilarious considering how western newspapers are full of Chinese people trying to pull scams in those countries.
May 31, 2014 09:27 Report Abuse
The nationality of the drug dealer doesn't need to be mentioned. Anyone who has lived in China for any amount of time will know the dealer was probably an African. Not racist, a fact. It's the same in Guangzhou around the Garden Hotel area. Drug dealing is rife, yet the police turn a blind eye to it all. I guess they are too busy catching people jaywalking.
May 30, 2014 10:08 Report Abuse
To be fair, be it foreign or local drug dealers, one off the streets benefits many families. In this case both the reporter and the police did a good job. The writer of this article did not put the spotlight on the foreigner aspect of the drug dealer. In fact the word foreigner wasn't even used once in the entire article.
May 30, 2014 09:30 Report Abuse
Sure, hypothetically "one off the streets" appears to benefit many families. I agree. But in reality, it doesn't matter. They are peons to the gang bosses and are replaced about as quickly as you replace your socks. These gang bosses are in league with the cops in most cases and most politicians know that organized crime is a necessary evil. Education is a much stronger weapon to use. If there is no demand then there is no supply killing the people.
May 30, 2014 13:02 Report Abuse
Agree completely except one point. To the families who benefitted from one fewer drug dealer, it does help. The issue is as you said, to what extent does that help, from the viewpoint of the big picture? Not much, but every little bit counts. Throwing criminals into jails is a sweep-it-under-the-carpet, superficial, painkiller kind of fix. The root of these problems goes very, very deep. Even more deeper than education can cure. Education can also be viewed as a superficial, yet closer to a root cure than merely throwing criminals into jails, fix, depending on the depth you want to take the issue to. The core issue lies in human nature. I think you would agree that it is a big can of worms when we talk about that.
May 30, 2014 13:46 Report Abuse
Drug dealing in Sanlitun is so obvious that you hardly need to go undercover to realize what's going on. I always wonder why the police just turn a blind eye considering the authorities' hard line on drugs in China.
May 30, 2014 09:27 Report Abuse
I thought if a foreigner had any drug issues of any kind that they would be executed.
May 30, 2014 08:49 Report Abuse
So around here the investigative journalists spend their time busting small-time drug dealers? Is that journalism at all?
May 30, 2014 06:45 Report Abuse
Hahahahahaha.... Yeah foreigners (or these punks) cause that heavy smog, the spitting, the crapping, the buckets of dirty water thrown into the street, the littering... You do realize that Triads run the streets and these guys wouldn't last a SECOND without kicking off to some gang boss right? Come on now, don't be so foolish.
May 30, 2014 12:57 Report Abuse
No, this is not good journalism. It's not hard to ask a drug dealer to buy drugs then write about it. Pathetic. Also, REAL journalists don't turn people in to the cops. It goes against an ethical go of documenting, but not getting involved.
May 31, 2014 09:25 Report Abuse
That last paragraph... what a load of bull. Everyone knows that small street dealers aren't the ones who should be blamed for being the big head behind drug trafficking. Those dealers are usually young naive kids employed under false promises by the big guys who sit back in the safe and have good guanxi. Western English tutors on the other hand, are operating on their own and a huge lot of them are earning money by teaching illegally under student visas. Those are the real foreign criminals who should be immediately investigated, arrested and deported instead of being worshipped everyday by the masses.
May 29, 2014 19:46 Report Abuse
Legal foreign teachers: 250-350rmb/hour for 1-to-1 lessons / Illegal foreign teachers: 100-200rmb/hour / Chinese average income: roughly 5000rmb Thinking of 3 hour a week, it's quite unaffordable for most people, if the teacher is teaching legally. Illegal foreign teachers allow good education to people which can't afford to pay the crazy prices of the legal ones. That's more charity than crime.
Jun 03, 2014 18:00 Report Abuse
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