Random Drug Test at 2 Kolegas, 30 Suspects Arrested

Update: This story has been updated here to reflect that nine individuals were arrested – four Chinese and five foreigners.

Over the weekend, Beijing music venue 2 Kolegas was raided by the police and all patrons were forced to give on-site urine samples to test for narcotic use. The raid resulted in the arrest of 30 suspects, which included ten expats who are apparently in the process of being deported.  

Stephen McDonell, a news correspondent for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation who was present, tweeted:

While this is not common practice in Beijing, this sort of crackdown on drug use has happened before and will probably continue to occur in the coming weeks at bars and clubs around Beijing. 

We also spotted a post on our forum, from last March that stated "in 2015 the PSB will start random drug testing on expats in China who hold a Z visa and for those applying for a marriage licenses.” We are not certain of the validity of this claim but it is most likely an attempt to further purge the country of the undesirable element. Although still a million miles away from the extent of usage in Western countries, drug abuse in China is on the increase and the authorities aren't taking any chances, with more and more foreigners being arrested for drug related crimes. 

More stories by this author here.

Email: danielkippwhittaker@thebeijinger.com

Photos: arizonaima