SHANGHAI police said yesterday that they have caught 1,058 suspects in 1,032 drug cases solved so far this year — and seized 371 kilograms of drugs.

Most of the drugs were brought into the city last year by road, and personal freight services had become a favored means of drug transportation.

Police said drugs are increasingly traded via online payment tools, and social networking platforms and instant messaging software are being used to facilitate drug crime.

So far this year, 9,321 drug takers have been discovered, with 3,875 of them put on compulsory drug rehabilitation programs.

Last year, the city’s traffic police discovered 16 cases of driving under the influence of drugs, while 4,678 drug addicts had their driving licenses canceled.

By the end of last year, there were 85,045 registered addicts in the city, up 4.6 percent from 2015, and males accounted for three-quarters of the addicts, according to the city’s Office of Narcotics Control Commission.

Meanwhile, police said four drug dealing suspects from the same family, plus an accomplice, have been charged with transporting drugs.

Putuo District police said yesterday that 50 kilograms of ice meth and 5kg of heroine were seized from the suspects on January 30 — in one of the biggest drug cases in Shanghai in recent years.

Putuo police started investigation last August and said the drug was transported by cars from Guangdong, via Fujian, Jiangxi and Anhui provinces. Drivers and cars were constantly changed during transportation of the drugs, which were often sealed in tea bottles and wrapped up in tin foil, police added.

After a tip-off, a raid was carried out at a residential complex on Haiming Road in Caolu Town, Pudong.

Among the suspects are a 62-year-old woman surnamed Xing and her son, a 35-year-old man surnamed Wang, both Shanghai locals. Wang’s wife and her younger brother — both from Jiangxi Province — were also involved.

A fifth suspect is a 62-year-old man surnamed Shen, police added.

Police said the suspects bought the drugs at 35,000 yuan (US$5,145) per kilogram and sold them at 70,000 to 110,000 yuan per kilogram.