BEIJING -- Chinese police solved 48 major cases during a crackdown on drug production from Feb 22 to May 31, the Ministry of Public Security said Thursday.

A total of 444 suspects were arrested, 9.5 tonnes of drugs seized and 60 drug-production facilities destroyed, during the crackdown.

Police searched remote mountainous areas, forests, warehouses and chemical enterprises where drug production often takes place.

Authorities offered rewards for those who reported information relating to drug production and trained grassroots police to better identify drugs.