The number of drug-related crimes handled by China's courts is on the rise, with more criminals shifting to modern synthetic drugs, the Supreme People's Court revealed on Wednesday.

"New-type synthetic drugs, such as methamphetamine, or ice, and ketamine, are increasingly involved in drug criminal cases, and they have overtaken heroin as the primary drugs used in some parts of China," said Sun Jungong, spokesman of the Supreme People's Court.

In a new trend for drug-related crimes in recent years, medicines that contain ephedrine, such as cold medicines, have been illegally purchased in large amounts and utilized to manufacture drugs. Ephedra plants are also being used to extract ephedrine to produce ice, according to the Supreme People's Court.