BEIJING, Dec. 28 (Xinhua) -- More than 70 suspects have been detained for illegally producing and dealing drug-precursor chemicals, said the Ministry of Public Security Thursday.

Police of Linyi City in eastern China's Shandong Province detained 20 suspects for illegally producing a precursor chemical named "2-Bromopropiophenone" in August, according to a ministry press release.

About 22 tonnes of chemicals and 30 tonnes of raw material were confiscated in the case.

Two prime suspects, surnamed Deng and Li, imported the raw material from Italy, Jordan and Japan, and organized production in Shandong, before selling to downstream dealers nationwide.

The case in Shandong led to the investigation and detention of 52 other suspects in southeast China's Jiangxi Province and northeast China's Liaoning Province. A further 30 tonnes of precursor chemicals were seized.

Further investigation is underway.?