Province records its biggest-ever haul

Police in Southwest China's Yunnan province seized almost 9 metric tons of illegal drugs in the first five months of the year, having tackled 2,076 cases involving 2,395 suspects.

Meanwhile, the number nationwide was 13.6 tons over the same period, according to the Ministry of Public Security, which said the drugs were seized during more than 18,000 cases with about 25,000 suspects.

Last year, more than 55 tons of illegal drugs were seized nationwide, with the number of cases reaching 64,000 and more than 92,000 suspects detained, Xinhua News Agency reported in April.

Meanwhile, public security authorities in Yunnan said they tackled about 8,000 cases and confiscated more than 35 tons of illegal narcotics during the same period. The haul was the biggest in the history of the province.

Yunnan shares a land border of 4,000 kilometers with Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam.

The border, which has no natural barriers, is close to the Golden Triangle, one of Asia's main opium-producing areas.

That means the province is a relatively easy point of entry for traffickers, and the fight against such criminals and related crimes is arduous.

"The COVID-19 pandemic has reduced the number of traffickers as a result of tighter border controls, but I cannot say the volume of inbound drugs has decreased," said Liu Jiayong, an officer with the National Immigration Administration in Xishuangbanna Dai autonomous prefecture, which lies along the border.

In 1982, the prefecture was the site of China's first anti-drug police force.

In 1990, the State Council, China's Cabinet, approved the establishment of the National Narcotics Control Commission.

Following the introduction of the Anti-Drug Law of the People's Republic of China in 2007, the country worked hard to build a comprehensive system to combat drug-related crimes.

The commission oversees many different ministries and departments associated with the war on drugs, but the NIA, which has taken over duties previously undertaken by the People's Armed Police Force, is the backbone of the fight.

"We have police stations on the border and inspection stations on every major public road. We participate in the investigation and arrest of people involved in drug-related crimes, so our officers are a major force in such activities," said He Ouxiang, from the NIA's offices in Kunming, Yunnan's capital.

"Due to the province's location, we can easily seize large quantities of illegal drugs. For example, officers in the border city of Pu'er seized 1.3 tons of drugs in the first half of the year, including heroin and methamphetamine," he added.

"The situation is changing, though: In the past, heroin accounted for most of the illegal drugs we seized, but now we are seeing more methamphetamine and synthetic drugs being trafficked."