Top cop beats gangs, guns and danger

Being threatened and tested by drug dealers, taking part in operations to apprehend criminals and conducting undercover investigations: in his 19 years as a police officer, An Xiaohua has been involved in front-line anti-drug work and remained steadfast to his aim of creating a drug-free world.

The 42-year-old member of the Yi ethnic group is deputy captain of the law enforcement investigation team at the Baoshan frontier management detachment of the General Station of Frontier Inspection in the southwestern province of Yunnan.

In the course of his work, An has infiltrated 12 drug gangs via undercover operations — and dismantled six of them — participated in the investigation of more than 200 cases, apprehended more than 350 suspects and seized 1.5 metric tons of various drugs.

Thanks to his outstanding performance, An has won several major awards, including National Advanced Individual in Anti-drug Work. Recently, he was selected as one of the 10 National Frontier Guards due to his contribution to the fight against drugs in the border area and to immigration work.

Baoshan, located on China's southwestern border, is just 350 kilometers from the "Golden Triangle", an area that comprises parts of Thailand, Laos and Myanmar and is infamous for drug production and trafficking.

Due to Baoshan's location, two of the seven most important drug trafficking routes identified by the National Narcotics Control Commission pass through the city, making it an important place to stop drugs entering China.

The day after An joined the police in 2004, he participated in an anti-drug operation in another city. The mission did not go as planned and the officers encountered a drug addict with a gun when they entered a shack. However, An was able to subdue the suspect and prevent any casualties.

The operation netted 49 drug users and two guns.

Although he had won his first battle, An was not happy. When he looked at the thin, pallid addicts who had been devastated by drugs he became even more determined to fight narcotic use.

While dealing with such cases, he has often experienced dangerous moments, such as suspects carrying guns or knives. Sometimes, criminals have deliberately forced collisions with the officers' cars to evade capture, while others with infectious diseases have tried to scratch or bite the officers. However, the police often do not have time to be afraid — all they need to do is subdue the suspects as quickly as possible, An said.

Undercover work

In Feb 2019, the Baoshan border team was informed that a drug gang was planning to transport more than 100 kilograms of narcotics into the country.

An volunteered to go undercover and infiltrate the gang. After being subjected to several threats and tests, he managed to join the gang as a minor member.

Drug dealers are very crafty and constantly change delivery times and locations, he said. As such, An lived with them for 40 days, traveling to Baoshan, Pu'er and Kunming in Yunnan, and cities in Hubei and Hunan provinces.

"I never knew when the drug dealers were trying to test me. I had to be on high alert and hardly ever took a real break. If I had been exposed, the whole operation would have failed, my colleagues on the outside would have been in danger and I wouldn't have got away from the gang," he said.

Eventually, An won the dealers' trust. As they undertook a transaction in a hotel, he sent a signal to his colleagues outside the building to capture the criminals.

Police apprehended 18 suspects and seized 146 kg of methamphetamine and 1.34 million yuan ($188,000) during the operation.

"When investigating a case, the hardest thing to endure is the waiting, whether it is lurking in the jungle or monitoring a vehicle. Sometimes we need to wait more than 10 hours. Drug dealers are very cunning, so we officers need to have strong willpower and perseverance," An said.

His investigation team has 11 members, and they are all highly experienced in intelligence gathering, analysis and detection.

"Every member of the team has experienced various anti-drug battles, but we are all determined to fight drug crime to the end because we know that as long as we can destroy one gang and confiscate 1 gram of narcotics, we may save one life and heal one broken family," he said.

yangzekun@chinadaily.com.cn