Yunnan province seized a whopping 9.6 tons of illegal drugs in the first 11 months of 2006, accounting for 80 percent of the total drugs confiscated nationwide during the period, according to this report citing Sun Dahong, deputy director of Yunnan's provincial Public Security Bureau. The total is more than double the four tons of drugs seized in the province in 2005.

Of the 9.6 tons, police seized 3.87 tons of heroin, 3.71 tons of methamphetamine, 1.38 tons of opium and 0.64 tons of other drugs. Nearly 12,000 people were arrested during the 11-month period.

Yunnan is situated just north of the infamous opiate-producing area in the northern regions of Myanmar, Laos and Thailand known as the Golden Triangle. Its rugged and porous borders have made it a main point of entry for illegal drugs into China.

Heroin and methamphetamine seem to be the main targets of the 30,000+ anti-drug police in Yunnan. The majority of heroin coming into China from the Golden Triangle passes through Dali, where it is then distributed to the rest of China and even the United States via China's coastal cities.

Share this article

Comments