After discovering that an illegal drug processing plant was operating on the Thai-Myanmar border, the drug control authorities in Southwest China's Yunnan Province informed Myanmar police in February.

At the same time, police from the Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Region in the province passed the information to the military in Myanmar's Shan state, according to the Chinese Police Daily.

After a careful investigation, the Myanmar police established the plant's precise position and what it was producing.

On March 30, police from China and Myanmar confiscated 466 kilograms of drugs, comprising 13.5 kilograms of heroin, 111.3 kilograms of morphine and 341.2 kilograms of opium. They also confiscated drug processing machines, materials for preparing drugs and weapons and ammunition.

Thirty-seven trafficking suspects were seized.

Myanmar police are still investigating the case, said the China Police Daily.

China has strengthened co-operation with its Southeast Asian neighbours in the fight against narcotics in recent years, Bai Jingfu - vice-director of the National Narcotics Control Commission - told an annual conference on China's fight against drugs, held on March 26 in Beijing.

He said the area used to plant poppies has declined from 1.4 million mu (93,333 hectares) to 1.2 million mu (80,000 hectares) in the Golden Triangle region, where the borders of Thailand, Myanmar and Laos meet. Bai did not specify how long this decline took.

Although the drug-smuggling corridor towards southern Myanmar has closed, underground drug trafficking still takes place northwards and enters Yunnan Province across the border, Bai said.

For example, the province confiscated a total of 6.38 tons of heroin from the Golden Triangle region last year.

Zhou Yongkang, China's new minister of public security, urged all customs and border authorities to strengthen examinations in Yunnan Province's border crossings and ports. All of the province's authorities in charge of railways, road and air traffic should enhance examinations to prevent the transportation of illegal drugs.

At the same time, passages out of the province should be strictly inspected, he said.

China's police have enhanced their overall anti-drug efforts in recent years.

Last year, Chinese police cracked more than 110,000 drug-related cases and seized around 90,000 suspects. They confiscated 9.29 tons of heroin, 1.21 tons of opium, 3.19 tons of "ice" (methamphetamine), 1.3 tons of marijuana, more than 3 million ecstasy tablets and more than 300 tons of chemical raw materials, according to sources with the National Narcotics Control Commission.

(China Daily April 9, 2003)