As a leader of this village near the border with Myanmar in China's far south, Cao Yuxiang knew he had to make an example of his own son. The younger man was addicted to heroin; sleeping the day away and disappearing from the family home at night.

Cao's intervention involved dragging his 24-year-old son to a meeting at the Buddhist temple, the largest building in the tiny village which also serves as a meeting hall.

The young man wasn't arrested or jailed, he was enrolled in rehab and has since fought off his addiction and is now a migrant worker in a city to the east.

The story and the village are likely typical of many in this region that borders on the notorious Golden Triangle.

In Dongme village in southwest China's Yunnan Province, villagers have taken a much more pro-active approach in protecting their families from heroin addiction. They've set up nightly patrols to guard their homes and fields from addicts on the rampage and village elders have helped push those who are hooked into rehabilitation.

"Order in the village has improved and our family income has increased," said Li Weifu, head of the village.

Located within the municipality of Ruili city, Dongme village is just 30 kilometers away from Myanmar. Three dozen of the 468 residents were addicted and numerous others where involved in the drug trade.

That was before the so-called 'village guard' was set up in March 2005. The 10-member team of civilians were trained by police with the goal of eradicating drugs and ensuring security.

Cao Yuxiang, 54, is one of the Dongme village guards. Wearing a green camouflage uniform provided by armed police, the farmer is one of the most revered figures in the village.

Cao's duties include reporting drug addicts in the village and persuading them to enter the rehabilitation centre. The first person he reported was his son.

"At first I was shocked and afraid the police would arrest my son," said Cao while puffing on a cigarette. "But I was more afraid of my son's addiction and how he could influence other young villagers."

The frustrated father finally reported his son's addiction to Yang Bo, one of two armed police officers stationed in the village. Together they talked Cao Chengguang into taking treatment at a local rehabilitation centre.

The younger Cao is now working in east China's Fujian Province, while his younger brother and sister have landed similar jobs in Shenzhen in Guangdong Province.

"My son is now earning 1,000 yuan a month now," smiled the contented father now that his son is earning more than ten times what he would make if he stayed in the village. The father also recalls how his son's habit consumed 450 yuan a month of the family's meager income.

Before 2005 there were 36 drug addicts in Dongme, 33 of whom were their families main bread-winner. Their addictions disabled them and impoverished their families.

Since the village guards were set up in Dongme, 22 of the village's addicts have been persuaded to seek treatment. Nineteen have are now off drugs.

The mass-addiction to drugs meant Dongme suffered the same problems of similarly troubled communities around the world.

To feed their habit, addicts stole. In Dongme they not only stole televisions and motorcycles but livestock and even crops would disappear overnight.

Cao Shunguang, 51, angrily remembers how his months of toil were wiped out by thieves who raided his vegetable crop one night. Cao now keeps dogs to defend against the thieves and the nightly patrols by the village guard have made the community much safer.

"We can now sleep with the gate to the yard unlocked," he said in a loud voice.

The man villagers most credit for the improvement in their community is Yang Bo, one of two police officers stationed in Dongme. Yang is a soft-spoken 27-year-old university graduate who has now lived in the remote community for more than two years. He and his partner Li Yundong have come up with a variety of programs to fight heroin in 12 villages in the region covering 2,600 farmers.

Apart from founding teams of village guards, they've distributed pamphlets, wrote slogans on walls in the village, given lectures and shown more than 100 films on the evils of drug abuse.

When they arrived in area their first job was winning the trust of local villagers.

To make friends with villagers, the police officers helped villagers dig wells and repair roads. At holidays they bought gifts for the poorest families.

Yang and Li both gradated from medical school so they were also able to consult with farmers on health issues.

Before 2005, there were 225 known drug addicts in the 12 villages, now the number has dropped to 143.

Yang says his biggest achievement has been getting addicts enrolled in rehabilitation centres.

Lai Xincai, 33, had been a drug addict for 15 years. With a family income of just 2,000 yuan a year Lai had to steal in order to feed his drug habit while forgetting to feed his belly. At 1.65 meters, he weighed little more than 50 kilograms.

Lai lost his health but his family never abandoned him. His family begged officer Li Yundong to help their son.

Li was able to place Lai in rehabilitation in May. Lai is still there and his eyes turn red thinking of all the help he has received. "They did so much for my health and my family. I miss my home and I want to get back as soon as possible to do the farming for my parents."

Despite the successes officer Li knows his work is far from done. Current village guards are mostly elderly people with the oldest 58 already, while youngsters are either working outside or not prestigious enough, who definitely need more training.

"There are many more tough tasks still ahead," said the armed police.

(Xinhua News Agency June 26, 2007)