Strengthening International Cooperation in Narcotic Drug Control And Promoting Opium-substitute Alternative Cultivation

Lincang Narcotics Control Committee

Lincang Prefecture lies in southwest Yunnan and it joints Simao Prefecture on the east, Baoshan and Dali prefectures on the north, and north Shan State of Myanmar to the southwest. The entire Lincang Prefecture comprises 8 counties: Lincang, Shuangjiang, Genma, Zhenkang, Yongde, Yun, Fengqing and Cangyuan. Zhenkang and Genma counties and Cangyuan County, some of which border on Myanmar, specifically Special Region-1 of Shan State (Kokang) and Special Region-2 of Shan State (Wa Region) respectively. Along the 290-km border-line are three provincial level ports (Qingshuihe, Yonghe and Nansan), 11 major entry and exit passages and 95 accesses. Due to its location near north Myanmar, the biggest poppy cultivation area, Lincang prefecture takes the lead in anti-drug campaign throughout the whole province and the country. Because of historical, political and economic factors, the Chinese and Myanmar peoples living across the border can communicate in the same language with silimar affinities and ethnic customs. In addition, the villages around the border area are geographically accessible because there is no natural defense along the borderline. Historically the peoples of the two countries across the border have the tradition of relative visiting, market sharing as well as intermarriage, which has tightened the mutual ties between the people living across the border.

With increasing cases of transnational drug trafficking, we have deeply realized that “the source of drug remains outside the country, so drug use can’t be banned unless the source is eliminated and the danger reduced”. In order to effectively crack down the transnational drug trafficking, in line with the advocacy of the D91 project of UNDCP, Lincang Prefecture consulted actively with Myanmar government and finally with the Office for Border Drug Control Enforcement and Cooperation Liaison Officers was set up at Qingshuihe on March 8, 2001, marking official launching of the international drug control cooperation between China and Myanmar in Lincang Prefecture. Over the past four years, under the correct leadership of local Party committee and government and the guidance of upper competent authorities, Lincang Prefecture, in dependence on the Office for Border Drug Control Enforcement and Cooperation Liaison Officers and taking the office as its platform, through combined efforts of the Chinese and Myanmar governments, toke specialized actions for capture of drug lords including Liu Ming and Xiao Mingyuan in Myanmar; What’s more, other large-scale joint anti-drug operations were taken too, like “capturing snake in summer”, “thunderbolt”, “autumn action”, “June whirlwind” and “capturing the wolfs at frontier”. Through these joint anti-drug operations, drug-dealers in either China or Myanmar were heavily struck and the strong anti-drug impetus was established. In doing this, Lincang effectively prevented the trend of drug trafficking and also promoted the further international drug control cooperation across the two countries border

I. Development of International Cooperation in Drug Control

1.         Destroying drug refineries, reducing their production capacity. In order to further open the anti-drug battlefields outside the country and effectively reduce the drugs production capacity in Myanmar, in recent years Lincang Prefecture has made some feasible destroying plans by investigating the situation and locating specific refineries, their scales, owners, employees of drug refineries in Myanmar, then reported to the Myanmar government and urged them to organize force to destroy these drug refineries in effective ways. Through the two countries’ concerted efforts 12 drug refineries in Myanmar were destroyed, including 9 heroin refineries, 2 methamphetamine refineries and 1 drug exixir refineries. In the destroying operations, 17 drug producers were captured and 4 suspects resisting arrest were shot dead on the spot. Moreover, the operation team seized 5.835 kilograms of heroin, 15.57 kilograms of opium, 275 kilograms of semi-processed heroin, 120.31 kilograms of crystallized methamphetamine, 0.8 kilograms of ephedrine, 26 tons of poppy seeds, 47.74 tons of precursor chemicals, 3 sets of methamphetamine processing machines, 12 sets of heroin processing machines as well as 400 pieces of utensils for processing drugs.

2.         Arresting drug lords, building anti-drug impetus. Drug cases in Lincang Prefecture are characterized by colluded crimes amongst the Chinese and foreign drug dealers, majority of suspects’ choice to flee to Myanmar once there is any drug case solved in our country in an attempt to avoid being punished by the Chinese law. After fleeing to the other countries, these drug-dealers always rely on local power as “protection umbrella”; they collude in even more intimate relation and put more emphasis on trafficking drug into our country by commanding in another country, which has threatened us than ever before. To crackdown drug crime more effectively and capture the fleeing suspects, Lincang Prefecture seized the opportunity and strengthened the talks and meetings with Myanmar on the basis of the implementation of “D91 Project” of UNDCP across the border areas of the two countries. By doing so the two countries have deepened mutual understanding and achieved a higher anti-drug consensus. In addition, the anti-drug information exchange has been strengthened and Lincang Prefecture has signed the agreements with Special Region-1 and Special Region 2 respectively in Shan State, Cooperation Agreement and Liaison Officers’ Duties. This provided the basis for the two sides’ long-term cooperation. By careful planning and thorough deploying, the prefecture carried out several large-scale joint anti-drug operations in Shan State Special Region 1 and 2 together with Myanmar, that is, “capturing snake in summer”, “thunderbolt”, “autumn action” “June whirlwind” and “capturing wolf at frontier”. In the operations, totally 36 drug-dealers and drug lords fleeing in Myanmar were captured, 149 drug-dealers and suspects were captured. Another 9 suspects fleeing in Myanmar were also captured, assisting the police outside Yunnan province. All of these captured criminals have been transferred to our country for legal handling. In the special operation of arresting the drug lord Liu Ming, at the invitation of Myanmar, our country has sent legal medical expert to confirm Liu’s identity on the spot.

3.         Implementing source elimination strategy and banning on poppy cultivation. Over the past years, Shan State Special Region 1 of Myanmar remained nearly 20,0000 mu of (1 mu =1/15 hectare) poppy cultivation areas, for the local farmers live on cultivating poppy. Lincang Prefecture combined the fact that the source of drug outside the country with the anti-drug strategy, creatively banning on poppy cultivation outside the country. Led by the central government of Myanmar, Shan State Special Region 1 of Myanmar organized a team of 476 members to every single district, county and village to hold work meetings in crops cultivation and poppy seasons, propagating the policy of banning poppy cultivation and demanding every farmer to expand cultivating crops and stop cultivating poppy. By doing this, the food problem of the farmers can be solved. In the course of the ban on poppy cultivation, the team found out that some disobeyed the ban on poppy cultivation, so the team rooted out the poppy and punished the owners.

In order to comprehensively understand the working condition of the ban on poppy cultivation in Shan State Special Region 1 of Myanmar, invited by Myanmar our country sent inspectors to the hinterland in mountainous area of the Special Region 1 and the area where poppy cultivation were prominent, for survey of the ban. According to Myanmar, China and Myanmar founded the joint examination team approved by Yunnan Provincial Narcotics Control Committee, and conducted 4 field trips to Shan State Special Region 1 of Myanmar in October 2002. February 2003, February 2002 and March 2002 respectively. The findings indicated that poppy cultivation didn’t exist any longer and it marked the ending of 100-year poppy cultivation history in Shan State Special Region 1 of Myanmar. Besides, the ban thoroughly changed Kokang inhabitants’ conception of economic dependence on poppy and realized the aim at the whole ban on poppy cultivation in Shan State Special Region 1 of Myanmar.

4.         Consolidating the fruits of the ban on poppy cultivation, promoting opium-substitute alternative cultivation. Since 1996 Lincang Prefecture has been helping Myanmar develop opium-substitute alternative cultivation. In the course of promotion of opium-substitute alternative cultivation, they always follow some certain principles such as “encouragement by the government, operation by enterprises, exclusive business, responsibility for own profits and losses, equal consultation and mutual benefits.” Through jointed efforts by two cooperative partners, the prefecture’s development of opium-substitute alternative cultivation in Myanmar has taken shape, and has achieved a desirable win-win situation in socio-economic effects. The enterprises and self-employers in our country have helped Shan State Special Region 1 and Special Region 2 of Myanmar plant 45,000 mu of sugarcane, 10,000 mu of rubber trees, 5,000 mu of tea, and 20,000 mu of lychee, mango, longan etc.. They also planted 50,000 fir trees and 11,000 teak trees. In March 2004, the Mengding state-owned farm in Lincang Prefecture signed a contract with Shan State Special Region 1 of Myanmar on 15,000 mu of rubber trees plantation, now the contract is in effect.         

To further consolidate the achievements on the ban on poppy cultivation in the Special Region-1 of the Shan State made by both the Chinese and the Myanmar sides, the Party Committee and the government of the Lincang Prefecture had, firmly based on the unanimous guidelines of international cooperation on anti-drug campaign and development of alterative cultivation, spared more than 130,000 RMB yuan to provide free agricultural materials such as high-quality seeds, pesticide, fertilizer etc. and agricultural technology consultancy to the Special Region-1. Meanwhile, we have held agricultural technology trainings and developed demonstrative crop cultivation project. In total, 1824 agricultural technicians received training courses. Among the demonstration fields, those for growth of corn, rice in paddy and on dry land had reached 100 mu*, 80 mu and 20 mu respectively. During the implementation, high-quality seeds were matched through the soil test and analysis, and three resident agricultural technicians in charge of the technology training and field consultancy were selected and sent to the demonstration fields. Through reasonable cultivation and management, the project successfully promoted the agricultural level of the local farmers, was highly thought of by the local government and other walks of the society, played an active role as an example, and provided a guideline to lead an all-round development. Prior to the spring cultivation season this year, the Myanmar side purchased more than 10 tons of seeds from relevant departments in our prefecture, with a very good effect of demonstration and value worthwhile expansion of the project. It also indicates that the demonstration we carried out in the Special Region-1 of Myanmar in 2003 plays a modeling and radioactive role while arousing the local people’s enthusiasm for growth of crops.

Earlier this year, we helped the Myanmar side procure 3 tons of high-quality seeds and donated 1 ton of corn seeds and 100 tons of sugar-mud mixture (fertilizer), so as to try our best to help develop opium substitute crops, make the economy to step in the legal circle, and above all, consolidate the achievement of the ban on poppy cultivation.

II. Difficulties and Problems Confronted

Though we have made some achievements on the international cooperation in the anti-drug campaign, established overseas battlefields for eradiating opium sources, developed opium substitute fruits, completely eliminated poppy cultivation in the Special Region-1, and made due contribution to the anti-drug course, we must be aware of the difficulty, duration and complexity. Our guideline is “ The ban on poppy cultivation is not easy, consolidation will be more difficult, however, all difficulties must be overcome”. Meanwhile, after complete ban in the Special Region-1, we must challenge and study the impacts on most of the local people, especially those living in the high and cold mountainous areas, due to the lagging behind agricultural technology and regional climates. The following is the key aspects of the impacts:

1.      Farmers’ incomes drop, and the problems of food shortage and dropout of students are serious. The annual per capital income of the farmers in the poppy cultivation areas (high and cold areas) was about 2,000 RMB yuan and is less than 500 RMB yuan after fulfillment of the ban on poppy cultivation. They nearly have no source of income except for some earnings by going out to do some seasonal jobs. In the year of 2003, pest plague resulted in more than 10,000 households with a total population of nearly 80,000, 60% of which suffered from food shortage and nearly 30% students dropped out due to expensive tuitions.

2.      Opium growers migrate elsewhere and continue growing opium poppy. According to insufficient statistics, for making a living, nearly 3,000 people from almost 500 households in the Kokang Region have moved to remote areas to continue to plant opium poppy.

3.      Opium growers throng into China bringing pressure to the border administration. After the ban on poppy cultivation, nearly 2,000 opium growers in Special Region-1 of the Shan State entered China to seek jobs. Increased mobile population has brought intangible pressure to the border administration and criminal potential to the public order.

4.      More opium growers involved in drug trafficking and the resuming trend of poppy cultivation. According to statistics, from January to July this year, the number of Myanmar drug-traffickers arrested in our prefecture increased, among which, the farmers in the mountainous areas in the Special Region-1 of the Shan State took a relatively high percentage. Meanwhile, as the opium-cultivating season is coming, growers in the region have demonstrated the trend of re-plantation of opium poppy; therefore, it is still difficult to consolidate the achievements.

III. Future Work

Based on the existing difficulties and the specific situations in Lincang, we have worked out the following proposals:

i.                     On one side consistently promote and enhance cooperation with the Myanmar side to crack down drug-trafficking, on the other side provide materials of relative opium substitute cultivation techniques and technical counseling services, so as to create a sound environment for the alternative cultivation and make the economy become legal.

ii.                   Together with the Myanmar side, continuously take effective measures to consolidate the achievement in banning of poppy cultivation, systemize the Sino-Myanmar allied field investigation; try to carry out at least one allied investigation during the opium-growing period, to facilitate the alternative development in the Special Region-1.

iii.                  Take effective measures to help the Special Region-2 realize the commitment of the ban on poppy cultivation. As the term of the ban on poppy cultivation is around the corner, Lincang Prefecture will, with Nandeng first, consistently persuade and help the region to solve the problems emerged during the process, and make Nandeng the first area in the Special Region-2 of Shan State to realize the target of the ban on poppy cultivation.

iv.                 Under the existing preferential policies, further simplify and facilitate relative formalities for the import and export of alternative cultivation crops, and provide market for buying back alterative products.

v.                   Try to make all sides increase investment in the alternative development, and appeal to the international support and assistance for Myanmar’s alternative development.