On 14 June 2026, officers from Arel Border Police Station of the Altay Border Management Detachment found green plants beside a roadside farm irrigation channel while patrolling and visiting homes in their jurisdiction.[1] The report locates the event in Altay but names no village or county for the site.[1]
The plants were growing irregularly, with no sign of deliberate planting.[1] Officers compared them with a drug-plant identification chart and identified them as wild cannabis.[1] They cut the plants with spades or pulled them up by the roots, then burned them; the report says more than 20,000 plants were destroyed.[1]
After the clearance, officers carried out drug-prevention outreach in the area and explained the dangers of cannabis and the legal responsibility for illegal planting of drug plants.[1] The report gives no figure for the area cleared or the weight of the plants and does not say whether anyone was suspected, arrested or charged.[1] Chinanews Xinjiang published its account on 16 June, two days after the reported discovery.[1]
