Yao’an County’s Shanying (“Mountain Eagle”) police-drone squad ran an anti-cultivation sweep across Dongchuan and Guanglu towns, the county government reported on 15 July 2026.[1]
The campaign combined aerial surveys with ground checks because the county described its forests, scattered wasteland and field edges as difficult for foot patrols to cover.[1] The squad planned grid routes and used drone zoom, live image transmission and location marking to find concealed, scattered sites.[1]
The 45 hours of flight covered more than 3,600 mu (about 240 hectares) in priority areas, according to the notice.[1] Police reported finding drug plants at 24 locations and uprooting 433 cannabis plants in total.[1]
The release presents those figures as campaign totals but gives no breakdown by town or site.[1] It does not name anyone responsible for the plots or report arrests.[1]
