Police in Yutian County in China’s Xinjiang region have uprooted wild cannabis and corn poppies, a Papaver-genus species the force classes as a drug-source plant, the county public security bureau said.[1] The bureau’s anti-drug department carried out the operation with the Tuogeri Gaizi police station.[1] The force called the work 禁种铲毒 (jinzhong chandu), or “ban cultivation, eradicate drugs”.[1] Officers said the removals eliminated the harm that drug-source plants pose to society.[1]
Officers searched farmland, disused courtyards and other places where drug plants are likely to grow.[1] They worked to a standard of leaving “not one place unchecked, not one plant standing and no corner untouched”.[1] The force described the inspection as all-round and carpet-like.[1]
During the sweep, officers explained to residents how to recognise poppies and cannabis and described their harms.[1] They publicised anti-drug laws and the rules on banning cultivation and eradicating drug crops.[1] They encouraged residents to report illegal planting.[1] Many residents said they would answer the call and refuse to grow drug-source plants.[1] The force said the operation had strengthened residents’ awareness of drugs and of the rules against planting them.[1]