A drug dealer believed to be behind scores of illegal deals has
been shot to death by Myanmar anti-drug squads assisted by the
Chinese police.
The alleged kingpin, middle-aged Liu Ming, was killed by Myanmar
police during a fight when police tried to capture him in the early
morning of January 28, said Sun Dahong, director-general of
Narcotics Control Administration of Southwest China's Yunnan
Province.
"The police on the Chinese side have examined the corpse and found
it was Liu Ming, who has brought 510 kilograms of heroin into China
since 1993," Sun said at a press conference yesterday.
"During our investigation of many drug trafficking cases in China,
we learned that Liu was the prime organizer in many deals and we
offered this intelligence and evidence to Myanmar's police," Sun
claimed.
At
yesterday's press conference, Sun also revealed that provincial
police caught a gang of suspected drug traffickers last November
who were allegedly involved in processing 672.9 kilograms of
heroin.
The heroin was found by local police in the province's Qujing
Prefecture when they conducted a regular check on a truck on
November 8. The traffickers had planned to transport the load to
Huizhou in coastal Guangdong Province.
With the help of Huizhou police, Yunnan anti-drug police caught
suspect trafficker Lin Yecheng in the town of Shatian in Huizhou
four days later. Lin was later found to be a Hong Kong
resident.
After a month of investigation, 21 suspects involved in a
trafficking ring were captured. Among them, 12 were from Hong Kong,
according to Sun.
"Hong Kong police have been informed and they have already come to
Kunming, to question the related suspects," Sun said.
Despite these achievements since China launched a sweeping campaign
against drugs in Yunnan 20 years ago, Sun said drug trafficking
still remains rampant in these border areas.
Only cooperative efforts can ease or eradicate this world threat,
he added.
"The problem is a global one and all the authorities in the world
should have a resolute hand in it," Sun said.
Governments should establish partnerships and set up joint
investigations, Sun said.
(China
Daily February 5, 2002)