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Equipped with AK-47 guns and explosives, village provides third of nation’s crystal meth

By Li Qian | January 3, 2014, Friday | Online Edition

ONE out of five families in the coastal village of Boshe in southern Guangdong Province were found to be engaged in making and trafficking the powerfully destructive and addictive drug crystal methamphetamine, also known as ice, provincial police confirmed following raids on the village on Sunday.

In the past three years, the village has provided one-third of the nation’s crystal meth, said Qiu Wei, a senior official with the anti-drug department under the provincial public security bureau.

The dangerous stimulant has created immense wealth, violence, corruption, social disruption and widespread environmental destruction in the area.

The drug business is deep rooted in Boshe in Lufeng City. There is a clear division of labor: Elders, women and children are designated to do “hand work”  requiring tedious manual labor, the Southern Metropolis Daily reported today.

Money came quick. Cutting herba ephedrae, also known as ma huang,  helped a woman earn 500 yuan (US$82.62) a day. During the summer and winter holidays, a primary school student can earn 10,000 yuan per month by emptying the powder from Contac capsules. Both are raw materials for crystal meth, investigators said.

Villagers in Boshe previously made a living from legal agriculture, but they weren’t rich. Now, luxurious villas line the roads and expensive cars are seen parked in front of the villas.

Many villagers involved in drugs have become rich, but the village also has become notorious. The abduction of women and children has become rampant in Boshe.

Local officials, however, became corrupt and didn’t stop the illegal activity, the report said. Instead, they served as a "protective umbrella.” It was reported that 14 officials, including Cai Dongjia, the village’s Party chief, and his deputy, Cai Hanwu, were involved in the illegal business.

Police found 350 kilograms of crystal meth at Cai’s home on Sunday, the newspaper reported.

Local senior police officers also were involved. Previous large-scale raids failed because they tipped off the drug bosses. Villagers carried AK-47 machine guns, homemade explosives and crossbows, the newspaper reported.

In wee hours of Sunday, provincial paramilitary forces and police in four cities launched 109 raids with the help of helicopters and speedboats.

A total of 182 suspects from 18 drug production and trafficking rings were arrested, along with the seizure of 2.95 tons of crystal meth and 260 kilograms of ketamine, a powerful drug used as a veterinary anesthetic.

Police also found nine guns and 62 bullets, the newspaper reported.

Villagers not involved in the drug business found it hard to survive amidst rocketing prices and widespread pollution caused by drug manufacturing.

Empty Contac boxes were seen dumped in green areas and the river was dyed black, the report said. Villages said they dared not to drink underground water because even cattle got diarrhea after drinking the “toxic water.” Now, they have to buy bottled water.

Near the garbage dump, a notice board said: “Prohibited to dispose of wastes linked to drug production here,” the newspaper reported.

Nation


 

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