'Drug village' rehab commences

Operations to help clean up and rebuild the "drug village" of Boshe, under the administration of Lufeng in Guangdong province, have commenced under the guidance of local officials, following a dramatic paramilitary-style raid which netted a record haul of three tons of drugs.

Much work is needed to rebuild the village economy and revitalize its administration, Lin Chunjia, director of Lufeng anti-drug office, told the Guangzhou Daily on Sunday. The rebuilding task will be immense, Lin said.

The city mayor of Lufeng, Qiu Jinxiong, took personal charge of a working group sent to the village, Nandu Daily reported Sunday.

The authorities plan to assist Boshe based on its reality and support its development in fisheries and agriculture.

Villagers are encouraged to seek better job opportunities in developed cities and successful former residents are encouraged to return to open factories to provide jobs for local people.

Boshe was raided by anti-drug forces on December 29, 2013 and its Party chief, Cai Dongjia, was detained and accused of protecting the cartel. Police said that a third of China's meth supply came from Lufeng, and 20 percent of the 1,700 households in Boshe were involved in the trade.

On the first day of 2014, Cai Shuibao, director of human resources and social security of Lufeng, was appointed to preside over work in Boshe and holds the concurrent post of Party chief of the village.

An employee at a local police station told the Global Times on Sunday that the working group has started the clear-up and rebuilding work in Boshe.

Qiu Wei, political commissar of the Narcotics Control Bureau of the Guangdong Provincial Public Security Department, said the scale of the meth production in Lufeng meant the city was one of the largest producers in the nation.

It had developed into a family-run industry with protection from local officials and law enforcement, and informers to watch the vital traffic arteries.

Police arrested 182 suspects and confiscated 2,925 kilograms of meth and 260 kilograms of ketamine, along with over 100 tons of raw materials in the Boshe raid, as well as other simultaneous raids in nearby villages, and in Fujian Province and Chongqing.

Local authorities are concerned that after losing economic sources, low-level participants in the illegal trade may become a destabilizing force.

Besides Boshe, working groups of over 500 people, including police and prosecutors, were sent to five other key villages in Lufeng involved in drug dealing to continue the fight against lawbreakers