The Ministry of Public Security announced Thursday that Chinese
police forces discovered and destroyed about 2.55 million poppy
plants in 2005, with the help of remote-sensing technology.
Last year, the first year of official use of the satellite-based
technology by public security departments, police discovered 756
fields which were suspected of growing opium poppy, said Liu Shuo,
deputy director of the ministry's science and technology
bureau.
Chinese police have also discovered poppy fields in foreign
countries and have evaluated their possible impact on China.
According to the senior police officer, the poppy-growing fields
were spotted in mostly remote mountain areas and forests.
(Xinhua News Agency April 7, 2006)
