Strike like a hawk

Last winter, in a quiet park near the border of Yunnan province, three anti-drug officers executed a discreet but decisive operation.

Holding cups of milk tea and pretending to chat, they blended into their surroundings to avoid suspicion from nearby drug-trafficking suspects.

Among the undercover officers was Wu Zhen, a Party committee member and a fourth-grade senior police chief with the Mangshi Border Management Brigade under the Dehong Border Administration Detachment. "Two female officers accompanied me in this task, and one was pretending to be my girlfriend," he recalled.

The suspects, confident that no police were nearby, spoke openly on their phones. The officers stayed close by, pretending to watch fishermen and casually chatting among themselves.

When the suspects initiated the deal, the officers sprang into action. "Just like a hawk catching its prey," Wu said.

Police near the perimeter quickly surrounded the area and arrested three drug traffickers, seizing nearly 25 kg of drugs, including 7 kg of heroin.

With nearly two decades on the front line, Wu, 42, has been involved in the arrests of more than 200 suspects in drug-related cases, and the detention of over 1,300 drug users.

He has helped dismantle more than 40 trafficking networks and led seizures of 2.1 tons of narcotics, and 1,000 kg of precursor chemicals.

"Investigations are like hunting for prey," Wu said. "Success demands patience. Not every effort pays off, but each one requires 100 percent commitment.

"Every extra gram of drugs seized at the border makes people in China safer from drug harm," Wu said. This phrase is also a mantra for Yunnan's border anti-drug police.