How are illegal opium poppy plantings investigated? Taihe County deploys unmanned aerial survey aircraft to crack down
In recent years, thanks to the increasing crackdown on illegal opium poppy cultivation year by year, the poppy planting situation in Taihe County has improved greatly, but a small number of people still take chances and plant anyway in defiance of the law. To evade the crackdown, poppy cultivation has become increasingly covert, often choosing places that are hard to find, such as ditches, ponds, rivers and canals, ruined walls, and abandoned courtyards.
In order to crack down on illegal poppy cultivation in accordance with the law and ensure the completion of the spring targets for banning planting and eradicating drugs, on the basis of comprehensive ground surveys, Taihe County contacted the Anhui Public Security Officers College and used its high-tech unmanned aerial survey aircraft to conduct aerial surveys and remote-sensing monitoring of the county, so as to thoroughly eradicate illegally planted opium poppies.
On April 20, the first trial survey was conducted, with a small drone rising into the air to carry out an aerial survey of two townships. Because the poppy plants were still small at that time and had not yet reached the flowering stage, the recognition rate was low and the conditions were not yet mature, so the effect of the first trial survey was not very obvious.
In June, when the poppies were in bloom, they were easy to identify and the resolution was high. After comprehensive analysis and full assessment, it was decided to select four townships to officially launch the aerial survey. Over three days, a full aerial survey of the four townships was carried out, combining aerial remote-sensing monitoring with information fed back by computers on the ground, and then staff from the Anhui Public Security Officers College analyzed and verified according to various indicators based on the specific spectrum of the plants, to determine whether there was any poppy cultivation. After three days of monitoring, one poppy cultivation site was found, with a total of 8 plants.
Drones can photograph a wide area, can transmit back high-definition images of the scene, have no operational blind spots, and can hover in the air to shoot video and take photos, improving the accuracy of investigation and enabling drug eradication work to strike with precision. At the same time, in the form of video and photos, not only can they be reviewed later, but they also provide secured evidence for drug eradication work.
This drone aerial survey was the first time the county used such a method, achieving a joint "sky and ground" crackdown on the criminal activity of illegal opium poppy cultivation, improving the efficiency of drug eradication, and also demonstrating our county's high-pressure stance of striking hard at the illegal and criminal activity of poppy cultivation as well as its work confidence and attitude of eradicating drugs completely.
(Taihe County Narcotics Control Office, Zhao Jun, Hu Xiang)