China's messy drug war escalates

A Chinese police officer checks the luggage compartment of a bus at a checkpoint on a highway leading to Myanmar

KUNMING, China (CNN) -- Quit or face the consequences; that is the message the Chinese police are putting out to drug pushers and users.

It comes at a time when the country is seizing record amounts of heroin along its southwestern border with the 'Golden Triangle' poppy growing region.

This is because the world's most populous nation also has an insatiable appetite for illegal drugs.

And as China opens up its southern borders to pull in tourism and trade it also opens up its frontier with Myanmar and its supply of heroin.

In response Chinese authorities are building up a police force to stop drug smuggling and, failing at that, to help addicts kick the habit.

"Drug dealing is harmful to the world and to the Chinese people. The rise and fall of our nation depends on winning the war against drugs," Ma Min'ai, Vice President Yunnan Police Academy told CNN.

To combat the problem China has set up lines of defense along its porous border with Thailand and Burma.

Yet the Golden Triangle region, which encompasses northern Laos, Thailand and Myanmar is still a growing source for the poppy.

"A recent survey showed that drug-trafficking in China is increasing," says Ma.

Yunnan province in southwestern China is the major transit state for smuggling drugs to various third countries.

Police in the province carry out spot checks, detaining suspects and seizing contraband and in one recent operation, they busted 357 kilos of heroin, hidden in timber and bound for Hong Kong.

Yunnanese most at risk

Yet a great deal of the drugs end up with local users.

Drug rehabilitation centers are packed with addicts, like 19 year-old Wen Juan from Yunnan.

"I was so addicted to heroin. I didn't feel well when I couldn't have it often enough," says Wen.

A group of women inmates at the Yunnan Detoxification Center in Kunming, southwest China, learn how to knit

Many are trying to kick the habit through medical therapy, labor reform and recreational activities, under police supervision.

Also a new corps of police officers is coming up to deal with the growing drug problems.

Police academy students are training to combine wit and modern technology to detect contraband and to use lethal force in the form of martial arts to pin down smugglers.

"Drugs are common in Yunnan. By studying drug control, I can contribute to our country and the world," Chen Xiaohui, a Police Academy student, told CNN.

Yet Chen and her classmates are bracing for a long and messy war.