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GUANGZHOU, June 25-- Police officer Li Jianzhao was once hated by villagers who cooked crystal methamphetamine in Boshe, a coastal village in Lufeng County, Guangdong Province. The village of 14,000 was a center of production and trade of drugs, with over a third of meth consumed in China originating in Boshe and neighboring villages. One in five families were directly involved in drug production. Li started work in Boshe the day after the raid on Dec. 29, 2013, when more than 3,000 armed police with helicopters and speedboats stormed the village, arrested 183 people and seized three tonnes of the drug. Li leads 30 officers who continue to sniff out narcotics and maintain security. Before the 2013 operation, Boshe was off limits to police. "When I started work here, the village was totally stinking, with sewage running everywhere, the ground covered by garbage and the air stinking of chemicals," he said. Pointing toward a ditch, which still smells bad, Li said, "three years ago, it was 100 times worse than it is now." Li's job was not easy. "Making and selling meth was a way of life here. The villagers hated us for cleaning out the drugs," he said. When Li made home visits, he could not get doors open. Patrols were attacked and vehicles were vandalized. "I understand how they felt. We caught many people who shared common surnames. People said there was no way out of making drugs," said Li. | 
