KUNMING -?Police authorities in southwest China's Yunnan province Tuesday said they captured more than 8,000 drug traffickers and seized 9.22 tons of drugs in the first five months of the year.

The two figures are up 12.7 percent and 23 percent respectively from the same period a year ago, said Yan Shangzhi, deputy director of the Yunnan provincial public security bureau.

Yunnan, which borders the notorious "Golden Triangle" of Myanmar, Laos and Thailand, is at the forefront of China's anti-drug efforts.

Last year, police seized 15.8 tons of drugs in Yunnan. There were 5.6 tons of heroin and 9.45 tons of methamphetamine, also known as "ice," accounting for 76 percent and 60 percent of the amounts seized nationwide.

Yan said that local police authorities have beefed up the monitoring of and cracked down on production, trading, transportation, and cross-border smuggling of drugs.

During the five months, police also seized 370.6 tons of drug production materials.