Beijing  - An elephant rescued from smugglers in China has undergone a detoxification programme to cure it of heroin addiction, state media said on Thursday.

The 7-year-old male Asian elephant was scheduled to return to the south-western province of Yunnan this weekend after finishing its three-year rehabilitation programme on the southern island of Hainan, the official Xinhua news agency said.

The elephant, named Xiguang, became addicted after smugglers used heroin-smeared bananas to lure it and five other elephants across the border from Myanmar into Yunnan, the agency said.

Wildlife experts in Hainan gave Xiguang regular injections of methadone at five times the normal human dose, it said.

Xiguang and three rescued female elephants - which were apparently not addicted to heroin - were scheduled to arrive on Saturday at the Yunnan Wild Animal Park after a
1,500-kilometre truck journey costing more than 200,000 yuan (29,000 dollars).

Another Asian elephant rescued with Xiguang was beaten to death by villagers because it was too violent, the agency said.

The report did not say what happened to the sixth elephant seized by police from the smugglers.

An estimated 50,000 Asian elephants live in the wild spread across several Asian nations. (dpa)