(287)
Private.
H+KK 1/17
"Thatch cottage.
Dear And Paringlin,
Trehaddie. Cusgarne. Aruro. Cornwall.
12th October. 1973. 7242
1 expect you will immediately say the matter of this absconding senior Hongkong police officer, arising from massive corruption is outside your province and in fact is no business of mine as I am retired from police work. But as a matter of public interest it seems right for me to help protect the reputation of British police and to my mind you also have an official interest when British troops are stationed in the same area overseas when some serious scandal like this occurs. For Hongkong, like Shangnal pre-war where I specialised in major criminal investigations for many years, is a powder keg for political unrest.
It appears to me at present and from absence of other news that this ex Hongkong police officer feels he is now safe from arrest here in England and can enjoy his iligotten gains of some £330,000 because no evidence exists or can be gained to establish a criminal charge to bring about has extradition to Hongkong.
it has occurred to me that he probably amassed the major portion of his wealth by active involvement in the drug traffic of heroin which would account for the rapid build up of the money. About 1967 or so ▲ believe, when was in the service of the Commonwealth Police, at Canberra, Australia, there was an investigation into some passport offences by a gang of persons to include i believe two former members of the New South Wales Police, Australia. They obtained and were using the passports under false names to act as couriers to carry heroin from Hongkong to America. Some were arrested in Sydney and extradited to America. During the proceedings a number jumped ball there. it was revealed these couriers drew large sums for carrying the heroin. The culprit in the present case might have had some connections with them or the operators working the traffic in Hongkong.
Hongkong's police force has built up a very fine reputation over the course of many years. This was well known in Australia. I thought it had the same high powered organisation and administrative machinery as we had in Shanghai. This was bound to immediately reveal any corruption. Corruption was bound to bring criminal charges against the offenders. Furthermore senior officers responsible for inspections could suffer severe penalties for failure to discover faults. it was virtually impossible to go corrupt and escape being detected. The severe punishment involved was the deadly deterrent.