C.S. 166
CONFIDENTIAL ## 機密
For discussion
on 24th December 1974
XCC(74)96 Copy No ..
MEMORANDUM FOR EXECUTIVE COUNCIL
ACETYLATING SUBSTANCES (CONTROL) BILL 1975
164
RECEIVED IN
REGISTRY No. 51 70
•-3*JAN 1975
1NXK 19/2
HKK!
ACETYLATING SUBSTANCES (CONTROL) REGULATIONS 1975
Clandestine heroin manufacture on a considerable scale for the illicit drug trade has taken place in Hong Kong for many years and continues to do so.
2
To manufacture heroin an acetylating agent is essential, either acetic anhydride, acetyl chloride, or acetyl bromide. In practice acetic anhydride is invariably used since it is less volatile and easier to handle than the other two. However, the danger of violent explosion from heroin manufacture in makeshift kitchens is high - there have been such explosions in the past whilst in recent times of local acetic anhydride shortage, attempts have been made to make it here in crude conditions, a risky process also conducive to violent explosion.
3
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About 700,000 tons of acetic anhydride for industrial pur- poses are produced annually in Japan, with similar amounts in America and Western Europe. There is no industrial use for acetic anhydride in Hong Kong and none is made here by normal industrial process; the same applies to acetyl chloride and acetyl bromide. Local illicit requirements of acetic anhydride, not more than 10 tons per annum, are smuggled here from Japan, or from Tai Wan, or are diverted from trans-shipment cargoes stored in Hong Kong. A small quantity may sometimes be made here clandestinely.
4
Acetic anhydride is a prohibited import, except under licence, in accordance with regulation 3 of the Import and Export (General) Regulations made under section 31 of the Import and Export Ordinance (Chapter 60). Legal imports are confined to very small amounts for research purposes at the universities. The import of acetyl chloride and acetyl bromide is not restricted.
5
Experience has shown that the Import and Export Ordinance is inadequate to exercise the strict control required over acetic anhydride. For example, whilst it is an offence to import the chemical without a licence, it is not an offence to be in possession of it once the import phase has been completed, and neither is it an offence to manu- facture it nor deal in it.
CONFIDENTIAL
機密