Bowls of heroin ‘paste' before drying and sieving. (SK/CCB/92/1975)
small, in the region of 7 c.c. for each ounce of heroin present. Additives such as quinine hydrochloride, stry- chnine hydrochloride and scopolamine hydrobromide are then added in very small quantities. Caffeine is also added to make up the final weight. The paste is thoroughly mixed and dried and will assume the form of large brittle lumps which are reduced to regular sized granules by passing them through a sieve. The finished product is then ready for packing and distribution. It is apparent from this description of the process that no elaborate or specialised equipment is necessary for the manufacture of the crude No. 3 heroin. Apart from the Buchner funnel and flask, which as mentioned can be substituted by a cloth filter, all of the equipment would be common in any normal domestic premises.
Although the quantity of heroin pro- duced in one single process will vary, it is usual for a chemist to manu- facture around five to 15 kilogrammes of the final product. The time neces- sary to produce this quantity would be about eight hours.
The Manufacture of No. 4 Heroin The manufacturing process for No. 4 heroin follows exactly the same steps as the manufacture of No. 3 heroin up to and including the point where the heroin is separated from solution by the addition of sodium carbonate. At this point, after drying, the heroin is dissolved in the minimum amount of alcohol necessary to effect complete solution. Activated charcoal is then
Trays of manufactured heroin drying over water baths prior to sieving. (KT/CR/2147/73)
added to the solution which is thor- oughly mixed and filtered using a Buchner funnel and flask. In some cases the chemist will place a layer of activated charcoal on the surface on the filter paper in the funnel and pass the alcohol solution through this. The activated charcoal will remove impurities and the process of treating with activated charcoal is repeated until the alcohol solution containing the heroin is colourless.
No. 4 heroin being dried with the aid of a Buchner flask and funnel. (MK/CRB/ 3037-8/1966)
Concentrated hydrochloric acid is then added to the alcohol solution (normal- ly 200 to 250 c.c. per litre), and an amount of ether equivalent to at least twice the volume of alcohol is added and the solution stirred. The pure heroin hydrochloride, which is not soluble in ether, then precipitates from the solution. This precipitation is not rapid and the mixture may have to stand for some hours before precipita- tion is complete. The heroin is sep- arated by filtering through a Buchner funnel, the resulting product being a white 'paste' of heroin. The paste is then dried by heating over a water bath followed by a final drying in trays containing lime.
No. 4 heroin being dried over a water bath. (Castle Peak, 1958)
It has been common for No. 4 heroin to be produced in batches comprising three to five kilogrammes. The useful material present in waste will not be discarded as solutions containing heroin may be recycled. The manu- facture of No. 4 heroin requires some degree of skill (experience as opposed to academic knowledge) to obtain a good product with high yield. This type of heroin is last known to have been manufactured in Hong Kong in 1973, and the relatively small quanti- ties of No. 4 heroin encountered since that time are believed to have been imported.
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