(b) Narcotica
123. This year we are facing one of the many challenges in the struggle against narcotice, As a result of two consecutive bumper opium grope in the Goldon, Triangle, there is now a more abundant supply of drugs. Although the Police and Customs have seized moze drugs in the first half of 1982 than in the whole
of 1981, prices of drugs at street lovel are
are lower now than
they have been for six years. In consequence, the declining trends in drug addiction since 1974 were revarsed last year. These are obviously worrying developmonte. Our consolation is
that 12,500, or nearly one-third, of the 40,000 addicts on
record are receiving various fórpe of treatment or aftercare every day, and the number of newly reported addicts between the age of 15 and 24, 1.6, the most-at-risk group, has dropped from 722 in the latter half of 1981 to 591 in the first half of this
yeak.
(c) The Garrison
124. This year HM Forces have been able to make good to
SOMB extent the backlog of training which accumulated from 1979-1981 when they were so effectively employed in combatting illegal immigration both by land and by sea, The Forces are
still very much committed on . ouZ borders where constant
霉
vigilance io required, The addition of a fifth battalion (2/7 Gurkha Rifles) has eased the strain imposed by this continuing
task. These and other
other measures, being taken to strengthen, modernise and accommodate the garrison are a measure of HMG's continuing commitment to Hong Kong.
125.
(a)
Illegal Immigration
The current. rate of illegal immigration remains at a fraction of what it was before the end of the "reach-base" The average daily number of arrests on entry
before the change in policy it was 250,
policy in 1980.
is now around 30;
33
/126.
However