PUBLIC ORDER
property valued at $13.4 million, which included the Tang Dynasty Horse. Two syndicates specialising in the theft of high-valued cars were arrested and 14 Mercedes Benz valued at $5 million were recovered from Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Hong Kong.
There were 40 crimes involving the use of genuine firearms, representing an increase of 16 cases against the previous year. Cases involving pistol-like objects numbered 238, well up on the previous year's 179 cases. Altogether 69 genuine firearms were seized, against 51 seized in 1988.
Robberies and attempted robberies against goldsmiths, watchshops and jewellers increas- ed and a total of 72 cases were recorded, which accounted for a property loss of $69 million.
Commercial Crime
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During 1989 emphasis was given by the Commercial Crime Bureau to the investigation of fraud within the financial and manufacturing sectors. Documentary fraud and dishonoured cheque cases featured prominently, while a number of successful prosecutions were ob- tained for misuse of locally-issued credit cards.
Continued action by the bureau's Counterfeit and Forgery Division resulted in the neutralisation of a syndicate involved in the use of forged passports to support illegal entry into Canada by residents of the People's Republic of China.
A further three groups, involved in the production of banknotes, credit cards and gold coins, were also identified and neutralised. The seizure of master negatives used to produce forged Standard Chartered Bank $1,000 banknotes, the arrest of two major figures connected to the production of high quality counterfeit credit cards, and the neutralisation of a gang responsible for producing counterfeit renminbi, together with United States currency, provided a successful end to the year.
Narcotics
A ninth successive bumper opium crop harvested in the Golden Triangle resulted in a worldwide glut of heroin. Although significant seizures were made throughout the year, the abundance of heroin available in the region led to steadily declining prices and purity.
No. 4 heroin became the exclusive starting material for the manufacture of the most commonly-consumed No. 3 heroin. This occurred due to an increase in the production of No. 4 heroin in the Golden Triangle for worldwide consumption and a resulting decline in the production of the less-refined heroin base, previously used as a starting material.
Major successes were achieved against highly-organised international trafficking groups, due primarily to long-term investigations and an increased level of liaison and co-operation with overseas law enforcement agencies. Several large and sophisticated syndicates were neutralised and significant quantities of heroin seized in a number of countries, including Australia, Canada, China and the United States.
In September, officers of the Narcotics Bureau made a single case seizure of 420 kilo- grams of highly-refined heroin, known as No. 4 heroin, which is the largest single seizure ever made in the territory.
In July 1989, the Drug Trafficking (Recovery of Proceeds) Ordinance was passed into law. This legislation provides new powers for the tracing, freezing and confiscation of assets of convicted drug traffickers. It enables law enforcement agencies to interrupt the cycling of drug money both locally and on the international front.
Some 1 191 kilograms of opiate drugs including No. 3 and No. 4 heroin were seized compared with 879 kilograms in 1988. There were 9 608 prosecutions for narcotics offences compared with 11 560 in the previous year.
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