PUBLIC ORDER
Valuation Group registered a total of 64 motor traders and assessed the provisional taxable value on 38 057 vehicles.
Anti-narcotics Operations
The department continued to take vigorous enforcement action to prevent and suppress illicit trafficking in dangerous drugs. Apart from maintaining a high-level of vigilance against the import and export of illicit drugs, the department counters the illicit manufacture, distribution and street-level peddling of drugs. Investigations and surveillance operations are launched by its major investigative arm, the Customs Drug Investigation Bureau. The department co-operates closely with the police and with foreign and international drug enforcement agencies on the exchange of intelligence and in the arrest and extradition of fugitive drug criminals.
In 1995, the department cracked 23 drug syndicates, with the smashing of 10 heroin attenuating and nine packing centres. The department seized 95 kilograms of heroin, 29.1 kilograms of cannabis and four kilograms of methamphetamine. In addition, 244 746 tablets of psychotropic drugs were seized. A total of 1 144 people were prosecuted for drug-related offences.
Recovery of Drug Trafficking Proceeds
The department enforces the Drug Trafficking (Recovery of Proceeds) Ordinance. This is an effective weapon which enables the department to conduct financial investigations and to trace and seize assets derived from drug trafficking.
In 1995, it obtained five court orders and restrained assets worth $3.9 million. Joint investigations with foreign law enforcement agencies resulted in the restraint of assets valued at $1.4 million in Hong Kong and $3.8 million overseas.
Control of Chemical Precursors
During the year, the department established a unit to control essential chemicals used in the manufacture of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances under the newly-enacted Control of Chemicals Ordinance. These new measures are aimed at suppressing the supply and preventing the diversion of chemicals used in the manufacture of drugs.
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Anti-smuggling and Import and Export Controls
Smuggling between Hong Kong and China continued to be a major issue confronting the department. The taxation systems and controls on imports and exports in China and Hong Kong are different and smuggling continues of various commodities, such as computers, video cassette recorders, radio pagers, portable phones and vehicles into China, and cigarettes and diesel oil into Hong Kong. During the year, the department detected 355 smuggling cases under the Import and Export Ordinance, arrested 484 persons and seized goods worth $169.3 million.
The Joint Police/Customs Anti-Smuggling Task Force had another successful year in controlling the use of high-powered speedboats. This form of smuggling has been dramatically reduced and now occurs only sporadically.
Seaborne containers are commonly used to smuggle electrical appliances and vehicles to China using false declarations. Smugglers have continued to make use of the increasingly heavy land border traffic to smuggle computer parts and
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