PUBLIC ORDER
of China and overseas drug enforcement agencies in the exchange of intelligence and in the arrest of drug criminals.
In 1997, the department cracked 50 major trafficking cases, and neutralised four heroin attenuating, 12 packing and two storage centres.- Officers seized 39 kilograms of heroin, 858 kilograms of cannabis, 1.5 kilograms of raw opium, 2.5 kilograms of prepared opium, 33.1 kilograms of cocaine, 50 grams of methamphetamine, three tablets of Ecstasy and 15 607 tablets of other psychotropic drugs. A total of 912 persons were arrested for drug-related offences. The department had several successes in preventing the diversion of controlled chemicals at the international level and 7 700 kilograms of controlled chemicals were seized.
During the year, the department confiscated assets worth $430,000 derived from drug trafficking and conducted 1 836 investigations into money laundering. Drug- related assets worth $2.8 million were restrained.
Boundary Control
Vehicular traffic through the three control points at Lok Ma Chau, Man Kam To and Sha Tau Kok increased substantially from a daily average of 24 361 vehicles in 1996 to 26 035 in 1997. To cope with further increases in cross-boundary traffic in the future, expansion of customs facilities has started at Lok Ma Chau and Sha Tau Kok Control Points, and Kowloon Railway Station. In March, the commissioning of the new shuttle-bus service between Lok Ma Chau and Huanggang partly alleviated pressure at the Lo Wu railway crossing. Preparations are well advanced to extend the opening hours at Sha Tau Kok Control Point by two hours.
Smuggling
The department detected 232 smuggling cases, arrested 358 persons for smuggling offences and seized contraband worth $204 million, representing a 54 per cent decrease as compared with 1996.
Smuggling between Hong Kong and the Mainland was still serious, particularly smuggling by sea. Popular items smuggled from China included cigarettes, diesel oil, fake video compact discs and compact discs, live pigs and meat. Contraband commonly discovered being smuggled to the Mainland included left-hand drive vehicles, vehicle spare parts, hi-tech electronic goods, mobile phones, film products and audio-visual equipment. The department intercepted several stolen vehicles smuggled into Hong Kong from Japan, Taiwan and the USA for re-export to the Mainland. A total of 129 vehicles valued at $40.7 million was seized. Close liaison is maintained with the police and overseas law enforcement agencies for the exchange of intelligence and this has contributed considerably to successful operations against smuggling. Close contacts with Customs authorities in the Mainland have also yielded encouraging results.
Training
All recruits to the department go through basic training at the department's training school at Tai Lam. During the year, 41 inspectors and 173 Customs officers passed out of the school. With the new airport at Chek Lap Kok opening in 1998, three selection boards were held to recruit the 500 people required. A temporary training
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