1
18
THE CHINA MAIL, SATURDAY, JULY 22, 1961,
Smugglers flock to the Rock
crim
CRIME investigators
sometimes find
clues in unlikely places even in such a sober-looking docu. ment as the Statis- tics of the American Department of Agriculture..
And the law is powerless
to touch them
by
JOHN REED
Kingdom of Morocco, Tangier number of cars coming on the
is fite por no longer.
road. Good quality cigarettes The customs men moved in are always in demand. Wealthy and crime kings moved out, Se Spaniards are still willing to did the numerous bankers (in pay
high prices for "wonder the hey-day of the fifties there drugs," were 87 different banking organisations in Tangier) who
after kcoked Gibraltar has talset over from
the smugglers
of the greatest transit port in once-noturicus Tangier the rale complicated narice.
Some have moved to the the West. In doing so, it has be easy-going centres. of Cairo, the
come the operations centre for Lebanon, Majorca. But most the world's greatest smuggling have gone to Gibraltar. organisations whose profits run
In one' six-month into many millions of pounds a SPANISH period last year, this
year.
where huge
document noted, Gibral- must be based
A succesful smuggling racket MARKET tar imported 841 million quantities of merchandise can be American cigarettes. A brought in legally), kept in store and then shipped out to remarkable number in their ultimate destinations. decd-for in the pre-
Such a port must be centrally vious six months a mere placed for the smuggler's mar- five million cigarettes kel. There should be as tew were shipped to Gibral- the officials should be
port regulations as possible, and
tor.
Had the people of Gibraltar ruddenly developed an extenor. dinary craving for tobacco? This was hardly 2
going.
NO RULES
reasonable ex BROKEN
pination. To get through la
Inntastic number of cigarettes
casy-
Gibraltar la not a free port, but it is the next best thing.
Imported goods are put into bond, for which a modest fee is charged. They can be re- moved and shipped out when- ever the owner wishes, And As long as they are not smag-
understaffed
where they co
Gibraltar forbids the export of arms to Algeria-but there is A sieady trade in the fore such innocuous goods of war
as medical supplies, clothing and tinned food.
LAW
PATROLS
Japanese transistor radios are another excellent Ilae. A month's entire_factory_produo- tion is shipped from Japan to Gibraltar and then lo the Canary Islands which are 2 secondary clearing house for contraband destined for Bouth America.
gled back into Gibratar, tho Not all the goods get through. konta guards in fast Customs autho- Coast
with radar often rities do not worry too much equipped
ter- patrol well outside their ritorial waters, and have few scruples about making a seizure on the high seas,
Sometimes, the contraband carrier is sunk; sometimes the
At the moment, there are about 30 boats running goods from Gibraltar, Spain," which
In Hix months, every man, For years, Tangier measured hus many shortages, but re woman and child on Gibral- up to these atendards magni- etives large wads of American grew arɑ killed. for would have had to smoke #cently. This city, creamy white aid, is still an excellent market. 200 a thy.
and beautiful from a distance, Even nylons can be smuggled
close in at a pront,
Clearly there 'was another flashy and smelly reason—and it was hirited at in range, was a
free port under There is a great scarcity of another page of the American International control. document. This showed that
spare parts for the increasing imports of cigarettes into the
Goods of all kinds could ac nezby Mediterranean port of cumulate, uncustomed, and be Tungler had dropped by 850 dispatched again to the high #chs without a rule being broken.
million.
CURIOUS
FREIGHT
One doesn't need Sevitand Yard frǝinfor to deduce that the olgarettes which wore once being channelled through Tangler were now being 11398- ed through Gibraltar.
Ʌ
In and out they went consignment of penicillin worth £180 wan shipped to Tangler from America, slip- ned out again in a converted MTB ur minesweeper and snuggled into drug-starved Spain where it was resold for £6,000.
A cargo of arms from Czecho- slovakia mude a 10 per cont profit when forried along coast to the rebels in Algeria.
Whenever there thortage, Tongler
But, at the fabulously high salaries the contraband kings are able to par, there aro plenty
more adventurers to take their place,
JACOBY on BRIDGE
Nubber bridge a
good de- At this point his contract elarer concentrates on ls wan safe as long as he simply Jett cards and contract and only overtricks when the contract la trumps alone.
goes after cashed hitch
He played the sure. In duplicate it same fack of hearts. East ruffed and times pays to gamble a little. later on, West made his two re-
Playing at two spades South maining trumps. received the fortunate opening lead of the four of hearts Dum-
tilemy's queen held the trick and
East won trick two ace of diamonds. A
With ne second
Similar research would show that not only cigarettes but a multitude of curiously assorted goods were coming into Gibral far in great quanity for the first at a price. Whisky, surgical West won a second diamond. timo.
CHESS
By LEONARD BANDEN
Here in simition" from actual play: White to move and London kapress Berties.
arthu
was д
would meet
Instruments, elgarettes — aven
Women.
READY FOR
TROUBLE ›
Each night, the fleet of Hitle boats would pal fo son with their valuable carpoes slacked KAWAY and a British adveń. turer at the helm, Only a Britisker (preferably a Ex- maval oficer) was considered rollable'ènough for the tank.
They were ready for trouble, The Boats were even equipped. with beat
ERE to combat Customs officers who might ́tey [lo prevent then goiting their fcargoes on, to, an allen abiote, i
heart lost to South's acO and
WEST
Q104
• K'1995 403
North
NORTTI (D)
AAB
VOJTE
EAST AKJ
• ARIZ
1002
BOUTH 407692
703
A Lo
ATZ
No one vulnerable.
瞥
Bouth West F'ACT 14 Paan FROD Pan
Opening lead-❤ 4
Now West tried to cash
But those days are now over, king of hearts. South ruffed WIL this ending of inter that; ruffed diamond in dum- [national coritrof and the my; and pinged dummy's, "ace Frestoration of the city of the of spades.
The same was duplicate and North pointed out that South would have made an overtrick second it he had played s
he trump. Bouth replied that felt that two spades bid and made would be a very salffor- tory score und that ascond trump lead would have jeopar- dised His fine contract.
When the scores were in, South's reasoning was justified. Plus 110 Bled for top..
**CORD SerdiENN
Q-The bidding ins;bomir Wait Merih Bail
1
14 PAN... Por
You, Bouth, hold:
What do you do?
Köullt
APass, Tour partner in tak- ing responsibility for heart. stop- pars and you have good dia...” monds and claže,
„TODAY'S QUESTION ›.
Again your, barker has over-
will obe spade. This signa,
you hold;
Aksi #s okqs7; 43 10%
What do you do?
Answer, on Monday
I
Before the 2 o'clock boat leaves
for Mykonos...
Athens.
AM supposed to be
leaving Athens for
BY PETER
Mykonos but I doubt if CHAMBERS I shall ever get to the
boat on time. The boat wastepaper basket where I had leaves from Piraens at Athens News.
with a copy of the two o'clock. I have had my shoes shined, and my hair cut,
I bought lib. cf Fellow gesches for breakfast.
Today I am leaving for Mykono told the fruitseller,
"Malista (Yea, of
COUTSL)," he repiled showing ve gold. teeth with his smile.
I know exactly what Mykonos look le. it is the Capri of The Greek islands. It rises white us a cutleßsh bone out of the blue Acizean. There is no cable connection with the main land, no sirport, and the tele-. phone to Athens works only two hours in the morning and three hours in the afternoon,
All set
At the same me I know that all this organisation Kyll! probably go to waste and I shall
Bat got to. Mykonos today.
imo schedulo.
Greece defeats everybody's
Page
the night porter, the bellhop, a One thing that le holding me couple of chambermaids.......... up is the long negollation I am Greeks love to talk. it they having with Mír Palonia (as in about they will ink about what my hotel.
else to talk Joe Palooka), the manager of can find nothing
Mr Palooka wants to me to pay.1,100.drachmas dam- an Englishman should pay
In the ages becauso.. I. set drn to my got his shirts washed. end I paid 2s. 6d. á shirt, Pretty bed. steop. I thought.
This happened two days ago. But supposing I had not paid The heat was killing and I lay up↑ The negotiation would down for my siesta with a book have gong on for over like the and a cigarelle. Morpheus, the Geneva disarmament conference, god of sleep, blessed my oyelldo And I am trying to get, to und when I woke up a few Mykonos.
minutos later there was a busy dro going-as if it wasn' hot enough Birendy.
tomorrow.
Avrio is the Greek, word for They say it all the time a Spaniards say manana. Time is dissolved in the white there, traveller. sunlight, Why move? Stay Have another coffee, sip another glass of water and allow your eye to rex on the timeless ruin of the Acropolis, and the honey-sweet age to learn, but it is too hot to Greek is not a difficult langu- slopes of Mount Hymelius,
102
Language
I threw water from a tooth- charred hole in the mattress the glass over the bed, leaving a size of a soup plate.
Palooka just sent me a bill for They took it calmly. Mr.
the £12.
started. The Greck for the Mediterranean sickness, You explains why the English som
Eventually you stop resisting teashop is zaharoplastion, which I informed the management. learn to lie down and give in.
In one hotel 1 stayed at the management spent three hours adding up my laundry bill, Poppa had a go. 'Momma had
go.
times spend their whole holiday without ever finding a teashop.
Ne" means. Yes, and that In the first of my converBa–. fools you for the first fow days. tions with Mr Palooka I ex-. Acropolis means nothing more plained that I was not a re- thun the upper town" or "the raiser, It was an accident. town on the hill." GEdipus POSTSCRIPT:. 'I have can- means "ewollen foot" anybody celled my ticket to Mykonos. with an oedipus complex might... Next week will do for that try a pedicura instead of a trip. psychiatrist.
- 4 am fully converted to Greek Finally 2 whole mob of If I don't get to Mykonos como tiine. The affair of the burned people was involved, the hotel time this week I will nead a bed must first be settled.. proprietor's, son, the bartender, psychiatrist myself.
(London Express. Bervice).
I learned all this from travel I walked around the town brochures and guide books and meanwhile, dccasionally putting" endless conversations with my head back in the hotel Greeks, I am all-set. I have lobby to see how the calculation even found my passport.
was going.
I took my luggage apart and searched the hotel room high
and low. I found it in the
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