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86
LEAGUE OF NATIONS.
O.C.
Geneva, July 29th, 1929.
ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON TRAFFIC IN OPIUM AND OTHER DANGEROUS DRUGS.
SEIZURE ON BOARD THE
"EMPRESS OF RUSSIA"
AT NANAIMO. B. C.
Communicated by the Canadian Government.
REPORT RE CHIN MING KING, NANAIMO. B. C.
On July 21st, 1928, Canadian Pacific Steamship "Empress
of Russia" arrived at Vancouver from Hong Kong. There appeared on the ship's manifest an entry covering sixty-six packages of general merchandise, consigned to Luen Mow, Nanaimo. This shipment was discharged from the "Empress of Russia" at Vancouver, on July 24th, and forwarded in bond to Nanaimo.
Canadian Officers proceeded to that point, where, on July 25th, Chin Ming King, Manager of and partner in the Luen Mow Co., personally presented to the Customs an invoice to clear the shipment. He swore to the invoice, and paid the duty and sales tax on the goods shown therein. The complete shipment was then removed to the examining warehouse, where it was found to contain, concealed under legitimate goods, 1,440 cans of Opium prepared for smoking. Twenty-six of the cases which were invoiced as peanut oil, in five pound tins, sixteen tins to the case, and ten of the cases which were invoiced as salted turnips, in ten pound tins, eight tins to the case, were packed with two layers of tins. Of the peanut oil, thirteen cases were found to be in order, and of the salted turnips, five cases were as invoiced. The top layers of tins in the remaining eighteen cases contained goods as represented, while the bottom layers in these cases consisted of the proper number of sealed tins, which were apparently similar to those actually containing the peanut oil and the salted turnips, but on opening these bottom layer tins, it was discovered that every one of them contained cans of smoking Opium. Each of these supposed tins of peanut oil contained ten cans of Opium, and inside each tin of the bottom layers of the five cases of turnips were twenty cans of Opium or a total of 1,440 cans which were packed tightly in the tins to prevent rattling.
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From the photographs attached here to copies of which, together with a report, were sent to the authorities at Hong Kong at the time, can be noted the amount of Opium actually seized, as also the address in Canton and Hong Kong respectively from which the salted turnips and peanut oil were shipped.
* In the archives of the Secretariat.
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