E 10
IV. DANGEROUS DRUGS.
The number of seizures of Dangerous Drugs was six, none of these drugs were intended for local consumption, and the Colony appears to be free from the retail trade in drugs. Evidence was discovered that morphia and morphia pills had been sent regularly through the Post to Manila in considerable quantities. Dairen and Japan seem to have been active centres for the drug traffic during the year, and it is probable that many of the drugs originally consigned to those destinations are merely transhipped there to destinations in China, as soon as the Chinese buyer has paid the Japanese broker, who then in turn gets his documents from a bank, and clears the cargo for transhipment in bond. In one case investigated here, the bills of lading for a consignment of morphia were sent from Germany to a Japanese broker in Japan, and reforwarded to the Chinese smuggler here. In this case, the principals here were found to be well-educated Chinese, connected with prominent Chinese financial circles; some had been educated in Japan, others in Honolulu or America; they had been dealing in drugs on a very large scale, and had had large dealings with a firm in Japan and Formosa in respect of Persian opium, two years previously. They had also chartered a steamer for the Persian Gulf opium trade, and had had transactions in opium specially prepared for smoking in Germany. This syndicate was also experimenting in other drugs; a sample packet of what was a type of synthetic cocaine from Japan was seized, this was called "antiseptic dentifrice" and was cleverly scented to make it correspond with the description. They had special pills for sale in China manufactured in Germany.
Drugs for India.
Information was repeatedly received of large amounts of dangerous drugs being smuggled to Calcutta from Japan, but only in one case did success attend the search. There is, however, no doubt that there is a strong demand in Calcutta for cocaine, which apparently can be easily obtained in Japan, where a considerable amount of this drug is manufactured from Java coca leaf. In the case of the seizure mentioned, the packet bore on the inside wrapper a Japanese trademark, but on the outside, the labels of well-known German manufacturers; these labels, on being submitted to the German authorities, were at once pronounced forgeries.
V. OPIUM DIVANS.
Divans.
The campaign against illegal opium divans was continued with little success, so far as reducing the numbers was concerned. During the height of the political trouble, this work ceased for some weeks, but in spite of this, the numbers of divans dealt with were 1,610 compared with 1,572 last year. It was found