E. 4
where on the S.S. "Tjisaroea" nine wooden cases containing leather suitcases loaded at Shanghai and bound for Batavia were found to have special slots cut in the end-boards of the packing cases wherein 1,200 taels of raw opium and 64 ounces of heroin hydrochloride were found concealed. In another case 2,748 taels were found on board S.S. "Gaasterkerk" concealed under the cargo.
The conditions under which large seizures of Persian raw opium were made indicated that it was all intended for export to Singapore, Java and Southern ports.
Prepared Opium.
Of 18,168 taels of prepared opium seized, about two-thirds was Kwong Chow Wan brand. There was one seizure of Red Lion Brand on board S.S. "Gaasterkerk" of 3,132 taels, but apart from this, the brand seems to have lost its popularity, and to have been supplanted by the Kwong Chow Wan brand.
The major seizure during the year was on board M.V. "Pleasantville" bound for U.S.A. Ports when 6,330 taels of prepared opium were seized. In the early hours of the morning a Revenue party in a sampan watched opium in sacks being hauled over the ship's stern and immediately followed it on board, where it was seized while being conveyed to a place of safety. A further search of the ship resulted in more opium being discovered in a cargo of copra, in spite of the sturdy defence put up by its small but active inhabitants.
Practically all of this prepared opium was intended for export to such places as Java, Singapore, U.S.A. and Australia. It was very rare indeed to find tins of either of the above-mentioned brands in opium divans in Hong Kong, although, occasionally, raids on private houses yielded a few hundred taels which were evidently meant for export.
The average price of illicit prepared opium in Hong Kong varied between $2.50 and $3 per tael.
Opium Divans.
Divans continued to thrive in number and strength, and whereas formerly opium and heroin flourished separately they are now smoked indiscriminately from the same lamp. It is estimated by experienced officers that the Colony contains from 2,000 to 3,000 divans each, with a daily consumption of 2 taels of opium per day. Although daily raids were carried out by the Department on divans, the task of stamping them out was well-nigh hopeless, because as soon as one keeper was arrested and his opium and pipes confiscated, another immediately filled