# E 4-
Chinese Raw Opium.
20. Though Hong Kong is still flooded with illicit prepared opium, the tendency was for this opium to be prepared from Persian raw owing to a shortage of Chinese raw. When available, the price of Chinese raw opium was low, but towards the end of the year, owing to political changes in the adjoining provinces of China, a definite scarcity of this type of opium was observed. This year, seizures shrank by one half in comparison with 1935, and only 9,662 taels were seized.
21. In one case, an Indian Warder saw some people acting suspiciously in the gathering darkness on the sea shore at Cheung Sha Wan. He flashed his torch on the scene of their activities, and they immediately fled, leaving behind 900 taels of Chinese raw opium packed in double tins tied up with gunny bag covers, and strongly corded.
22. In another case, 900 taels were found on the sea bed near the Jordan Road ferry. This consignment had been dumped in sealed tins and weighted down with about 80 lbs. of old iron. The spot had been carefully buoyed, and no difficulty was found in retrieving the opium with the information available.
Persian Raw Opium.
23. The seizures of Persian raw opium during the year under review showed a heavy increase over those of 1935. Altogether 58,711 taels were seized under conditions which pointed to Macao as being the chief source from which it was smuggled.
24. One consignment of 11,508 taels was seized on board a small fishing junk which had just arrived from Macao. It was packed in 24 sealed tins with gunny bag covers. Somehow or other, the crew of the junk had obtained six passes issued in the name of a neighbouring Government. Each pass purported to authorize the issue for six separate junks of 1,920 taels of prepared opium for the purpose of ship's stores. Opium for this purpose is undoubtedly issued by a neighbouring Government to the fishing fleets at the beginning of the fishing season, but the issue of such opium is confined to prepared opium. On this occasion, all the opium seized was raw opium, and no satisfactory explanation was given by the crew of the junk for the possession of this opium. Fishing junks do not carry a big crew, nor are their fishing trips of such duration as to warrant the issue of 1,920 taels for one voyage. There is no doubt that this was another case of organized smuggling, for no junk master could afford the capital expenditure involved in the purchase of such a large quantity of opium.
25. Another important case was the seizure of 8,640 taels on another junk in February 1936. This opium was also packed in sealed tins with gunny bag covers, and the marks and serial...