TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 1974.
PREVENTIVE SERVICE MAKES HEADWAY IN WAR AGAINST NARCOTICS YEUNG YIN-HING DESCRIBED AS CLOSE CONFIDANTE OF DRUG MAFIA
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HONG KONG IS MAKING GREAT STRIDES IN THE WAR AGAINST NARCOTICS AND IN THE PAST SEVERAL YEARS THE PREVENTIVE SERVICE HAS SCORED SOME IMPRESSIVE VICTORIES AGAINST DRUG TRAFFICKERS, ACCORDING TO THE DEPUTY COMMISSIONER OF THE PREVENTIVE SERVICE, MR. JIMMY .CGREGOR.
ADDRESSING A LUNCHEON MEETING OF THE ROTARY CLUB OF KOWLOON CAST TODAY, MR. MCGREGOR SAID: UP TO A FEW YEARS AGO WE WERE LOSING THIS WAR. WE HAVE NOW REVERSED THE PROCESS AND ALTHOUGH IT IS GOING TO BE A LONG AND DIFFICULT STRUGGLE, WE HAVE ALREADY WON A SERIES OF BATTLES.
+1 HAVE NO DOUBT WE SHALL WIN MORE.+
MR. MCGREGOR REFERRED TO THE CASE OF YEUNG YIN-HING WHOSE ARREST BY THE PREVENTIVE SERVICE, HE SAID, HAD CONTRIBUTED TO THE COLLAPSE OF A POWERFUL SYNDICATE WHICH OPERATED IN THE SHEUNG SHUI AREA OF THE NEW TERRITORIES. YEUNG HAS SINCE FLED HONG KONG AND IS REPORTED TO BE ON TRIAL IN TAIWAN.
IN HIS OPINION, YEUNG WAS NOT A ''DRUG QUEEN'' NEITHER WAS SHE A LOWLY HEROIN PACKER. SHE WAS, FROM OUR OBSERVATIONS AND INTELLIGENCE, CLOSELY ASSOCIATED WITH IMPORTANT MEMBERS OF THE SYNDICATE WHICH HAD BEEN OPERATING ACTI ILY IN THE SHEUNG SHUI AREA FOR MORE THAN TWO YEARS ..... YEUN. WAS A WELL TRUSTED AND INFLUENTIAL MEMBER OF THE DRUG MAFIA IN HONG KONG,+ HE SAID.
MR. MCGREGOR, WHO WAS SPEAKING ABOUT THE ROLE OF THE PREVENTIVE SERVICE IN THE FIGHT AGAINST NARCOTICS, POINTED OUT THAT THE SERVICE WAS ALSO RESPONSIBLE FOR BREAKING THE BACK OF THE STRONG SYNDICATE WHICH OPERATED FOR ALMOST TWO DECADES IN THE NOTORIOUS MA SHAN AREA. HE EXPLAINED THAT THE PREVENTIVE SERVICE WORKED LARGELY INDEPENDENTLY OF THE POLICE AND, TO SOME EXT.NT, IN COMPETITION WITH THEM.
+ INTER-SERVICE REVALRY, IN MY VIEW, IS A VERY HEALTHY WAY OF KEEPING PEOPLE ON THEIR TOES AND OF INCREASING EFFICIENCY. IT ALSO PROVIDES MEMBERS OF THE PU IC WITH ALTERNATIVE POINTS OF CONTACT IN GIVING INFORMATION ON DRUGS,+ HE SAID.
BESIDES THE YEUNG YIN-HING' AND 'MA SHAN' CASES, THE SERVICE HAD DURING THE PAST THREE YEARS TAKEN LEGAL ACTION IN 2,600 CASES, RESULTING IN 9,800 ARRESTS AND SEIZURE OF DRUGS TOTALLING 10,000 LBS, OR 4.5 TONS, VALUED AT ABOUT $60 MILLION.
THESE ARRESTS
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