CO129-498-14 Illicit traffic in opium and drugs 4-12-1925 - 30-11-1926 — Page 95

Cfidential.

Copy.

BRITISH EMBASSY,

TOKYO.

26th June 1925.

し

Sir,

I have the honour to inform you that as a result of

enquiries which I caused to be made on receiving your

despatch No. 2538/1922, regarding the alleged participation

in the drug traffic of Mr. Toshiro Saito, I have been

furnished with the following particulars.

Mr. Saito, who is a member of the House of Representatives

for Tochigi Prefecture, from which part of Japan he himself

comes, was formerly in the employment of Messrs. Abe Kobei &

Co., a well known Japanese firm, which failed some years ago.

He succeeded during the war in amassing a considerable sum of

money and, after severing his connection with the above firm was

interested together with another ex-employee of Messrs. Abe Kobei,

named Yano, in establishing the Teikoku Jinso Hiryo Kabushiki

Kaisha (Imperial Artificial Manure Company). He has recently,

however, left this Company of which I understand he was a

Director, and is now in business on his own account as a

fertiliser merchant. His office address is given as Nomura

Building, Sakai-suji, Higashiku, Osaka, while his private

address is No. 1 of 123, Abeno Oaza Tennoji, Osaka.

The above information has been obtained from trustworthy

sources and may, I think, be taken as correct as far as it

goes. There is nothing, however, that would lead one to

suspect lir. Saito of being in any way connected with the

traffic in drugs. At the same time it is perhaps significant

that I have received no communication from the Japanese

Linistry of Foreign Affairs in regard to Mr. Saito's temporary

detention at Hongkong.

I have the honour to be, Sir,

Your Excellency's obedient servant,

(Sgd)

Charles Eliot.