XN000022-1984-01-13 — Page 3

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FRIDAY, JANUARY 13, 1984

RECORD AMOUNT OF DRUGS SEIZED IN 1983

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CUSTOMS AND POLICE LAST YEAR SEIZED 790 KG OF DRUGS, 48 PER CENT MORE THAN THE 1982 RECORD OF 533 KG.

+ THE $138 MILLION WORTH OF DRUGS SEIZED IN 1983 COMPRISED 570 KG OF HEROIN BASE, 125 KG OF NO. 3 HEROIN, 12.5 KG OF NO. 4 HEROIN, 11 KG OF CANNABIS AND 71 KG OF OPTUM,+ MR K.S. TONG, HEAD OF CUSTOMS INVESTIGATION BUREAU TOLD THE ROTARY CLUB OF HONG KONG NORTHEAST TODAY (FRIDAY).

IN THE OPERATIONS, MORE THAN 11 000 PERSONS WERE ARRESTED, AND OVER 2 500 OF THEM PROSECUTED FOR TAKING PART IN SERIOUS DRUG OFFENCES.

THERE WERE STILL AMPLE STOCKS OF DRUGS IN THE LOCAL MARKET DESPITE STRINGENT MEASURES AND SUCCESSFUL EFFORTS BY ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES, MR TONG SAID. THIS WAS MAINLY DUE TO THE SUCCESSFUL BUMPER CROPS IN THE GOLDEN TRIANGLE AREA OVER THE PAST YEARS AND THE UPSURGE OF MASS SUPPLY OF ILLICIT OPIATES FROM THE 'GOLDEN CRESCENT' REGION OF PAKISTAN AND AFGHANISTAN.

+ IN 1983 ALONE, THE OPIUM HARVEST IN THE GOLDEN TRIANGLE AREA SURPASSED 700 TONS. REFINED INTO NO. 3 HEROIN, IT COULD YIELD OVER 200 TONS.

OF THE TOTAL SEIZED LAST YEAR, ONLY ABOUT FIVE PER CENT, COMPRISING 32 KG RAW OPIUM, 3.7 KG CANNABIS RESIN AND APPROXIMATELY ONE KG HEROIN, ORIGINATED FROM THIS REGION,+ MR TONG SAID.

HE POINTED OUT THAT CONSTANT SUPPLY AND ABUNDANT STOCK MADE TRAFFICKERS IN THE SOURCE COUNTRIES SELL DRUGS AT DUMPING PRICES. PRICES OF ILLICIT DRUG IN HONG KONG HAVE ALSO DROPPED TO A RECORD LOW. AT THE END OF 1982, THE RETAIL PRICE OF NO. 3 HEROIN IN HONG KONG WAS HK$110 PER GRAM, AGAINST HK$80 AT THE END OF 1983, MR TONG SAID.

MR TONG SAID IN PREVIOUS YEARS, THE COMMON DRUG SMUGGLING METHOD WAS BY WAY OF HIGH FREQUENCY AND SMALL SCALE SMUGGLING INCLUDING THE USE OF INTERNAL BODY CONCEALMENT, OCEAN-GOING VESSELS AND DIVERSIONARY ROUTES.+ HE SAID THIS TREND HOWEVER CHANGED COMPLETELY LAST YEAR.

IN 1982, 14 COURIERS WERE ARRESTED USING THE INTERNAL BODY CONCEALMENT METHOD BUT LAST YEAR NONE.

+ IN 1982, THERE WERE SEVEN DRUG SEIZURES TOTALLING 172 KG ONBOARD OCEAN-GOING VESSELS, BUT LAST YEAR ONLY ONE.

+ IN 1982, WE DISCOVERED FOUR CASES OF IMPORTATION BY MEANS OF DIVERSIONARY ROUTINGS - USING TAIWAN, JAPAN AND KOREA AS STAGING POINTS, BUT LAST YEAR NONE. HE SAID.

/TWO MAIN