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Prime Minister Khiem, former Vice President Ky, or any of their close supporters, in the narcoties traffic, In Saigon, the Survey Team was also informed by US, officials that there is no available évidence which wont tincriminate the GVN's leadership.
In the case of the Vietnamese military, General Ngo Dzu, former commanding general of Military Region 2, has been accused in several quarters of being involved in marcoties trafficking. Although the U.S. intelligence sources claim to have no evidence which would link Dzu to the drug trade directly, the General's father is believed to be im- (plicated in a heroin trafficking ring by U.S. ollicials.
The most prominent member of the South Vietnamese Government to be arrested and convicted for trafficking in narcoties is a former Lower House Deputy, Pham Chi Thien. He was apprehended on March 19, 1971, at Tan Son Nhut. Airport while trying to sanggle in 4.6 kilos of heroin. On March 27, 1972, he was sentenced to 7 years imprisonment. Ou the same date the Saizon Criminal Court alsó sen- tenced codefendant Vu Vau Than, a former National policeman, to 7 years confinement and his wife, Le Thi Tut, to 5 years confinement. Others in the case included Nguyen Thi Than and Tran Quy Duc who were sentenced to terms of 5 years and 18 months respectively. Another defendant, Nguyen Ky (no relation to former Vice President Kv) was acquitted.
Apart from the case cited above, the only other arrest and convic- tion of a government official was that of an ARVN colonel who, ac- cording to an Associated Press relenso of October 17, 1972, was fired for trafficking in opium. In spite of the Presidential decree which sets forth the death penalty for opium traffickers, the colonel was merely cersured, ordered into retirement, and given 3 months leave with pay. Short of criminal prosecution, some Vietnamese officials who were either suspected of involvement in the narcofics trade, or of doing lit- tle to retard trafficking, have merely been replaced or retired. Among those are the former Director General of Customs, the Chief of Na- tional Police, and the top eustoms official at Tan Son Nhut Airport.
In summing up, three points should be unde:
(1) Few high ranking oficials have actually been tried or con- victed.
(2) Despite the stringent antidrug law decrced by President Thieu, the sentences levied so far against Vietnamnese officials have been com- paratively mild.
(3) Although rumors involving some members of the GVN leader- ship in the drug trade are rampant, U.S. intelligence sources say that they have not accumulated firm evidence which wonkl incriminate those top officials most often mentioned in aceiations.
With regard to the latter point, a theory advanced by one American official with years of experience in Vietnam could, in part, explain why Vietnamese officials often are insulated from any direct connection to the drug trade. According to this official, the power brokers and influ- ence peddlers in the Vietnamese underworld are often female relatives, wives and or mistresses of high ranking government officials, not the officials themselves.
Many American officials are of the opinion that, given the range of
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U.S. involvement at every level of the GVN over the last 10 years, any participation in the drug trade by high Vietnanuse officials would have become known and would have been reported to appropriate U.S.
and South Vietnamese officials.
Iluxe Rose
The British Crown Colony of Hong Kong plays a significant role in the trafficking of narcoties originating in Southeast Asia's “Golden Trianglo". Its large (150,000 est.) addiet population provides a Incra- tive market for the "Triangle" opiates. It is a primary source of the indispensable chemists” who transform raw opium into morphine base and heroin in the laboratories in and around Tachilek and else- where in the triborder area. Its well-organized, secretive, criminally- oriented groups such as exist in the Chào Cha ethnic community, pro-* vide the brains and banking required to operate a sophisticated naṛ- cotics trafficking ring. As à widely-used, international free port, it provides the traflicker an excellent point for transhipment of heroin and other opiates to their ultimate destinations, including the United States.
Given Hong Kong's pivotal position in the Southeast Asia connec- tion, it follows that United States efforts to cub traflicking from the triborder area should give high priority to the Crown Colony, Al though the United States Government has stationed BNDD and customs agents in Hong Kong and has dirceted the entire U.S. Mission there to give high priority to the narcoties problem, there are some problems and deficiències which require attention.
UNITED STATES-HONG KONG COOPERATION
Through representation in the United States Mission by BNDD and Customs Agents, the United States Government maintains a liai- son with its counterparts in the Hong Kong Government. In compari- son with the counterparts in Laos, Thailand and Vietnam, thê ex- change in Hong Kong is far more formal and United States agents do not work as closely with their Hong Kong counterparts as they do in Southeast Asia. This situation is due in part to the traditional British attitude which holds that they, the British, know how to do the job and require no external assistance in carrying it out.
While the Hong Kong authorities eschew outside help, they have, in recent actions, reflected a greater concern over the drug problem. The creation of the new position of Commissioner of Narcoties was an- nounced in June 1972. The Commissioner will serve under the Secre- tary for Home Affairs and be responsible for coordinating police, cus- toms, and prison and medieal programs concerned with narcotics, Tho post of Commissioner of Narcotics will provide the Hong Kong Gov- erminent for the first time with a senior official who will devote his full time to coordinating efforts in the narcoties field. The new Commis- sioner, N. G. Rolph, is a highly respected police officer who was Deputy Commissioner of Police prior to his appointment.
Indicative of the differences in the attitudes of U.S. and Hong Kong authorities toward the drug problem is the new Commissioner's opinion of the United States Government's World Opium Survey, 1972.
Imple
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