TNAG-0416-FCO40-462-Review-of-narcotics-problem-in-Hong-Kong-1973 — Page 162

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CONFIDENTIAL

HOME OFFICE

Romney House, Marsham Street, LONDON S.W.I

Telephone: 01-799 3488, ext.27

Telex: 24986

Mr A L Wotton

Hong Kong and Indian Ocean Department

Foreign & Commonwealth Office

SW1

Dear Wotton

HONG KONG DRUG PROBLEM

16 May 1973

Mr. Stuart

W. Crowson have seen

2.

80

I am writing to report to you the outcome of my meeting yesterday afternoon. with Mr Bryan Baas of the American Embassy.

Mr Baas had been instructed by the State Department to call upon an appropriate official in the United Kingdom (my name had been specifically suggested) to propose a meeting in the very near future in Hong Kong between representatives of the United States, United Kingdom, and Mr Rolph, the Hong Kong Commissioner for Narcotics, to discuss aspects of Mr Rolph's recently produced reports upon the Hong Kong drug problem and its solution. I understood from Mr Baas that he had already raised this suggestion in a preliminary and different form with Mr Stuart of your Department and that Mr Stuart had reacted somewhat unfavour- ably to it on the grounds that we would not wish to do anything which over- lapped and, in consequence, jeopardised the work of the proposed United Nations Ad Hoc Committee which will be studying ways of developing co-operation against illicit drug trafficking in the Far East.

The further American proposals seem to be aimed at taking account of this objection. I understood their main features to be as follows:

(i)

-

The discussions would be in the framework of "study sessions" developed on an ad hoc and completely informal basis, without commitment to permanent liaison or organisation;

(ii) they would be confined to studying possible solutions to the

Hong Kong drug problem which were focused essentially upon the Hong Kong domestic situation (as opposed to Commissioner Rolph's proposals, which as I understand it, are, in the main, looking for solutions outside the Colony, specifically within the "Golden Triangle" itself and on the Thai supply lines from it];

(iii) the items that they have provisionally proposed were:

a) elimination of the heroin refineries,

b) identification and penetration of Chinese drug syndicates, and c) resolution of the trawler problem;

(iv) the Americans would send the Head of the BNDD (Mr John Ingersoll)

as their representative and they hope that the United Kingdom would be represented by the appropriate counterpart to Ingersoll, and that Hong Kong should be represented by Commissioner Rolph.