TNAG-0418-FCO40-464-Review-of-narcotics-problem-in-Hong-Kong-1973 — Page 31

vrugs pranen Home Office Romney house Marsham Street

London SIM

196

J Bartels Esq

Drug Enforcement Administration

United States Department of Justice Rashington DC 20537

12 December 1973

Dear Mr Bartels

When we exchanged letters in the summer, you asked me to let you knew how the tour of the United Nations Ad Hoc Committee in the Far East went, and I thought that it would be appropriate in the light of that tour to let you have by current views on how future cooperation between yourselves, curselves and the liong Kong Government might develop as a follow up to the very useful meeting that John Ingersoil, Norman Rolph and I had in Hong Long in June,

We had a most successful trip round the Far East during which we gathered much interesting and valuable information and, I hope, produced a report which will be of assietence to the Narcotics Commission, One of our main conclusions was that there was need for closer liaison between law enforcement officers at the operational level in the Far East region and we made one particular recommendation for securing this, namely that meetings of the operational heads of national Narcotics Agencies should be regularly convened. This recommendation is, as you will appreciate, particularly relevant to the future of the Anglo/US/Hong Kong exercise, in particular to the nature and timing of any follow up,

As you know, John Ingersoll proposed that there should be regular meetings at an operational level between DEA officials and Hong Kong officials, with some sort of overall policy making group comprised of senior Hong Kong United States and United Kingdom administrators. In the light of the Ad Hoc Committed's recommendations, at present my inclination (and I should welcome your views on this) would be to leave the follow up on that proposal until after the Narcotics Commission have debated the report of the Ad Hoc Committee and, one hopes, have approved its recommendations. If a framework for regional meetings at an operational level has been established, we could then consider together if and how we might fit into that framework the types of meetings that John Ingersoll had in mind, In the meantime I do not imagine that the close working relationship which already exists between your officials and Hong Kong officials will be in any way diminished.

I look forward to meeting you in the near future,

Copied to:

Mr N G Rolph, Hong Kong Mr N henban-Smith, FCO Mr A Stuart, FCO

Yours sincerely

C J TRAIN