TNAG-0560-FCO40-655-Review-of-narcotics-problem-in-Hong-Kong-1975 — Page 39

Our reference: Your reference:

JICK 19/1

C W Squire Esq

HOME OFFICE

Romney House, Marsham Street, LONDON S.W.1

Telephone: 01-799-34SS, ext.

Telex: 24986

South East Asian Department

Foreign and Commonwealth Office King Charles Street

LONDON SW1

Dear Squire

3 March 1975

450

212 89RECEIVED IN

REGISTRY No. 14

- 4 MAR 1975

ᄏᄏ 17/1

Her Soldry will en

~ MacPhy

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Er dette R som

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CC HKIOD

Mr Woll of

Wolfy

DRUGS IN SOUTH EAST ASIA:

ADRIAN COWELL

UND

then pa

Stan

As a further episode in the saga of Mr Cowell and the Opium War Lords I enclose two copies of a tape recording of the meeting which took place in Thailand early this year between Cowell, Lester Woolf and representatives of the Shan States, which Cowell told us about at Christmas time.

The tapes were handed to me by Norman Rolph, Commissioner for Narcotics, Hong Kong at the recent meeting of the Narcotics Commissi in Geneva, having been given to him by Cowell when he passed through; Hong Kong early in February. Rolph has kept a copy. He asked me to pass these two on to you (he thought this more simple than sending them through the bag), so that you could consider, having heard them whether or not to send a copy to Rangoon.

So far as I can determine the participants at the meeting were Cowell, Lester Woolf, Congressman Mruphey, a representative of the Shan State Army, a representative of the Shan United Army (?), and a third and unidentified American. The recording is of some inte- rest and curiosity but I doubt if it will much affect the policy line that we have taken hitherto.

In this connection I took the opportunity of meeting Ambassador Vance, the Special Adviser to Mr Kissinger on narcotics matters at Geneva to sound him in general terms on the ideas that are currently being canvassed about buying opium from the Shan States. He made it clear that the State Department policy, at least, was strongly averse to the proposal, for reasons very similar to our own.

I am not sending copies of this letter to UN Department or to Hong Kong and Indian Ocean Department but rather relying upon you to circulate it and the enclosures as you feel necessary. I do not want the tape recordings returned.

Yours sincerely

CONFIDENTIAL

train

C J TRAIN