TNAG-0561-FCO40-656-Review-of-narcotics-problem-in-Hong-Kong-1975 — Page 15

E.R.

CONFIDENTIAL

The question was how this should be effected. It would clearly be impracticable for a single Thai Police Officer to sail the trawler single handed 1500 miles back to Thailand with a hostile crew and a cargo of contraband drugs aboard. It might be possible for the Thai authorities to fly out support at this stage, the question of security no longer arising. Unfortunately, the possibility of such a force

by the crew in views of being corrupted and by the temptations on such a cargo could not be

persuaded excluded. The Thai authorities might be pressed to send an escort vessel, a course which would not give rise to the same difficulties. The Royal Navel vessel might then escort the trawler to meet this vessel and hand over half way. Alternatively, there is no particular reason why return to Thailand had to take the same form as the manner in which the trawler had arrived. Another possibility which appeared

to be much less hazardous would be for the RN vessel to escort the

trawler first back to Hong Kong and for the return to Thailand to be effect@de from there. The drugs could be carried on the RN vessel and either ♣ return to Thailand by sea or air under secure arrangements or alternatively disposed of by Hong Kong through licit channels and the proceeds remitted to Thailand. The only problem about this alternative might be the powers in Hong Kong for the crew to be detained and returned to Thailand and for the vessel to be similarly

disposed of.

Another alternative which was not, in fact, discussed at the meeting

or mork of but which would seem to overcome all, the difficulties would be for the RN vessel to take the drugs back to Hong Kong to be dealt with in one of the ways described above and for the trawler and crew without the drugs to be sailed back to Thailand by a Thai official party.

It

would seem that the escort of the vessel in such circumstances might be a much less demanding affair7.

11. The questions for MOD in relation to this stage of the operation, therefore, are whether they would be prepared to escort the trawler a substantial way back to Thailand, whether they would be prepared to escort it back to Hong Kong and whether they would be prepared to transport the drugs back to Hong Kong, whether or not they were also escorting the trawler.

12. The remaining aspects of the scheme were preliminary matters for the Hong Kong Government. These concerned issues such as the

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