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stored away and the premises reverted to normal use.
Detection is therefore more difficult than in
the past, when a refinery might be in almost continuous use for many months.
Importation
༠.
An attempt was made in June to run a drugs shipment into the Colony by Thai trawler. This was again detected by a reconnaissance flight and the vessel was harassed into returning to Thailand with its cargo still aboard.
10. Several drugs couriers have been arrested at Kai Tak Airport, and attempts to smuggle drugs into the Colony concealed in air cargo have been uncovered. (Paragraphs 30-34 to refer) The new methods adopted by drug traffickers amount to a considerable diluting of the original smug- gling pattern and they are becoming most difficult to detect.
Exportation
11. During the period under review several Hong Kong Chinese were involved in smuggling heroin to Europe and the West Coast of the U.S.A. However, in the majority of cases the heroin involved did not originate in Hong Kong but was picked up elsewhere in South East Asia. In most cases the reason for this is that heroin in Hong Kong is much more expensive than in other South East Asian countries.
Storage/Distribution Centres
12. Significant storage/distribution centres discovered during the period under review are reported in detail at paragraphs 35–43.
Synthetic Drugs
13. The problem of synthetic drugs remains relatively minor in Hong Kong, bar and dance hall girls being the main users of depressant drugs, in particular Methaqualone.
Cannabis and its Derivatives
14. Two large seizures of cannabis were made by the Preventive Service at Kai Tak Airport during the 1st half of 1975. (paragraphs 47 and 49 refer). In both cases enquiries revealed that the drug was not intended for local consumption but was passing through Hong Kong in transit.
Traffic in Narcotics
Local Consumption
15. The types of dangerous drugs consumed and methods of consumption have remained un- changed, although the incidence of addicts arrested in possession of syringes/syringe sets has increased substantially (see graph at Appendix III). In most cases this changing pattern is attributed to the high cost of heroin in Hong Kong; addicts who cannot afford the rising prices are resorting to the dangerous practise of injecting No. 3 Heroin as an economy measure, and increasing numbers are paying the ultimate price.
Cases and Seizures
16. (a) Cases
During the 1st half of 1975 a total of 6,387 separate drug offences were detected, resulting in the arrest of 5,793 persons of whom 5,648 were convicted before the Courts. Appendix I outlines the offences in detail.
(b) Seizures
Appendix II shows the quantities of dangerous drugs seized during the 1st half of 1975. 5,659 individual seizures were made, of which 4,071 involved heroin and 1,172 opium. 133 seizures of other drugs were made, and the remaining 283 involved non-dangerous drugs.
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