TOP
SECRET 高度機密
Acting Director of Special Branch
SF/290-203-
From.
Re (4)
in
Tel. No.
Date
24th March, 1977
一
5-284284 Exta. 369
MEMO
H.S.G.
To
Your Ref
in..
dated
GOMEZ BAY * * ·
3
Congolese Diplomatic Documents
The attached envelopes, ten in number, contain copies
of Congolese Diplomatic Documents which were found in sealed envelopes inside an abandoned suit case at the Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminal Ltd. (HACTL) on the 18th March 1977 together with five revolvers, one hundred and seventy rounds of ammunition and other personal items.
2.
The suit case in question, which arrived from Paris on an Air France flight on the 10th July 1976, and possibly originated in Boston, has lain unclaimed since then and it was only when HACTL vere becoming worried about the mounting storage charges that the Company decided to open the suit case with a view to auctioning the contents to defray the accumulated charges. HACTL are unable to find out who the consigner or consignee was.
3.
The documents which are in French, except for a copy of a Kissinger speech made in Lusaka in early 1976, appear to have originated from the Congolese Embassy in Maputo, Mozambique and the Congolese Mission to the United Nations. We cannot proffer a theory at this stage how they came together. Additionally, the chemist who opened the envelopes has commented that he believes that the envelopes have been surreptitiously opened once before basing the assertion on the fact that there appears to be two types of sealing wax on the seals and the official stamp is not circular. When, or by whom, these envelopes were opened and resealed is not known but it is highly unlikely that it was in Hong Kong, the possibility, therefore, exists that it was either in Paris or Boston.
4.
The only theory that we can offer as to why the suit case ever arrived in Hong Kong is that it was destined to be loaded on to President Bongo of Gabon's private aircraft which arrived in Hong Kong carrying the President on the 11th July 1976. In this context it should be noted that Air France were the handling agents for this aircraft.
5.
In the meantime, the documents are in Special Branch's care and the other itens, less the guns and ammunition, are being retained by HACTL pending a decision on their disposal - either by return to their owners or by other means, In this the P.A. 's Advice would be appreciated.
G.F. 73E
c.c. P.A. (with documents)
SECRET 高度機密
(B. Haigh)
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