ENG-1960 — Page 113

84

INDUSTRY AND TRADE

Colony's products under certificates of origin or Commonwealth Preference Certificates formed an important part of the Service's duties, 58,461 inspections being undertaken; this was more than 10,000 over the figures for any previous year. The control over the movement of dangerous agricultural poisons was also main- tained.

The Service's eight launches, two of which are deep sea patrol vessels, continued their patrols around the long coast-line of the Colony, checking and searching over 20,400 native craft. These launches together average a total of 20,000 steaming hours each

year.

The Preventive Service is, with the Police, one of Hong Kong's most effective weapons in suppressing drug trafficking. Government increased the strength of the Special (Narcotics) Section of this Service from 24 to 194 during the two years 1959-60 and intro- duced a system of 'ship-guards' to improve control over the move- ment of narcotics. A new and more efficient fast harbour launch was commissioned during the early part of the year to carry ship-guards and search parties to and from vessels in port.

During the year, over 400 ocean-going vessels from suspect areas were guarded throughout their stay in port; this was in addition to routine searches of 4,160 ships on their arrival from black- listed ports. The daily ferry steamships to and from Macau were also searched over 1,500 times. 1,490 aircraft were searched and numerous checks were made on vehicles at Hong Kong Interna- tional Airport.

Seizures of narcotics during the year numbered 39: these included 3,626 lbs of opium, 153 lbs of morphine, 337 lbs of morphine hydrochloride, 5 lbs of heroin and 155 lbs of barbitone. On the last day of November, officers of the Service seized 1,078 lbs of raw opium concealed in hollowed-out bundles of teak wood on board a ship which had just entered port. This was the biggest seizure of opium since the war. Within a fortnight, they made. another big seizure of narcotics hidden in another vessel in the same way: on this occasion 768 lbs of raw opium, 16 lbs of prepared opium, 45.5 lbs of morphine and 293.3 lbs of mor- phine hydrochloride were found. The quantity of morphine and