CONTRABAND!

Auckland Star, Volume LXIX, Issue 250, 22 October 1938, Page 1 (Supplement)

CONTRABAND!

THE narcotic trade is mostly contraband, and spreads more disaster in its wake than is first credible. Opium, morphine, cocaine, and other dnijrs are all lejral manufactures, but for medical purposes only, mport, export, and distribution are monopolies of the government. But 1 ,0 , l°?alh' brought into such countries as America, China. India . " ... J'-"t- r land is compared to that smuggled in by narcotic unckers. C ustoins ollicers are continually being outwitted by clever ' "'Porters of the narcotics, although the highly trained investigation ollicers confiscate tons of the deadly stuff each year. Mexican smugglers have succeeded in petting great quantities of opium o\er the border into United States territory, in spite of the unceasing Mgilam-e of border patrol men. How do they ° do it.' It lias been floated across the Rio >iande in half submerged barrels, which are '"ft to i<lle doNvnstrcam amongst the reeds, to be picked up later by accomplices in the fiuiso of peasants going down to water their cattle. Mexican women wearing shoes from which the high, hollow heels are detachable have attempted to smuggle in this way small quantities of drugs. Cars with packages of morphine neat;y wedged inside the inner tube of a spare tyre have been arrested, on the border, while one of the most ingenious methods discovered was that of a fruit peddler, who had been successfully carrying on his contraband business for years. Tiny glass tubes o£ opium were deeply thrust inside bananas, so cleverly done that it defied detection. One day an officer bought a banana, and when his teeth came into contact with the glass realised that here was a man who had smuggled in thousands of pounds worth of narcotics under the very eyes of the law. As high penalties are imposed for this illicit traffic, the modern smuggler is a desperate man as well as a cunning one. The old-time skirmish of the coastguards and the Cornish rum runners is often repeated with deadly results. Armed with rifles and hand grenades, seventeen or eighteen Mexican desperadoes recently attacked a band of patrol officers on the border, when one of tlieir number had been arrested with his saddlebags full of contraband liquor and cocaine. Several hundred pounds worth of material was captured, although one of the officers was killed and several wounded. The fight against this vicious trade is to the death, and it is not for lack of courage that the law is often defeated by smuggling bands. Opium is Smuggled both in and out of China, the raw material being illicitly exported and the manufactured drug smuggled in. A year ago a cultured young Chinese girl landed in America with passport and credentials perfectly in order. She was passed through the Customs without any difficulty, and was about to leave when one of the officers, when shutting her trunk, noticed that the corners of the drawers did not fit quite squarely. It was almost imperceptible, but in a flash he realised that when the trunk was square, and the drawer corners were cut crosswise, a fairly large free space was left unaccounted for. The trunk was examined closely, as were the other belongings of the passenger, and over a hundred thousand dollars worth of contraband narcotics was discovered. Tiny sacks of the prccious drug made a small mountain in the Customs office, where they were kept under heavy guard until the police took

The Vile Trade That Is Modern Smuggling

charge. The Chinese crirl pleaded ignorance of their presence, but was duly charged and deported, a lenient penalty compared to some. Even then, after long and arduous investigation, her collections with the great smuggling rings of Asia and America were never fully discovered. The police of every country have become convinced that wealthy and unknown syndicates are operating the drug traffic, controlling by subtle and ingenious means all the highly organised system of drug distributors, importers, smugglers and peddlers. International war is waged against this crime, backed by the research of League of Nations Council and the agreements of the Geneva Conference. In every country the Customs maintain a ceaseless watch, paina-

Smugglers! The fvord brings exciting thoughts of the silk and rum runners off the coasts of Cornwall and the days when the "Gentlemen" were an established institution of every fishing village. With their dark lanterns, muffled oars and caches in secret caves, the smugglers probably had more adventure and >omance than profit. That is not so to-day. Modern smuggling is highly organised, ingeniously executed, and brings profits so fabulous that beside it the exploits of the rum runners fade into insignificance.

takingly examining the history and connections of foreign passengers as well as their luggage. But in spite of this the smugglers manage to carry on their nefarious trade. Drugs are even smuggled into prisons where addicts are kept, and by ingenious methods surreptitiously taken through the guard that is apparently impossible to pass. Much of this is brought by incoming prisoners, secreted in dental bridgework or caps, under tlieir finger and toenails, even occasionally in tiny cylinders under the surface of the skin. One large quantity was taken into prison in books ostensibly sent by some charitable body. The covers were split and the pages riffled through, but the far-seeing smuggler had allowed for these precautions of the authorities. He had hollowed out the centres of the pages, just enough for a small cavity which would take capsules and a hypodermic needle. The centres of the pages were then gluefl, forming a tiny sealed container which was imperceptible except to very close examination. While such drugs as these are invaluable to medical science, their misuse, which leads to the dreaded addiction, is an evil with terrible consequences. Opium addiction is prevalent to an enormous degree amongst the coolies of China, Siam and India, the drug being fed to children and even animals. Its disastrous effects in these cases are diminished by the laborious work of the coolies. But amongst white races degeneration and disease follow in the wake of the "happy dust." The opium addict cannot eat, sleep, work or play with pleasure. His vitality is so lowered he cannot recover from the slightest disease. His addiction to the drug strengthens till it is a slavery, ended only by death. And this is the evil that opium traffickers introduce to unsuspecting people! When contraband drugs are discovered by the police they are ruthlessly burnt, no matter what the cost. No pains are spared to stamp out this widespread international evil, which is one of the most criminal forms of profiteering in the world. Modern smuggling must eventually be defeated as thoroughly as was its more romantic counterpart of days gone by.