DRUG FIND

Evening Post, Volume CIX, Issue 119, 22 May 1930, Page 9

DRUG FIND

AUSTRALIA A DUMPING

GROUND

MAN. PROM ATHENS

(From "TJie Post's" Representative.) ' SYDNEY, Bth May.

There is no doubt in the minds of the police who are working on the latest drug discoveries in Sydney that, unknown to1 the authorities,. Australia lias been the dumping-ground of drugs for several years. They claim to have apprehended a man whom they describe as an "importer, and they say that a letter they have discovered contains some startling iniorination. A sensational development is es■peetcd when a certain ship reaches byclDuring last week, as a result of certain information they had received, the police arrested a business man who had always been looked upon as a model o£ decency. The suspect, however, denies all knowledge >oi: the drug traffic. Following the arrest of .this man, WO tins of the Eastern drug known as hashish, a drug which brings dreams to the subject, but ultimately causes insanity and death if persisted in, were recovered. The value ot the haul is said to be approximately £300. Then the remarkable letter was discovered. It bore an Athens post-mark, and contained information that startled the men connected with the inquiry. Further seizures of hashish have been made Bince, including one at a city bond store. There were a number of tins that were supposed to contaiu alive oil. Some did—but one tin held a number of smaller tins containing opium and other drugs, among which was hashish, a product _, of Indian hemp. The tin which contained the drugs was marked with a red spot, and it was lined outside, the lining having been soldered. This discovery was the direct result of the Athens letter, lnis letter referred to the sending ot drugs from Athens to Sydney, and advised tUo I man in Sydney not to open the tin with the red spot on it if the Customs oiheialß became suspicious. ' A Customs • official said that the seizure of hashish was probably the first made in New South Wales —certainly the first for fifteen years. Other drug discoveries during the weekend have led the police to believe that Sydney is the clearing-place for the drug traffic of the Pacific. Just before a vessel sailed for Noumea a search was carried out by the Customs officers, and opium to the value of more than ±.SUU was recovered. It was cleverly hidden in a coffee canister that had a false bottom, and in a travelling case that was specially constructed for the hiding ot drugs. The police say that the opium, which was of the highest quality, was purchased in Sydney to be taken to the Islands of the Pacific, where it will bring a much higher price than if it is sold in Sydney. Two Chinese members ot the crew* were taken before the Collector of Customs to explain how the opium came to be on the ship. Both the police and the Customs olnccrs realise that they will have to double I their efforts if they are to succeed in putting down the drug traffic in Sydney, now that it has grown to such alarming [ proportions.