INGENIOUS WAYS OF SMUGGLERS.

Marlborough Express, Volume XLII, Issue 128, 1 June 1908, Page 6

INGENIOUS WAYS OF SMUGGLERS.

,No article since duties were first levied offers such temptation to the smuggler.. as saccharin, partly because of the high duty on it, which amounts to £1 a pound, and partly because it lends itself so easily to concealment. The various seizures, principally in the east of London, which have been made recently, show that the smuggler is taking advantage of his opportunity and the revenue authorities are at their wits' end to cope with the illicit traffic. As a matter of fac ( t, spirits and tobacco, with all the romantic tales of adventure associated with them are no longer fashionable with the'smuggler. Saccharin has taken their place, says the London Standard. Under Ordinary circumstances s saccharin, which is reckoned to be three hundred times sweeter than sugar, is imported in at least four different forms, the characteristic properties of which are: —A white glistening crystalline powder, a dull white powder resembßng-icing sugar, a white coarse granular powder, and crystals in small pieces of various Sizes,' similar in appearance to common alum. Saccharin may be said to be illicitely imported in three principal ways. First, by the ordinary process of concealment; second, held in suspension or in solution in other goV^ds, and third, under various chemical aliases and entered as free of duty. In regard to the first method, when it is remembered that a pound of saccharin, the duty on which is 20s, can be comfortably stowed away in one's waistcoat pockets, the wide field open to the smuggler can be readily imagined. In fact, almost every conceivable stratagem is resorted^ to, i and no >doubt in the great majority of cases with success. { Saccharin has been found concealed in the centre of bags of. starch and sacks of flour, in casks of potatoes, in casks of resin, casks of fish offal, in cases ingeniously made to represent the tops of tables, in bottles labelled "Health Salts,", a small quantity of that article being placed on top to disguise the contents; in snlphamide beni&oic acid, made up in .the shape and appearance of night lights, in bags of sugar, even in bamboo canes, in fact, in almost every imaginable variety of casks and packages containing goods of an innocent description. It is also to be feared that a* considerable illicit traffic in this highly dutiable article is carried on by passengers passing to and from the Continent, and the means resorted to are as various as they are ingenious. In one recent case a passen'-' fer was discovered wearing a tight tting calico vest next his skin containing seven pounds of saccharin. In another case a belt, passing in coilpi around the body wa^ the means employed. But the difficulties which confront the customs officer in regard to the personal running ofj? saccharin are light indeed when we consider the innumerable, articles of commerce in which it may ,be utilised or held in solution and imported free of duty. In sach cases, as a rule, it is the analyst alone* who can tell. Saccharin may be used in canned and bottled fruits, in aerated waters, in brandy, in syrup, in confectionery, in wafer paper, even in cigarette papers. It comes in biscuits, chocolate, cocoa ! powder,- marmalade, preserves, maraipan -and thirst tablets. It is held in. sobMion in glycerine, acetone, water and a host of other solvents. Not long ago a small importation of roots roughly ground was subjected to analysis and found to be heavily loaded with saccharin, nothing whatever in the appearance of the goods suggesting the presence of this highly dutiable commodity. And as if all those claims to the smuggler's favour were not enough, saccharin has something of the characteristics of the chameleon. It can be subjected to a, porcess of mashing or denaturing by which it is rendered perfectly tasteless, and the moment it has passed the revenue portajs it can be restored to its original state by a reverse process. Truly an unequal contest for the poor customs officer!