TRAFFIC IN DRUGS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19454, 9 October 1926, Page 11

TRAFFIC IN DRUGS.

CHINA'S ILLICIT TRADE. HEROIN IN TOMBSTONES* [ FROM our. own correspondent. ] SHANGHAI, Aug. 14. According to an official return published by the Chinese Customs, 10,846 ounces of contraband drugs such as morphia, cocaine, and heroin, were seized by the authorities at the three main seaports of Shanghai Tientsin and Tsingtao during 1925. The main supply of morphia ' smuggled into China comes from Germany, while Japan deals largely in the cocaine traffic. To the credit of Great Britain, it is worthy of note that not one ounce of British narcotic drugs has been seized by the customs since 1922. The profits from the business, like that of gun-running and the sale of arms to Chinese, are enormous and are estimated to be in the neighbourhood of 1000 per cent, profit, but at the same time, it is difficult to imagine a more vile and sordid business. For some time past it has been well known to the authorities that there is a group of men in Shanghai engaged in smuggling drugs into China in wholesale quantities. The syndicate engaged in this nefarious traffic is a powerful one, with huge resources at its back, and so far, has managed to evade the clutches of the law. Occasionally a sailor or a steward on one of the home-going boats is arrested with contraband drugs in his possession, but, in every case, the arrested men have refused to divulge the ' names of their principals, .who have gone • scot-free. By the arrest last month in Hamburg r of a well-known Shanghai man, formerly - established in this city as a merchant and "general importer," it is felt that > the authorities have, at last, got hold of 5 one of the leaders of the gang. The man ! in question, an American citizen, was personally supervising the shipping of a ' consignment of tombstones destined for ' Shanghai. The gentleman appeared to be far too anxious over what, to all intents and purposes, were merely slabs of marble and granite and the suspicions of the authorities were aroused, One of tho tombstones was accordingly examined and the result was that tho tombstones were found to be hollow and packed with tins of heroin. The total "haul" amounted to 547 tins, each tin containing 250 grammes of the drug. Tho man was arrested and tried in the local Polico Court at Hamburg. He was fined 2000 dollars and ordered to be deported, whilo the heroin was confiscated. The arrested man appeared to have plenty of money, and, according to a statement made by the police, had recently received 55,000 dollars from New York. Unfortunately tho names of the consignees in Shanghai of the "tombstones" were not divulged.