TRADER IN OPIUM

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22719, 4 May 1937, Page 16

TRADER IN OPIUM

CHINESE FINED £SO CARRIED DRUG WORTH £72 [by telegraph —OWN correspondent] - NAPIER, Monday A fine of £SO was imposed on Wong Ling, described as a trader in opium, by Mr. J. Miller, S.M., in the Magistrate's Court to-day, for being in possession of opium. "It is known to the police this man is a trader in opium," said DetectiveSergeant Nuttall, in regard to Wong Ling, who, he added, was found on Saturday in possession of a quantity of opium. "The man is a stranger to the district, and ho had eluded us for some time until lie was caught on Saturday by Detective Mills. When apprehended he had three unopened half-pound tins of prepared opium valued at about £72 in his possession. He has been in the district two or three months, and has done no work. He gets opium from a Chinese firm in Wellington." The Magistrate: Is he. trading in a big way ? Detective-Sergeant Nuttall: One and a-half pounds of opium goes a long way at a retail price of £2 an ounce. He had £lB in his possession when arrested. The penalty for default in payment of the £SO fine was fixed at two months' imprisonment. A Chinese launderer, Jack Ycc, was fined £25 for being in possession of opium-smoking utensils. The police said that the accused was before the Court last year, when he was fined £3O, This had not yet been fully paid. "It is not a had case," said the detective sergeant, in reply to a question. "He is a well-known opium-smoker and smokes all the time. There is no chance of stopping these men."