DOPE SMUGGLING

Waipawa Mail, Volume LXV, Issue 54, 5 July 1937, Page 3

DOPE SMUGGLING

LURE OF HAPPY DREAMS BATTLE OP WITS. LONDON, June 12. Mysterious illnesses of women in different parts of England during the past few months have led to the discovery of dope smuggling on a scale which is worrying the authorities, These illnesses have been traced, to hashish smoking. Hashish is the dried root of a plant grown in the Lebannon mountains and sent all over the world, princip-

ally to Egypt. Many of these smuggler’s are Moslem women, who carry this highly-prized drug in their clothing. The drug is smuggled in England principally by Arab and Chinese

sailors and firemen. Cardiff is one of the important centres of distribution.

“Whenever we see a dock-side cafe attracting bigger crowds, particularly of women, than usual,” said a Cardiff police official, “we want to know why. As a rule there is only one reason—hashish.” A pinhead of hashish may cost as much as £1 or more. A Cardiff Customs official described some of the difficulties with which the waterguard officers contend in trying to stop this smuggling. “A fistful of hashish,” he said, “would be worth some hundreds of pounds and so the risk is well worth taking. ’ ’ One of the new smuggling methods is to pack an ounce or two of hashish in a waterproof bag. This is tied to a bag of salt weighing two or three pounds, which is thrown out of a porthole. The bag sinks at once, but after some hours the salt has dissolved and a piece of wood put in the bag gives sufficient buoyancy to bring the hag to the surface for boatmen to pick up. “We are making a new drive against this dope running,” said a Cardiff waterguard officer. “It is a continuous battle of wits.”