OPIUM TRAFFIC

Hokitika Guardian, 25 November 1924, Page 4

OPIUM TRAFFIC

I.APCK SCALK Oi>K DAT lON'S. A I t K PAN I), November -I. 'I lie size of tlie recent seizures of opium in New Zealand ports indicates quite clearly that the traffic ill the drug is on a huge scale. On the Sussex alone I'l’llllll worth of opium was disi overeil by the Customs Department in Wellington and Lyttelton. In October, less than a mouth later, seven tins, valued at L'loO, were found on tlm Afa111*1111 alter she arrived at Wellington from Sidney. Tlmv were hidden in a

deckhouse. mill appa rent ly were mi tun it’s | >l'i >pt-r tV. dll llm next trip of lln 1 .Miilii'iin II tins were found by Auckland officials beneath lln l wardrobe in n Milium cabin. No olio claimed tliom. In view ol tho oppiii-i unities llnil ox-i-i lor transporting the-e small tins ol opium, tln* oxlmit. ol ilio Iriillio run only In l n mill tor of conjecture. The 11j1 1 11111 is packed in very sinnll recep- i taelesf Often tin 1 tills resemble the curved cigarette en-es wliioli ran lie

carried in a hip pm hot in a minimum, ol spurt 1 , and as limit l art 1 t housautls ol moil willing to take the risk, it is improhnhlo that the discoveries represent unv considerable proportion of the total nnantities in transit.

One may conjcctare who takes the greatest. risks. Is it likely that a Chinese ship's carpenter. or an Knglish steward has the hundreds or thousands to risk in an endeavour to distribute a consignment ? It is the opinion of those in the host position to judge that wealthy organisations, posibl.v international in seope, are engaged in the opium trade, and that syndieates. located in New Zealand and other countries. deal with them. There is a strong belief that the chief dealers in the drug are rarely caught, and that the chief principals regard their losses hv seizures as a trading risk. It seems plain that if tin 1 average seizures represented any considerable portion of the total volume of opium circulated, those controlling the capital involved would decide that the traffic was not a paying one. Kverything points to the view that boats trading about the Pacific have on hoard far more opium than is ever discovered.

There is, fortunately, no reason for supposing that many Kuropeans in New Zealand touch the drug. Cases of addiction to it by Kuropeans who have no associations with Chinese have been known, but they are extremely rare. The opium trade of the Pacific owes its wide dimensions to the immigration of Chinese and Hindus. The chief ports of the Pacific Islands, according to seafaring men. are hot-beds of the traffic, and it is probable that the large hauls made in New Zealand ports are often merely i - trneit or for transhipment. For instance, opium brought bv a vessel from India may be intended for Papeete; tins spirited cn board at Singapore may have tome from the Persian Gulf and may be destined tor Sydney Turkish opium brought from Salonika may reach its market in Fiji and Samoa.