DRUG FIND

Hokitika Guardian, 21 May 1930, Page 6

DRUG FIND

AUSTRALIA A DUMPING GROUND. MAN FROM ATHENS.

SYDNEY, May 8. There is no doubt in the minds o. the police who are Working on th< latest drug discoveries in Sydney that fikiiown to the authorities, Austra lia has been the dumping ground o 'drugs for several years. They clain to have ,apprehended a man whom thej describe ,as -an “importee,” . and thej .say tljat a. letter they have discoverec contains some!, startling ' information! A sensational development is expectet • when. a~cortain ship, reaches Sydney. During last week as a result of in -formation-they had received, the. polio afiresfed always'bCeiiuvlooked upon as model o decency. The suspect, however, denie: all knowledge of the drug traffic. Fol lowingiithe'afre'sfr. of this man 140; .tin: of the, Eastern drug known as hashish a drug which brings dreams to . tht subject,. , but X ultimately causes in sanity' apjd, death if persisted, in,. wer< recovered .. ' ’The value of ..the, haul ...ii said to! be approximately.'£3oo.. Tliei the remarkable letter was. discovered T t bere an Athens postmark, and con tnined information that startled tb( men connected with the enquiry. Further seizures of- hashish hav< been made since including one at i ; "Hv bond store. There was a numbe: oF tins that were supposed to contair olive oil. Some did—but one tin hob number'-pf smaller tins containing opium and . other- drugs, among which was hashish, a product of Indian hemp, The tin which contained the drugs war marked with a red spot; and it waf ! ined outside, the lining, having beer soldered. --.This discovery was the direci result, of the Athens! letter. This letter "referred’!'to' 'the rending of drugs .from AtheifS to Sydney, and advised, the man in Sydney not to open the tin with the red spot on it if the Customs officials become suspicious.- A Customs official said the seizure of hashish was ’u-qbably the first made in New Stouth .Wales—certainly the first for 15 years. Other drug discoveries during the week-end have led the police to believe that Sydney is the clearing place for tlte drug traffic of the Pacific. Just before a vessel sailed for Noumea a .search 1 was .carried out by .the . Customs officers, and opium, to the value of', more, than £SOO was recovered.' Tt was cleverly hidden in a coffee canister that had a false bottom, afid in travelling case that was specially constructed for the hiding of drugs. The police say that the opium, which was of the highest quality was purchased in Sydney -to be. taken to the' Islands l? the Pacific, where it will bring n much larger price than if it is sold in Sydney. Two Chinese members of the crew-were taken before the Collector of Customs to explain how the opium on me to be on the ship. Both the police and the Custom'' officers realise that they will have to double their efforts it they are to succeed in putting down the drug traffic in ‘Sydney noty that it lias grown to such aiafttiing proportions;