OPIUM SMUGGLING.

Taranaki Daily News, 14 July 1915, Page 7

OPIUM SMUGGLING.

OH IX ICS li I'TIIKMAX FJNKIJ. By Telegraph.— I'resa Association. Auckland, Last Night.. On the arrival of the steamer ('aldergrove at Auckland from Philadelphia. jUie Customs olliciais, in making their usual warc'h, tam« across six tins of'' opium and a tin of yen-she, concealed aoove one of tile ship's boilers. The opium was claimeci li.v a Chinese fireman named Chan Kook, and he 'va?* brought before .Mr. I''. V r . i'razcr, K.'C, lliis morning. on a charge of having had opium in his possession. Mr. Hidings stated that the illegal importation of opium from ships that earl ied Chinese anions tll<; crew was gradually increasing. . Decently, the Customs olliciais had found 4lii) tins in a ship that came to Auckland with empty bunkers. I'sually. it was possible to lind very little of the opium, but as> the coal and cargo wnil down, as C,,. 1 : .f ports down the coast, the Chinese got at the hiding-place:- of tile oiiium. end ran the stnlV ashore. lie felt quite sure that it would lie found thai, oniom would bo run from this- ship at southern ports. The six tins of opium contained find the yen-she. (seconds) 50/.. the value, being about Clo. The accused, through an interpreter, stated that lie was an inveterate opium eater. a.nd had been so for the last twenty years. He needed the opium for his own use, and lie could not work without it. The Interpreter: !le tells me he eats anil smokes about half an ounce a day, and he would die without it. The yenshe is the opium cooked for eating, lie jiot. tin' opium from a Chinaman aboard a, shin in an Kngiisli port near America. 1 lis Worship remarked that if accused had declared the opium lie would liol have been charged with an" olVei"'". lie must be lined £101), the minimum amount, which was reduced, under the special *e;tioii, to ,Ci>, witii -£>„ lid costs. Mr, Hidings mentioned that, accused ihad' t's? of pay coming to him. and ,tha(; if lie did not pay his line the eao.taiii of the ship would have to enter into a bond for ,£2OO t.h;it the man would not. be left here. The opium would be forfeited, but tlui man would probalJTv be allowed to keep flio yen-she.