'ASIA'S HARD DRUG HABIT.' FAR EASTERN ECONOMIC REVIEW, 30 APRIL 1976

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP79-01194A000100210001-2
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 11
• Document Creation Date: November 11, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 6, 1998
• Sequence Number: 1
• Publication Date: May 17, 1976
• Content Type: REPORT

25X1C10b
Approved For Release 1999/09/02 : CIA-RDP79-01194A000100210001-2
Approved For Release 1999/09/02 : CIA-RDP79-01194A000100210001-2
 Editor: Derek Davies
Deputy Editor: Russell Spurr
Regional Editor: Denzil Peiris
Focus Editor: Bill Kraitzer
News Editor: Michael Lynch -
Andrew Davenport, Peter Fish,
Garry Merchant, Minette Marrin,
Tony Patrick, Rodney Tasker,
Raymond Yao-
Art Director: Morgan Chue
Edgar Chiu (Assistant) .
Kathmandu
Kuala -Lumpur
Manila
Moscow
,New Delhi
Papua Now Guinea'
Rangoon
Seoul
Singapore/Malaysia
Norman Peagem
Michael Morrow
Jayanta Sarkar
Kenneth Randall
a. H. S. Jayewardene
Daud Ma)lis
Malcolm Subhan (Brussels),
Gene Gregory (Geneva)
Edith Lenart (Paris)
Nayan Chanda
Se is mat All
Hamish McDonald
Lawrence Llfschultz
,(South Asia)
K. M. Singh
K. Des
Leo Gonzaga
Miles Hanley
A. Harlbaran (India)
Ho Kwon Ping
Harvey Stockwin
John Roberts
Louis HaiaSZ
Published weekly, every Friday. In Hong-
kong since 1946. All Rights Reserved.
Far Eastern Economic Review Limited.
Hongkong, 1976. GM Member of the
Audit Bureau of Circulations, London.
5-237081. Cables: 'Review Hongkong.
Executive Office: Tong Chong Street
Post Office Box 47, Hongkong. Tel.
5-620161.
Printed by South China Morning Post
Limited, Tong Chong Street, Hongkong
scriPtlon
le
send for o t~ _o ~Y/r7eF
rk.
elease 1999/09/02 : CIA-RDP79-01194A000100210001-2
Despite stenned-up enforcement, greater regional cooperation
and publicity, the infamous "Goiaen Triangle , - the
mountainous border regions of Thailand, Burma and Laos -
Triangle supplies, the drug syndicates continue to make vast
profits by channelling opium and its evil derivative heroin to
tens of thousands of addicts in Southeast Asia and
Hongkong, and also to Amsterdam, Europe's new heroin
clearing-house, and North America. REVIEW correspondents
throughout the region and in Europe describe the new
pattern of drug-trafficking and the depressing addiction
problems in their countries, page 22-30.
Cover photo by Dinshaw Balsara
Thailand's new Prime Minister Seni Pramoj had
hammered together a Government culled from a four..
party coalition, but if the story going the rounds in -
Bangkok on the events of the past few months are true,,:
'he will be hard put to keep it that way and avoid the
same fate as his brother Kukrit, page 10.
Undoubtedly Japan and the five ASEAN countries are . ?
important to each other. Yet Japan's trade and
investment in Southeast Asia has not overcome, mutual
ignorance and suspicion; the cooperation that could
spur ASEAN's economic development remains largely
. absent, page 43.
As Cambodia celebrated the first anniversary of the
were giving their administration a facelitt alter the
departure of Prince Norodom Sihanouk, page 37.
Sabah's voters gave their
'verdict and Tun Mustapha's
state was finally broken. The
nine-month-old Berjaya party
took 28 of the State
president, new Chief Minister
began the. task of putting the
page 8. 1
While foreign buyers in Canton are annoyed at shortages
of Chinese products, officials at the trade fair are' ,.
will not affect the country's future foreign trade, page,,
in the showdown with the big American oil group Caltex
over profits. The extra revenue will play a key part in
Jakarta's financial strategy, although it can hardly solve,
all the Government's money problems, page 40.
1
The export boom in Japan"is good news for Asia's
exporting countries. As overseas sales pull the economy
ase 499 /02a:M' ALKD1'9`r04'f?'4A6b(
of Asia's exports, page S5:
Regional Affairs
Sabah: Bulldozing the
Mustapha legend 8
Thailand:: Make-or-break
coalition ` 10
Seri ponders the secrets--30
Philippines: Talks on bases__11
Marcos looks for advice__ 12
South Korea: Opposition
split 12
Vietnam: Election time 13
Papua New Guinea:
Breaking the deadlock -13'
Asia: Drug war 22
The rower of death 23
Hongkong's 'mission
impossible' 24
Laos' political solution-_26
An uphill battle 26
r Amsterdam connection-28
Getting tough In Malaysia-28
Singapore: Concern over
youth. 29
India: Extending the olive
branch 32
Comment. 32
Cambodia: Anniversary
facelift for Khmer
Rouge 37
Pakistan: Bhutto hunts for
'traitors' 37
Hongkong: 'Raw deal'
angers bureaucrats 38
Business Affairs
Industry: Caltex: Indonesia
cracks the whip 40
Comment 40
Tidying up at Pertamina_40
New Delhi moves on tea _42
Economic relations: Japan:
ASEAN's missing link-43
An uneven approach ' 44
Tokyo a shy suitor 48
Trade: Tokyo's export boom
spurs Asian sales 55
Canton buyers glum 56
Trade prospects fair 5 7
Labour: Japan settles for
less 59
Policies: Shoe imports
turnabout
Foreign investment: India
relaxes the rules 61
Stockmarkets b2
Letter from Tokyo 66
Regular Features
The Week 5
Letters 5
(~~J~ he~ I4
' ft'' e'aT a 21
 Approved For Release 1999/09/02 : CIA-RDP79-01194A000100210001-2
~+~VEW wn er -..~ m.
Was on the eternal trill
CGYRGHT
Southeast Asia try to downplay,
for political reasons, the extent
of hard-drug trafficking and addiction in
their countries, the ,area has one of the
most depressing problems in the world.
In Hongkong, where some estimates
show that, about one person in 43 is
addicted to opium or heroin, the pro-
blem remains of nightmarish propor-
tions.
With profits of 500%-1,000% involv-
ed, feeding the addicts' dangerous crav-
ing is big business. There is no shortage
of peddlars, mainly Chiu Chow Chinese
with strong clanish loyalties similar to
those of the.Mafia, who display a great
deal of ingenuity in keeping one step
ahead of the enforcement agencies.
Neither is there any real shortage of the
raw material from the opium-growing
area encompassing lonely mountainous
regions of Burma, Thailand and Laos
known as the "Golden Triangle.".
Trading methods and routes are high-
ly flexible, quickly adapting to enforce-
ment patterns. Until the early 1970s
Hongkong was a major re-export centre
for heroin, supplying not only other
parts of Asia but Europe and North
America.. Now, after a series of setbacks
to drug merchants delivered-by the co-
lony's anti-narcotics officers and cus
toms men (see Hongkong story), heroin
is smuggled into Europe mainly direct
.e
tion" at the turn of the decade, Amster- riers for the drug run to Europe. A
dam with comparatively small penalties pattern is emerging. of couriers flying
for drug trafficking, has become the from Hongkong to Thailand, or possibly
main clearing-house for Asian heroin. Malaysia or Singapore, to pick up c6n-
However, it appears that most of signments of heroin to take to Europe.
the illicit hard-drug trade in Southeast The system eliminates the risk of having
Asia and Hongkong is geared to satisfy- to run the gauntlet of first importing
ing domestic demand. A recent Feport raw opium or morphine into the colony
by American Ambassador Sheldon to be refined - into heroin. Often, the
Vance, senior adviser to the Secretary of Chinese syndicates employ European
State and coordinator of international
narcotics activities, estimated that only
8% of heroin used in the US originates
in Southeast Asia - `.`a surprisingly low
percentage given the enormous amount
of opium from uncontrolled, production
in Burma, Thailand and Laos."
The report added: "Apparently, the
..-bulk of opium produced there is con-
sumed by the growers themselves, and
as heroin in Thailand, Burma, J-iong-
kong, Singapore and Malaysia." Most
heroin reaching the US now comes from
Mexico and South America.
Although Hongkong no longer direct-
ly plays a significant role in the regional
and international hard-drug trade, there
is evidence that a number of local Chi-
nese heroin "chemists" (those who re-
fine heroin from morphine) have been
travelling to Thailand, Malaysia and Sin-
gapore to set up business there. Opium
and the morphine which is produced
from it are cheaper in these countries,
from Thailand and, to a certain extent, particularly in Thailand, and the chemists
couriers.
stamped out the drug re-export' trade
completely. The Preventive Service (cus
cams) recently set up a special squad at
Hongkong's Kaitak airport to check out-
going passengers. Between last Novem-
ber and mid-April, seven people (four
Chinese and three Dutch) were arrested
at the airport as they were leaving with
hard drugs. This -led to the seizure of
37 lbs of heroin.
According to the enforcement agen-
cies in Hongkong, most of the colony's
supplies of opium, morphine and heroin
are now being smuggled in by air. In
Malaysia and Singapore, however, car-
goes of drugs are still being delivered by
trawler or overland from Thailand-
Much of the traffic to West Malaysia
goes through the northern states of
Kelantan, Kedah and Penang.
In the past three or four years there
has been a marked increase in coopera-
tion among countries in the region. The
MaAa ~ p m range pease I ongko Sess i e J
V a P194
ad trom
1 l T~ $rpy~c vru anu
UPe R also so taken a
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 CPYRGHT
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keener interest in stemming the
flow of drugs from the Golden
Triangle. '
In Thailand, which, according
to one' estimate, ` produces
1,50-200 tons of raw opium a
year, there has been a major in-
volvement by the Government in
international. efforts to stop the
traffic through the country. But
drug enforcement agencies there
are still hampered by lack of
staff and funds. Also, Thailand
is. beset by political, econo-r
me and law-and-order problems
which means that priority can-
not, be given to the anti-narcotics drive.
Three years ago.a. five-year pilot pro-
ject was launched .by; the UN Fund for
Drug Abuse Control to try to induce
hilltribes in Thailand's mountainous
northern border areas near Burma to
stop growing opium poppies and turn
their fields over to alternative crops.
The UN provided US$3 million towards
the scheme and the Thai Government
US$5-million. The idea was to persuade
the -villagers that they could make pro-,
fits from other crops, such as coffee,
beans: or tobacco. (icing Bhumibol him-
self is closely involved in the project. A
mission which recently carried out a sur-
vey in villages taking part in the scheme
reported that it `.was proving itself and
that it should be extended.
In-Laos it is unclear how much
if any opium and morphine is being
funnelled into the illicit drug trade since
the Pathet Lao takeover there. When the
former coalition government. was .1n,
power, the UN tried to gain support for
its crop-replacement scheme. But now,
although a Frericl , UN crop-replacement
official is still based in Vientiane, it ap-
pears there is little chance of gaining
support for implementing the scheme.
The most disappointing area for those
trying to nip the opium poppy in the
bud is Burma, which produces an esti-
mated. 400 tons of opium a year. Here,
the UN has suggested to the Govern-
ment a crop-replacement scheme similar
to that in Thailand, but so far there has
been no reply. The fact is that many of
the known opium-growing areas in
northeast Burma are in the hands of
Karen and Shan insurgents, as well as
remnants of Chiang Kai-shek's defeated
Chinese Nationalist army. Rangoon is
loathe to admit this and therefore co-
operation with international narcotics
officials is virtually nil.
There is a growing trend towards per-
sonal exchanges among drug enforce-
ment officials in Southeast Asia, Hong-
kong, :.Europe and North America.
Heads of operations sections of agencies
in the region met in Bangkok in 1974
and again. in' Jakarta last year., Interpol
drug liaison officer Colonel Sibarani, an
Indonesian, has been based in Bangkok
since February following six months at
Interpol's headquarters in Paris. A
senior Sri Lankan customs officer spe-
cialising in narcotics is now also based in
Bangkok. Hongkong's police Narcotics
Bureau already has a liaison officer, As-
sistant Commissioner Peter Law, in
Bangkok and the bureau recently se-
conded Superintendent John Morris to
Interpol in Paris.
The US Drug Enforcement Agency
has agents in all non-communist coun-
tries in Southeast Asia and Hongkong,
and the Canadians last year appointed a
drug liaison 'officer to Hongkong Euro-
pean agencies are also expressing in-
creasing willingness to establish links
with countries in the; region. Holland,
conscious of Amsterdam's use as a ma-?
jor' drug distribution. centre, has been
particularly keen to cooperate, and last
December three: Dutch officials, one
from the Ministry of Justice and two
policemen, visited Hongkong, Bangkok,
Thy Bowes
Singapore and Kuala Lumpur.
Information passed on by Hong-
kong's Narcotics Bureau last year led to
the arrest of 20 drug couriers in Europe
and Canada and to the seizure of 25
kilograms of heroin.
Earlier this year a team of detectives
from the bureau flew to Bangkok to
join their Thai counterparts in a joint
operation. As a result, four "major ar-
rests" weremade. The four were sus-
pected members of a syndicate operated
by, Hongkong Chinese but with wide
connections. in Thailand and Malaysia.
Hongkong police had been watching the
syndicate for several months.
But with sky-high'prices for heroin in
Europe and the US (in Europe, an ad-
dict can pay 10 times more than in
Hongkong, and in the US the price is
two or three times higher again), and
with an insatiable demand in the region,
the drug trade based on supplies from
the Golden Triangle is likely to remain
big business for the foreseeable future.
Approved For Release 1999/09/02 : CIA-RDP79-01194
off-death
IT has many names, including "Chi-
nese rocks," "brown sugar" and
"snow." When it is inhaled, the Chi-
nese sometimes call the experience
"chasing the dragon"; when it is in-
jected by hypodermic syringe it is
known worldwide as "mainlining."
Heroin -- one of the greatest scourges
of the modern world.
The substance which produces
heroin is extracted from the opium
-poppy. Opium is still smoked by
thousands of addicts, ` mainly older
people, but most of the drug is first
refined into morphine, which is used
by some addicts, and then _ into
The process of refining opium into
.morphine is a relatively simple. boil-
ing operation, often.carried out by
the opium-growers themselves. But
producing heroin from morphine is a
more complicated proce~,s,,requiring
chemicals . such as acetic anhydride,
chloroform and sodium carbonate.,
and additives such as caffeine, quin-
ine and strychnine.
Basically, there are two types of
heroin: No. 4 heroin; which is a fine
white powder normally with a 90%
heroin content; and No. 3 heroin,
with a heroin content of 30% or less,
a much coarser, lumpier, powder. Be-
cause of its large additive compo-
nent, No. 3 heroin, . which is most
common in Hongkong and Southea
Asia, can be highly dangerous to in-
ject because : of impurities entering
Heroin addiction is synonymous
with misery and often tragedy. Some
narcotics officials maintain that the
average heroin addict will probably
die within 10 years of taking up the
habit- Others say there is medical evi-
dence to show that if an addict man-
ages to exert some control over his
craving and still eats and works nor-
mally, he may remain ._ reasonably
healthy.
However, what is known is that
addicts have to spend large sums of
money on their heroin supplies, nor-
mally money which they can ill af-
ford and which therefore reduces their
budget for food and other essentials.
They will also do anything to get
011 UUU~L-[FODNEY TASKER
 Approved For Release 1999/09/02 : CIA-RDP79-01194A000100210001-2
CPYRGHT
C P ?i gkoug's 'mission impossible
ternational w
By Rodney Tasker southeast of
t
NARCOTICS officers could hardly be- this year. Twenty-four heroin "che-
lieve their eyes when they arrested an mists" were arrested last year compared
junks or tosse
attractive 19-year-old girl in Hongkong with 10 in 1974 and seven in 1973.
marker buoys
in February.. The girl was carrying 70 This has pushed the retail price of
to be picked
method was l
bags of heroin.' She admitted she was a heroin up from HK$450 per ounce in
and 'Preventiv
courier for a drug syndicate, earning mid-1973 to $2,500 per ounce now.
cope with som
HK$70 (US$14) a day. She also admit- Also, with syndicates finding it more
in Hongkong
ted that she herself had been a heroin difficult to smuggle in supplies of opium
have been taki
addict for a year, spending HK$180 a and morphine from Thailand, the heroin
day on her own supply of the drug - content of No. 3 heroin - virtually the
During 197
cooperation b
getting the money from prostitution only type of heroin available on the
cracking dow
and borrowing. Hongkong market - has dropped from
signments. Th
The girl was younger than most about 35% in January 1974 to a current
kong began t
heroin addicts here (the bulk are over purity of 29%.
21) and she spent more on her addiction Smoking heroin gives less of a boost
stockpiles her
the drug synd
(the average is estimated at HK$30-$35 to the addict . than mainlining. So,
a day), but her case illustrates what having to pay much more for heroin
blow when t
which is becoming less pure, more ad
rested off the
Hongkong's Narcotics Commissioner
diets are injecting themselves with the
Peter Lee admits is "still a very grave
the result of
problem."' drug..
tion by the
Combined with this dismaying trend
The number of opium and heroin ad
and the US D
diets in, the colony is variously estimat- is the
recent intelligence. gathered by
Each trawler
opium and m
ed at between 50,000 and well over members of the police Narcotics
Bureau
that some youngsters in schools for ex
kong.
100,000 out of a total population of 4.5
. take
million, which means that, per capita, patriate children are starting to
The autho
heroin .Three years ago, the colony was
Hongkong probably has the highest rate
their cue, an
shaken ' by the death of; a 16 year,
of addiction in the world.
Royal Auxili
old American schoolboy?: from ? a com
A few years ago, the ratio of opium
Navy started
bination of drugs, including heroin.
and heroin addicts was about 50:50. But
Thai trawlers
opium-smoking requires bulky parapher
Parents,'eachers and-,police started to
many to turn
nalia and the distinctive smell is easy to keep a closer eye on
schoolchildren and
Then in N
detect. This helped police and Preven
for a while it appeared that 'nohard
"merchants o
tive Service (customs) officers to carry drugs were getting
into the schools. But
out a successful drive against opium now there is
Tnew cause for concern.
Chiu Chow h
smokers, forcing those who still indulge Hongkong has a ;'long
history of
kong's estim
in the habit tri`be' constantly on the opiate
abuse. It was ' only 'in 1914 that
was arrested t
move.
The successful crackdown on opium
"divans" had an unfortunate side-effect:
It drove many former opium-smokers to
heroin. Consequently, heroin addicts
now outnumber those on opium by
about 9:1. Most heroin addicts "get
their kicks" by inhaling the fumes from
heroin, which is either put in a cigarette
and smoked, or is.heated, normally on a
piece of silver paper or a metal imple-
ment, with a frame under it.
But this again is easier to detect than
"mainlining" - injecting heroin which
has been heated and dissolved in a solu-
tion. So another unfortunate trend in
Hongkong is that more addicts are
taking heroin by the more dangerous
method of mainlining.
There are also economic reasons be-
hind the trend towards mainlining. In
the past three years, Hongkong's drug
enforcement agencies have had a num-
ber of successes in seizing drugs and
arresting traffickers. Also last year eight
heroin "factories"' were raided, compar-
ed with seven in 1974 and three in 1973
- four more have been raided so far
the Government trigd to control opium-
smoking by establishing an opium
monopoly, 'producing the drug itself
with a view to.7educing.the harmful
morphine content' But the scheme was
a failure with smokers preferring the
illicit supplies. Then in 1924, the first
seizure of the more powerful and lethal
heroin was made in Hongkong. Ironical-
ly, it had originated in Europe. After
World War II, opium and its derivatives
were prohibited by law, but the drug-
taking habit had a firm grip on the
colony - a grip which still exists today.
Until 1966, most of Hongkong's sup-
plies of opium and morphine arrived by
boat as cargo from Thailand. But during
1965 and 1966 there were a number of
large seizures, one involving a ton of
opium and "120 lbs of morphine smuggl-
ed here in bamboo poles, and another a
large consignment of drugs in a big refri-
gerator.
The illicit drug trade reacted swiftly
to the seizures, and this marked the
start of the notorious Thai trawler era.
over or umpe in m-
aters some 150 miles
he cnlnnv_-n&_dn19&.W=
d into the sea attached to
or. onto deserted islands
up later:-;The smuggling
argely successful as police
e Service officers had to
e 15,0Q0 junks operating
waters, any of which could
ng part in the drug run.
3, there was an increase in
y the Thai authorities in
n on large-scale drug con-
e drug- pipeline to Hong-
o flow more slowly and
e dwindled. Early in 1974
icates were dealt another
wo Thai trawlers were ar-
coast of South Vietnam as
a joint intelligence opera-
Thais, South Vietnamese
rug Enforcement Agency.
was' carrying two tons of
orphine destined for Hong-
rities- in Hongkong took
d the Royal Air Force,
ary Air Force and Royal
to harass drug-carrying
in the open sea, forcing
back.
ovember 1974 Hongkong's
f death" suffered their big-
for a decade. Ng Sik-ho,
ead of the biggest of Hong-
ated 10 drug syndicates,
ogether with several of his
cohorts. Described by the local press as
"Mr Big" and "the Godfather, ' and"by
his colleagues as "Limping"Ho" because
of a defect in his. walk,. Ng had long
been the elusive prize of narcotics
agencies. He had built an empire em-
ploying thousands in a drug-distribution
network (see graph) designed to ensure
misery and death for thousands more
addicts.
His syndicate had used.' brutal
methods to ensure vast profits, includ-
ing, allegedly, murder - in fact, it was
largely as the result of investigations by
Hongkong's Homicide Squad that Ng
was eventually arrested.
With Ng's arrest, and drug lieutenants
prepared to "squeal" to the police, the
Hongkong syndicates apparently col-
lapsed like a pack of cards, many mem-
bers fleeing to' other parts of Asia. In'
May 1975, Ng was sentenced to 30
years' jail. His common-law wife, Cheng
Yuet-ying, was arrested two; months
later and in February 1976 was jailed
for 16 years and fined $1 million. The
During this time, from 1966-74, large Inland Revenue" Department here has
amounts. of opium and morphine would since issued 'writs, against the couple
be brow ht by Thai fishing trawlers and c . total of 2 million.
Approved For Release 1999/092 - CIA-RD79-01194A00(T f 21000-2
 CPYRGI-pproved For Release 1999/09/02 : CIA-RDP79-01194A000100210001-2
mid-April. '.Thq
157 lbs of cr
wholesale valut
lion, and 4 lbs
The Hongkong autho-
rities now claim that the
Thai trawler method of
smuggling drugs into
Hongkong has been
abandoned. Instead,
smugglers are ? using
human-wave tactics,
with individuals bring-
ing smaller amounts by
plane or ship to feed do-
mestic demand (Hong-
kong is no longer a ma-
jor re-export centre for
drugs - see companion
story). At Hongkong's
Kaitak airport alone, 21
people (nine Chinese, 11.
Thais and an Indone-
sian) were arrested for
bringing in opium, mor-
phine or heroin between
November 1975 and
s produced a haul of
de morphine, with a
I of more than HK$1 mil-
l of heroin and 46 lbs of
opium with retail value of about
$200,000. If the morphine had been
converted to No, 3 heroin, it would
have had a st eet level value in Honk-
kong of more t ltan $10 million.
Although t' a trade here has been
largely fragmemted since Ng Sik-ho's ar-
rest, Preventiv s Service chief Roy Hat-
ton told the REVIEW that there was
evidence that two new syndicates had
been formed recently, both operating in
Kowloon., Syri)dicates were already ope-
rating in the i iurky depths of Kowloon
Walled City a: id along the waterfront in
Western, Hongkong Island, he said. And
despite tighter enforcement measures, it
is estimated that only 10% of about
35-50 tons of opium and 7-10 tons of
morphine arriving here annually is being
It is difficult to pinpoint accurately
the extent of Hongkong's drug-addic-
tion problem. Five years ago a central
registry of drug addicts was started. The
names of all those who came into con-
tact with the police in connection with
drugs were entered, plus those addicts
who sought voluntary treatment with
such agencies as the Society for the Aid
and Rehabilitation of Drug Addicts
(SARDA). By December 1974 the?e were
43,000 names on ' the'* registry, but
13,000 of these were duplicates.
The semi-Government Action Com-
mittee Against Narcotics (ACAN), which
coordinates the drive against narcotics
in Hongkong, realised that the registry
was not providing an effective guide to
the size of the colony's problem; since
December 1974 addicts* have still been
not been processed.. However, as part of
Narcotics Commissioner Lee's new
10-year drugs programme to assess how
Hongkong should be tackling the pro-
blem, a narcotics statistics expert from
New York, Bent Werbell, a Swede, arriv-
ed in the colony in April for three
months. He will make recommendations
on how Hongkong should gather and
process statistics on drug addiction. .
What is known is that an alarming
number. of prisoners in. Hongkong's jails
are either drug addicts or have been
convicted of drug offences. Between
65% and 70% are addicts, 46%a have
been convicted of drug offences and
'20%-26% have been convicted of minor
drug offences.
Far from the down-and-out hippy
image of drug addicts in. the West, ex-
perts here believe that many Hongkong
heroin addicts have normal jobs and do
not live by crime. "On the evidence, we
have a reasonable sup-
position that many
Hongkong addicts have
developed, through use,
experience and absolute
necessity, an ability to
control their intake,"
Commissioner Lee told
the REViEw.
Lee's picture of the
average Hongkong hero-
in addict is: a man over
the age of 21 (male
addicts outnumber
females by 50:1), of the
lower-income group,
generally employed in
unskilled or semi-skilled
work, with less than five
years' primary educa-
tion, single or separated.
He lives in overcrowded
started the habit through curiosity, be-
cause of pressure from friends, to relieve
tiredness, pain or tension or as. an escape
from family pressures. Many, addicts
also take heroin because it prolongs the
sex act, although heroin addiction even-
tually : kills both sexual desire and
ability.
Opium.-smokers are in a very different
group. They are mainly older often
respected, senior members of the com-
munity - who like to take two or three
pipes of the drug in the evening.
. Hongkong is. proud of its treatment
and rehabilitation facilities for addicts.
The Prisons Department runs four ad-
diction treatment centres with compul-
sory after-care, and it claims a 42% suc-
cess rate in curing addicts. On the volun-
tary side,` the Medical and Health De-
partment,- Discharged .Prisoners Aid
Society ' and SARDA also provide treat-
ment for addicts. There are four metha-
done maintenance clinics -'methadone
is a substitute drug, less harmful than
heroin but equally addictive. The aver-
age heroin addict requires three shots of
methadone a day, but he pays only $1 a
shot instead of $16 for heroin. Experi-
ments are also being carried out using
acupuncture and electric stimulation to
relieve 'addicts' withdrawal symptoms.
The, war' on drugs in Hongkong is a
particularly frustrating one for the en-
forcement' agencies, given' the deeply
ingrained nature of th4a problem and the
elaborate precautions taken by traffic-
kers.' i
The stakes are high for those involved
in the drug trade - huge profits, but a
violent death or mutilation at the hands
of colleagues if they iiut a foot wrong.,
And if they, fall into the-hands of the
law they face. a life sentence 'andfor
HK$5? million fine; even possession of
entereA p o .4birtRela ts1999/09/02 : G?A ''7~`-`b1 t4A8 6Ui` 0 e chemical used in
 CPYRGHT
I Approved Fnr Release 1 a99i0?)6' 'F6fATRDP79-01194A000100210001-2
the refining of heroin
no legitimate use in H<
maximum. penalty.of 1
and/or $1. million fine.
Commissioner Lee.i
ties are :not 'tough 'en
hammer those we 'pa
major traffickers,"'ale
that execution of: ma,
justified - although I
text of Hongkong it is
tion = because they a:
thousands of 'people b:
The social harm to-the
is quite incalculable. I
the. maximum penalty i
case."
These are strong wo
mannered British civil
odious nature of the
yokes such sentiments i
for which there is
Ingkong, carries a
ife imprisonment
:hinks the penal--
,)ugh. "We must
Itch, particularly
said. "I believe
Or traffickers is
valise in the' con-out of the ques-
e killing tens of
a slow process.
abric,of families
could like to see
mposed in every
As from a mild-
ervant. But the
drug trade pro-
job. it is to wipe it ou' - particularly
when they realise they lave a "mission
impossible."
An uphill
battle in
CPYRGT;,zam1and
THE 'notorious "Golden Triangle" -
Burma, Thailand and Laos .- continues
government in 'l hailand, a .socialist revo
gency campaigns by the Burmese army,
agency efforts, and . UN crop . replace-
origins in the primitive economies of the
Mea, Yao, Lisu and Muser hilltribes
'the remote Gol`d`en Triangle- This pre-
sents problems for officials trying. to
Any comprehensive attack on opium
production requires the cooperation of
three governments, Burma, ;Thailand
and Laos, which are hardly on speaking
control over the'remote tribal popula-
At' the one extreme, the opium trade
finances the insurgent Shan state armies
which protect the opium poppy-growing
hill tribes from central Burmese control.
Although Thailand and Laos have
greater adm Baia 've =flu nce am lpg9~
the fit~d/1 '~y
Opium, with its derivatives morphine
and. heroin, is perfectly suited to the
ecology and social -conditions' of ' the
region's tribal economies. It is the major
cash crop and any effort to suppress
poppy cultivation. without replacing it
would, as all Thai and Lao authorities
realise,. only accelerate social decay
and exacerbate increasing social and po-
litical tensions between the tribes and
those living in the plains.
"Most of us agree that crop substitu-
tion is the only feasible long-term solu-
tion," commented one international
narcotics expert. The UN is currently in-
volved in a number of promising experi-
ments to find crops which would pro-
ide even higher incomes.
Since Thailand is the marketplace for
olden Triangle drugs - currently
bought also to be the biggest supplier
f the European market,- a major inter-
ational effort, has been concentrated
n cracking down on the source. The
rug Enforcement Agency (DEA),
der the United States Justice Depart-
ent, has set up ) a regional office in
angkok. And partly .'in response to
ressures from the JJS, the Thais set up
Narcotics Suppression Centre (NSC) in
he police department in 1973.
The NSC has earned a remarkable
putation for diligence and pursuit of
rug syndicates ope:rating in the coup-
".Their phenomenal progress is way
ut of proportion tip their budget and
OPIUM
BROKER
POW OPIu M
PPOCES8EO INTO
PPEPAPEO OPIUM
M106OLOTO
dvws
a 10M REVIEWCMARTS Ay Fn, Tim
/09/02 : CIA-RDP79-01194A000100210001-2
manpower," said a
foreign narcotics en-
forcement - officer.
But with a staff of
five, the NSC remains
an overworked and
understaffed coor-
dinating centre in the
middle ranks of the
police hierarchy;
with few hard results
to show.
In the first nine
months of 1975,
only 1,872 kilograms
of narcotic drugs
were seized in Thai.'
land by the authori-
ties. While this repre-
sents a substantial in
crease in ' enforce-
ment, it is still an
insignificant fraction
of the estimated 30
tons of hard drugs
annually moving
'around the country,
cal limits.
 CPYRGHT
ix.. s onoura 1e peace," which
But seizing the drugs is of secondary Registered smokers in 1936 number
importance to arresting the key figures
behind the syndicates that run the
trade. The problem is particularly diffi-
cult in Thailand. The diffic is thought
to be organised by a number of indepen-
dent figures with. loose links, that bring
together an organisation for a few speci-
fic consignments then break up, lie low'
and change tactics for the next haul.
Even given the elusive nature of the
enemy, the police record in Thailand is
not encouraging. In the past year, three
alleged central organisers of the drug
trade were caught "red-handed" in pos-
session of, large quantities of drugs. But
they were soon free and on the streets
again. In each case, the DEA, which has
powers in,. Thailand to investigate but
not to prosecute, tipped off the police.
Two of the alleged traffickers were
released from police custody when, be-
cause of a dubious muddle of pro-
cedure, what appeared to be a cast-iron
case for the prosecution was not pre-
sented in court., The third,,himself a
former lieutenant-colonel of the police
"escaped` custody.", The press and pub-
lic understandably suspect the inevitable
payoff did the trick. The then Prime
Minister, Kukrit Pramoj, initiated an in-
vestigation, but no. results have been
seen so far.
As one narcotics enforcement officer
put it: "We. need two closely-related
things to make any enforcement effort
here effective: a clear political commit-
ment from the top and an integrated
narcotics division as part of the. police
structure 'with the budget and authority
to tackle the job in a comprehensive
manner."
Narcotics have traditionally been
thought of in Thailand as a ")European
problem," but this is rapidly changing.
The. pattern is shifting away from the
elderly village opium-smokers to a bur-
geoning and alarming population of.
heroin. addicts estimated at between
300,000 and 6K100,0 including a grow-
ing number of younger and even school-
age users. Thais' aret becoming more
aware of the problem through press cam=
paigns and there are rehabilitation ef-
forts carried,` out 1,y the Buddhist
monasteries, ' hospitals and voluntary
groups.,, `
AdiM r r ? j ..
a aj- im
,i-n = P.' S _ il
_To`TAL British Malayan Government
revenue. in 1936 was' M$35,124,137, of
wluch M$7,259,2961 was from opium.
The' earliest figures available show.that
the monopoly accounted for as much as
46%a of revenue in 1398. Some put the
'figure 20 years earlier at 70%. when
ed more than 32,000 in Malaya and
about 28,000 in the Straits Settlements.
The "illegals" may ~iave equalled them
in number - while ;cultivation was un
restricted rural smokers were unlikely to
be bothered with the rigmarole of regis-
tration,
The smokers at this time were almost,
entirely Chinese who, according to Eng-
lish writers, explained the taste for
opium as developed. in the belief that it
cured tropical diseases, reduced loneli-
ness in mines, estates and roadworks
and satisfied a, vanity reminiscent of the
rich man's vice in their homeland.
When the Geneva Opium Conference
in. 1925 urged that governments reduce
sales of opium, only registered smokers
obtained rations. By 1934, the restric-
tion limited smokers to those authorised
for medical reasons.
In 1941, .when-.the Pacific War broke
out, there were 75,000 registered
smokers and twice that number of il-
legals. The Japanese, hardly encumbered
by the rules of Geneva, continued the,
trade- Then in 1945, the cut-off came
without warning...
Herded into primitive drying out cen-
tres, some addicts died and the rest were
quickly forgotten by a society that
largely knew little about drugs and
cared even less. The faint distaste for
the vice ignored the fact that a network
of traffickers existed, catering for so
long for some 200,000 in a Chinese po-
pulation of fewer than 2 million.
According to government experts
there was no real break in smuggling as a
result of the British ban. In, the Emer-
gency years (1948-60) customs officials;
as well as police, were engaged in wide-
spread stop-and-search operations aimed
at contraband in the form of food an&
weapons and drug. smugglers, ran very
serious risks.
Still, they took chances, using jungle
courier paths from Thailand to make up
for the long prohibited local cultiva-
tion. One bizarre episode was the "nurs-
ing" of a dead baby stuffed with opium
all the way from Bangkok to Kuala Lum-
pur where the "nurse" was arrested. The
smokers who paid fancy prices, how-
ever, remained the old-time addicts,
mostly in their 50s and 60s, smoking in
secret and shame, the whiff of Victorian
morality ever present to poison the. sick-
ly sweetness of the weed.
The Beatles era of long hair and vio-
lent rhythms, campus revolutions and
the glorification of pot were not entire=
ly responsible for the new: drug "cul-
ture" in Malaysia. It, took the Kennedy.
era replete with. his "sentinels on the
watchtowers of freedom" who went to
fight in Vietnam but. found the poppy
better than the prospect of_death - to
launch a fresh drug culture in:the coun
opium' cultivation vv as not only legal, try.
but alsoApprovW For Release 1999/09/02 : CIA-RDP79-01194A
hoardes of camp followers pimps,
prostitutes and . pushers galore. Like
Vietnam Rose,. a. 'particularly virulent
form of venereal disease; the early
source of 'grass. or: pot was the `rest and
recreation (R and R) station in Penang
where the troops. rested. - and infect-
ed the young in. the country.
The Beatles and the Rolling. Stones
and other dashing symbols of the 1960s
gave . narcotic, drugs . popularity., and
the American sentinels joined the van-
guard of couriers who, as the Americans
reduced to a trickle, grew in number
and increased the hardness of their
By the late -1960s, the aloof and in-
different public woke, up to 'the fact
.that the habit associated with dirty old
men in dark, dank dens was spreading
among school-goers with long hair. and
transistors in their satchels beating out
the rhythm of the new age. The drugs
were still "soft," but the qualitative dif-
ference did not reduce-the panic.
Seizures and arrests over the past five
or six years gives an indication of the
rate at which the problem has grown.
Raw, opium -seized has, _ remained ; at
about 5,000 pounds a,year. With mor-
phine, the figure has hovered around
150 pounds a year. Heroin, on the other
hand, has leapt from a mere 8 ounces to
more than 130 pounds in the first nine
months of 1975. .
In 1970, only about 2,300 tablets of
psychotropic drugs were seized. In the
first three-quarters of 1975, the authori-
ties seized more than 50,000 tablets.
Since 1970,. nearly 9,000 people have
been arrested on drug charges.
The drug route from the Golden Tri-
angle does not seem to concern the au-
thorities here as much as the short hop
from across the Thai border. The critical
route is from Haadyai, through Sadao
and Poh Loh Thiam. The drop points
favoured are in the tiny north Malaysian
state of Perlis which is partly surround-
ed by Thai territory.
The most favoured method is to mix
the drugs with legitimate goods which
come across in vast quantities. Fish
trucks with their unpacked slithering
loads, are waved away by officers dis-
couraged by the prospect of a search.
Dead chickens stuffed with opium in
transports carrying thousands live also
slip by. Foot runners using. jungle paths
are very highly favoured - the men do
not see their Malaysian counterparts,
who pick 'up the contraband at pre-ar-
ranged spots and times.
The traditional drug centre in' the
country has been Penang, and there is
little doubt that the hippy tourist fa-
vours the- island less for its- exotic
beauty than for the availability of mari-
juana, opium, morphine, heroin, ample-
e~ hqlucinatory drugs.
rlcso far that drugs
like LSD are on the market.
 CPYRGA15proved For Release 1999/09/02 : CIA-RDP79-01194A000100210001-2
The laws in Malaysia have been given
some muscle only in recent times and
the Central Narcotics Bureau was form-
ed in 1973 after much deliberation. It is
not the sole enforcement agency - the
police and' customs departments play
major roles in investigation, prevention
and enforcement. Employing fewer-than
two dozen men, with half on desk jobs,
the Bureau still seems to be bogged
down with departmental responsibilities
and bureaucratic procedures. The
strength of the Bureau seems to have no
relationship "with the size of the pro-
blem.
Meanwhile;-. the: battle to rehabilitate
drug abusers has been stepped up, Con-
stant reminders on television and repeat-
ed . public statements by ministers has
even raised questions in Parliament
about over-stress in the campaign. Re-
habilitation centres are increasing in
number and prominent citizens, includ-
ing the former premier Tunku Abdul
Rahman, spend a great deal of time vi-
siting addicts and campaigning for bet-
ter facilities.
The University of Science in Penang
is about to release a study on drug
abuse, based on a year of research and
study. There is also mounting pressure
for harsher punishment of pushers, even
including the death sentence. It is
known that some 50 or more big-time
pushers are detained on the island of
Jerejak off Penang, including foreigners
caught in possession. With the dramatic
rise in the arrests of pushers and, equal-
ly disturbing, the number of drug abu-
sers, the battle, according to experts, is
expected to be a long one.
Approved For Release 19
epode: Concern over youth
THE Singapore connection in the in- Smuggled into West Malaysia via the
ernational drug trade;has seen seve- east coast, the drugs were their taken
al changes in the decade since in. by lorry, car or van to Johore Cause-
ependence. The.'pattern of opium, way and into Singapore. This method
eroin and .morphine smuggling and continued well into the late 1960s.
ddiction has adapted to the small In 1971, the job of narcotics sup-
ity state's trans formation -from an pression was switched from the Cus-
xotic and somewhat sleazy entrepot toms Department to a separate Cen-
entre, to an industrialised,-, affluent tral Narcotics Bureau under the Mi-
etropolis: nistry of Home Affairs. In the same
At.`the same time, penalti s have year, the American Embassy opened
ecome.r tougher and - enforcement a regional narcotics liaison office in
ighter-. The island's key- role as a Singapore,. with its agents helping to
ital link.' in the international net- crack the international syndicates. In
ork of hard drug. trafficking has di- 1973, the Misuse of Drugs Act was
inisfied, but even as the smugglers passed, providing severe penalties for
ave, chosen to bypass Singapore for pushers and greater powers for en-
heir European and American car.
oes the island itself has become a
crative market.
Having become Westernised and
ffluent, Singapore developed its
wn drug addiction problem of near
anic proportions: Although the two tioris. The death' penalty was intro-
roblems are intertwined, the autho- duced last year for the manufacture
ties today seem more worried about or trafficking of even a mere 15
e spiralling domestic drug abuse grams of heroin. As. a-result, trade
mong its young than the tranship- has diminished considerably. The in-
ent of drugs through the Republic.
ut measures to combat drug abuse,
raconian as they are, have not suc-
ceeded. in stemming the tide of ad-
icts. ;
In. the first post-war decade, more
an 22 tons of prepared and raw
pium were seized in Singapore, but
any more times that amount was
ccessfully smuggled through the is-
1 nd.. In the mid-I950s the Thai con-
ection-began to bloom and by the
'd-1960's well-heeled syndicates
with, fast speedboats were smuggling
large, quantities through Singapore
f )r the rapidly growing European
d ~ American markets. Singapore,
a ong with Hongkong, became a
ajor centre, with airborne smuggl-
i g playing a more important role in
Me trafficking of refined heroin or
orphine.
Bulk opium or morphine blocks
ere smuggled into Singapore by
f' ping vessels making rendezvous
'th Thai fishing vessels on the east
coast of Malaysia, or at well-known
f' ping grounds in the South China
Sp. Cargoes containing up to 1,000
k ograms of raw opium were hidden
fish crates of the Singapore vessels.
T is , method, which replaced the
s eedboat retrieval tactic when har-
bour patrols became more effective,
al ;o changed as coastal patrols and
p rt inspections became stricter. nearby St John's Island for rehabili
Drugs from the Golden Triangle tation, 80% returned to drugs after
94610-2: 'terGlAs'RDF79b611i' 4A0fJ-0b1bV210001-2
forcement agencies-
-The traffickers have since tended
to bypass Singapore and instead
trade directly from Bangkok, Jakarta
or other Asian centres with. the
flow of hard drugs, however, con-
tinues unabated as drug abuse among
the island's young grows.
The number of drug offences last
year increased- 21 times over .1974.
More than -half the arrests were for
heroin usage or peddling in the
past marijuana users were the main
offenders. Of those arrested, 88%
were under 30, years old. Known
drug addiction rose eight times and
arrests of drug. traffickers increased
three-fold.
Although better vigilance and en-
forcement. partially account for the
rising drug abuse statistics, the Gov-
ernment is openly worried about the
spreading use of. heroin among the
young. Last month, an estimated
one-fifth of the 540 students at the
Singapore American School were
thought. to be taking drugs or traf-
ficking in them. This followed a
series of arrests by the Central Narco-
tics Board.
The death penalty for drug traf-
ficking, - seven people have so far
been charged with. the capital offence
- has probably discouraged many
small-time traffickers who would
have liked to use Singapore's busy
sea and airport to smuggle drugs to
other countries. It has had little ef-
fect, however, in curbing the addic-
tion rate. Of the addicts sent to the
 Approved For Release 1999/09/02 : CIA-RDP79-01194A000100210001-2
Amstesdam
leannection,
HE discovery of the body of a Chi-
nese woman near Amsterdam recently
gave use inevitably to speculation that
the murdered woman had been connect-
ed in some way with the heroin traffic.
A Dutch newspaper headlined the story
"Another killing in the heroin j ungle?"
It noted that the police linked her
death to the murder two weeks earlier
of the 46-year-old Chinese heroin king
Chan Yuen-muk. His murder, in fact,
was only one of several attributed by
the police to the gang warfare which has
accompanied Amsterdam's dramatic rise
to prominence as the European centre
for heroin traffic.
That the Dutch capital now enjoys
this unenviable reputation is admitted
by the authorities themselves on the
basis of the amounts confiscated each
year (and which represent only 10% of
the heroin entering the country accord-
ing to the police). In a parliamentary
CPYRGHT
debate early this month, Justice Minis-
ter Van Agt listed t he amounts seized in
recent years: 1970, none; 197.1, SO
grams; 1972, 2.5~ilograms; 1973, 23
kilograms; 1974, X19 kilograms; 1975,
Fifl kilts nm-- 197E 7A lriingrnme + A,f
The heroin, which originates ' in .
Southeast Asia's "Golden Triangle,"
kong and Bangkol . Kuala Lumpur, an-
other embarkatior4 point for the cou-
riers, reportedly ha.i's been used less often
since a large. haul of heroin was seized
by police in Bru:.sels and Vienna last
year on flights from the Malaysian capi-
tal. The mammoth Schipohl airport is
not the only point of entry: The drug is
often taken to Brussels or other neigh-
bouring airports and brought to Amster-
dam by train or cai.r.
According to Dutch police, the hero-
in traffic is largely in Chinese hands. Al-
though European.; have been used as
couriers, most arc Chinese as they are
considered more trustworthy. They
have been recruited from among Hong-
kong, Malaysian and Singapore Chinese.
Many of the Malaysians are from the
northern town ok Ipoh. Singapore Chi-
Lie - ii ical solution
IRONICALLY, it took a communist victory in Laos to solve
the problem of America's elusive second war in Laos - the
Laotian sector of the ' Golden Triangle heroin and opium
trade. When Americans packed their bags and fled Laos'
gradual communist takeover last May and June, many of the
top-ranking military and civilian officers of the old govern-
ment who had run Laos' opium and heroin traffic sought
foreign refuge in France, Thailand or the US.
After the Pathet Lao shipped the majority of middle and
top-level officials remaining in the country off to political
re-education, it is unlikely that more than a small handful of
the lowest links of the old smuggling chain actually remained
in the capital or other towns along the route.
The total dismantling or reorganising of the old rightist
army, air force and national airline through which heroin and
opium from the Golden Triangle is believed to have flowed,
leaves the country without the physical means as well as the
personnel to move narcotics.
Although estimated to have produced up to 100 tons of
aw opium a year at its peak, Laos' output today is probably
my 10-20 tons, sufficient only for the domestic market.
4ajor production around the Plain of Jars region stopped
bruptly in the late 1960s and early 1970s when the Meo
besmen under he control of the CIA-supported General
Tang Pao were pushed out of their homeland by the com-
unist advance.
At the end of 1971, the. US used a threatened cut-off of
to Vientiane to force the signing of Laos' first-ever
n cotics law, and, to give it teeth, created
vernment itself a force of more than 40, American-trained
n or eac
kil.igram of heroin and opium seized,; but still official. seiz-
ure,; of heroin totalled less than 20 kilograms during its multi
million dollar four-year lifespan.: -
The narcotics law was clearly the most unpopular ever
passed in Laos, and on several occasions the House of Repre-
sent:atives debated rescinding it. The carrot and stick. of. the
US aid lasted only until the formation of the coalition
gov ?Tnment. The Pathet Lao opposed the law due to its
Am rican origins, and the Bill was declared void in February
197 5.
'tot a single big fish was put behind bars in four years
,
des ite the fact that at least two House deputies were caught
wit . opium and one of Vientiane's most powerful princes.
was caught in Paris with 40 kilograms of No. 4 heroin as he
arrived to take up the post of new Laotian ambassador
there..
If is noteworthy that during the life of Laos' coalition
govef?nment the communist-supported. Pathet Lao refused to
let any of their personnel join the narcotics branch of the
policl; force, at a time when they were otherwise infiltrating
every possible organ of government. Now that the Pathet Lao
have'itaken over, the narcotics police branch has been dis-
perse?:i. Some officers fled the country, possibly on narcotics
kick-back money, others have been, sent to seminars for
re-edu cation. To date, no special body has been set up within
nese reportedly have also been enrolled
into the strong-arm squads maintained
by the various gangs.
While the heroin traffic is controlled,
by the Chinese, many of the pushers are
Ci~rinomaca n-+Cli - Stiff tiCti^C-1Gig
drug addiction show that of the.5,000
or so addicts, 1,000 are Dutch and 1,500
Because both hard and soft drugs are
readily available in Amsterdam, the city
acts as a magnet for both tourists on a
"drug" trip and US soldiers stationed in
West Germany. One of the unexpected
hazards is that the heroin peddled in
Amsterdam is of the inferior No. 3
quality.
Amsterdam's reputation as an inter
national centre for heroin traffic is also
due to the fact that it is a transit point
for shipment to the US and other West
European countries -_ apparently it is
easier to smuggle hard drugs to Paris
from Amsterdam than Marseilles. But
the quantities reaching North America
from Holland are believed to be small.
As an American official put it: "The
French connection is dead and there is
no Dutch connection - yet:"
Annrauerl Far Release 1999109109 - CIA-RUM-01 194AOOf1100910001-9
 Approved For Release 1999/09/02 : CIA-RDP79-01194A000100210001-2
CPYRGHT
the Government to carry out or police new policies on opium
or heroin.
The Pathet Lao can afford. to take such a lax attitude to
narcotics. Laos itself is not threatened by a significant drug
problem. The rate of opium addiction is rather high among
retired and chronically sick people, but this remains the
traditional social role of the opium pipe. The old and infirm
spend their final years in semi-euphoria, a state regarded as a
just reward following a tough and productive life. The sick
turn to opium since the majority of villages in the country
still have no access to medical centres. At the same time,
there are powerful family and communal taboos that keep
younger, productive members of the society from seeking
out the pipe for pleasure only, and these remain strong and
effective today.
Heroin addiction is limited to a tiny handful. Most of
these are, sad cases who have become victims on No. 3 heroin
"red-rock," or khai as the Laotians call it. Half zombies,
members of this group wander the streets of Vientiane beg
ging handouts. Their numbers appear to, ,have decreased in
the past few years, seemingly through death, and to date the
new Government has not turned to this problem. Use of pure
white No. 4 heroin is rarely heard of in, Laos.
The new authorities have defined plans for opium as an
earner of foreign exchange. Opium has brought far more
foreign currency into Laos than any other source for many
generations past, short of war and related aid, and its poten-
tial remains vast. The Government has expressed its determi-
nation to return many of the refugee Meo from the Plain of
Jars region to the cultivation of the red and white poppies.
Their crop will, be monopolised by the Government, which-
in turn intends to sell it abroad.
Present trends suggest that Vientiane, which has declared
its intention to keep official drugs off the blackmarket, will
be most willing to sell its. opium crop to Western govern-
ments and pharmaceutical houses. In selling such produce to
ocialist brother countries, said one trade official fearfully,
Laos will risk being repaid only in socialist merchandise, aid
and services at a time when their greatest need is for hard
cash dollars, which they are assured from the West.
For the moment, dollars from opium remain something
A a dream. Not only have the Pathet Lao the task of
'eturning many thousands of Meo to opium-producing re
;ions, but first they need to pacify completely those rebel-
ious Meo guerillas left over from the Vang Pao army who
ontinue a sporadic but paralysing resistance throughout the
entral mountain districts.
Approved For Release 1999/09/02 : CIA-RDP79-01194A000100210001-2