§ Mr. Hooleyasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many persons concerned in the illicit export of opium or heroin from Hong Kong were arrested and prosecuted in each of the years 1974, 1975 and 1976.
§ Mr. LuardThe full information is not immediately available but the number of persons arrested in possession of heroin while attempting to leave Hong Kong and subsequently prosecuted was as follows:
Heroin Opium 1974 … … nil nil 1975 … … 7 nil 1976 … … 6 nil
§ Mr. Hooleyasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many illicit heroin refineries were discovered in Hong Kong in 1974, 1975 and 1976; and what quantities of this drug were being produced therein.
§ Mr. LuardThe number of illicit heroin refineries discovered, together with the quantities being produced at the time of their discovery, was as follows:
617W
Number Quantity kilos 1974 … … … 7 49 1975 … … … 8 94 1976 … … … 11 35
§ Mr. Hooleyasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the extent of illicit traffic and smuggling of drugs into Hong Kong; what quantities of illicit narcotics were found or confiscated in 1974, 1975 and 1976; and how many persons were prosecuted in those years for drug offences.
§ Mr. LuardThe Hong Kong Government attach a very high priority to the prevention of illicit traffic and smuggling of drugs into Hong Kong, but since Hong Kong is a free port it is not practicable to carry out systematic checks on all cargoes. Precise information on the illicit trade of drugs into Hong Kong is not therefore available, though it is clear that the interception of large-scale shipments of drugs in recent years has created acute, if short-lived, shortages in supplies of drugs. The quantities of drugs seized were as follows:
1974 1975 1976 kilos Opium … 4,734 455 3,553 Morphine mixture … 323 132 291 Heroin mixture … 261 186 164 The number of persons prosecuted was as follows:
1974 1975 1976 18,453 13,865 12,913