LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL Hon. THOMAS E. MORGAN, Chairman, Committee on International Relations, DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: There is transmitted herewith a report of a study mission conducted by Representatives Morgan Murphy, J. Herbert Burke, and Lester Wolff, members of an ad hoc subcommittee on international narcotics control. The observations related in this report are a product of our delegation's visit to Southeast Asia from December 27, 1974, to January 12, 1975, which included meetings with narcotics control officials in Japan, South Korea, Taipei, Hong Kong, and Thailand. We were also able to meet with individuals who have direct knowledge of the narcotics trafficking operations in Southeast Asia. This study was made as a continuing review of the same problem that was the subject of two previous investigative missions in the past 3 years by the ad hoc subcommittee on international narcotics control to this part of the world. The international trafficking of narcotics has changed significantly since we were in Southeast Asia a year ago; this report will focus on the new conditions which we found. The report will not try to review the background to the pattern of narcotics cultivation, trafficking and abuse in this part of the world, as that is well documented in other reports presented to this committee. This report will, however, emphasize new narcotics patterns, as well as the constructive programs currently being followed to combat the problem. We will also try to recommend policies which we feel would be basic to the interest of the United States and the world as a whole, and we will attempt to reevaluate programs now in force to have them conform to these basic interests. The thrust of this report will be an in-depth study of the effectiveness of our international narcotics control programs, and more specifically, of our efforts to stem the recent flood of heroin that ends up in the veins of American citizens. We want to express our thanks and appreciation to the Department of State and the Drug Enforcement Administration for the advice, cooperation, and assistance extended to us by their representatives at home and abroad. We also want to register our appreciation to the numerous foreign law enforcement officials and other contacts who have been helpful over the past several years in assisting us in gathering accurate, factual, and self-critical appraisals of the international trafficking picture. We feel that this trip is the most constructive investigation thus far undertaken by the ad hoc subcommittee into the international narcotics control field. We believe the information gathered points toward new approaches to be pursued which would have a dramatic and constrictive effect on curbing the supply of illicit opium and heroin in the world. It is our hope that this report and the information and recommendations contained herein will be of value to the members of the International Relations Committee and the Congres ve ventinue our work to soire the heroin arciem in the Unite States, as well as provide answers to the word vide scourge of drie Foreword... Letter of transmittal.. Preface___ Introduction. Overview--- Opium production and the Shan proposal__. Meeting with the Shans, Gen. Li Wen-huan and Col. Yang Kuo-kuang Refining and trafficking Hong Kong enforcement efforts. Page III V IX 6 14 17 20 22 27 29 30 30 31 31 33 1. Map of the Golden Triangle Region... 2. U.S. expenditures for International Narcotics Control 3. DEA personnel in Southeast Asia as of December 31, 1974__ 4. Sections of the Burmese Constitution of 1947 5. Narcotics seizures in Hong Kong.. 6. Royal Thai Government fiscal year 1974 expenditures for narcotics programs 7. U.S. personnel involved in Thai legal proceedings related to narcotics_ 8. Special Narcotics Organization, Northern Thailand.. 9. The New Chinese Connection__ 46 49 37 38 40 44 47 PREFACE International narcotics production, trafficking and consumption in the Southeast Asia area cannot be understood simply by examining each country's activities. We no longer feel that the best method of analyzing the drug problem is through a country by country breakdown. A much more useful analysis can be made on a functional basis: production, refining, trafficking and consumption. Significant changes have occurred in Southeast Asia in each of these facets of narcotics traffic and abuse; consequently, current programs must be modified to respond to these changes. One cannot deal with the problems associated with heroin addiction in a constructive way without taking into account the source of the heroin and the pattern involved in its reaching the addict. Similarly we are aware that enforcement, without a complementary study of cuasative effect and a program of rehabilitation and treatment, is an incomplete effort. No final solution to the problem of drug abuse is possible until all facets have been addressed. This report will deal with the issue of international narcotics control on a functional basis, and we will bring the information gathered from individuals in the various countries into the report at the appropriate point. A country by country statistical analysis concerning expenditures and enforcement efforts is found in the appendix. |