According to the Annual Report of Japan for 1951, routes by sea and air existed between the mainland of China and Japan, passing through the northern part of Korea and Hong Kong. Less traffic occurred on the route from Italy to the United States, since the Italian Government tightened its control over the manufacture of and trade in heroin within its borders. No traffic was reported from Mexico, the Government of the latter having also made stricter its control. Sea route by the Mediterranean, land route across the eastern frontier through the Sinai desert and air route having been followed by traffickers in bringing into Egypt white drugs, including heroin, along with the black ones, opium and hashish. In recent years, heroin has, however, dwindled in amount in the illicit traffic in Egypt.
Turkey is a country of origin of heroin seized in Egypt, France, Greece and the United States.
This traffic has also ceased in recent years, thanks to the strenuous efforts of the Mexican Government. According to the Annual Report of the Government of the United States, this type of heroin under the Red Lion label was derived from sources located on the mainland of China. Hong Kong and Japan, according to their annual reports, encountered heroin from the same sources. If reduction in legal manufacture of heroin does not explain why illicit traffic in this drug has not yet substantially decreased, clandestine manufacture probably furnishes at least a partial answer. Ever since the United Nations took over the narcotic supervisory functions from the League of Nations, reports of discoveries of clandestine factories have been received from a number of Governments.