The San Francisco call., 1909-06-29
CHINESE FAIL
IN THE EFFORT
TOLAND OPIUM
Big Seizure of Contraband Drug
Concealed in Oil Cans
Aboard Liner Asia
Two CeIestials on Way to "See
Their Cousin Run Afoul
of Inspectors
For ways that arc dark
And tricks that are vain
The heather Chinee Is peculiar.


The campaign begun some time ago
by Surveyor of the Port E. f. Wood
ward and c. H Blinn, the deputy sur
veyor, for the encouragement of the
illegal Importation of opium bore fruit
yesterday in two important seizures,
which involved the capture of 1872 five
tael tins of the poppy product, the ar
rest of two Chinese smugglers, the
glory that rightly goes to the white
man who outwits the willy Celestial for
at least four inspectors, and trouble
for one inspector.
OPIUM In SUITCASE
The first seizure was made by In
spectors John Toland and L. E. Enlow
They were on their way to work short
ly after z o'clock a. M, and half way
between pier AZ, where the Japanese
liner Chiyo Maru is berthed, and the
old Pacific Mail wharf. they met two
Chinese carrying a dress suitcase. The
Chinese were Lun Sing, the Chiyos
chinese interpreter, and Chow Chez, the
liners steerage cook. They were
ashore under the usual bond and were
going to Chinatown to see their
cousin
Toland's suspicious were aroused
when he noticed the Chinese exchange
looks as they encountered the inspec-
tors He asked to see the contents
of the valise They lost the key
With Enlow's assistance and without
the aid of a search warrant he forced
the lock and found AZ five tael tins OF
opium laid in neat layers, where Chow
Chee's dress suit should have reposed
The Chinese were held under $1,000
bonds and charged with smuggling
opium 1t is not known how the stuff
was taken from the ship, but the in
spector who allowed that grip to pass
down the gangway, II it went that
way, has trouble in store for him.
The second seizure was made in the
fore peak of the liner Asia by Inspec-
tors Joseph Head and c. j. Benninger
They had been searching since the liner
docked and had found no sign of the
opium, although there were good rea-
sons to believe the stuff was on board
DRUG IN OIL CANS
We've searched everything here but
these oil cans" said Benninger, land
they seem to be full of OIL
To make sure they unscrewed the
caps and Sn1ffed. 1t was oil, all right
Head kicked one of the cans and hurt
his toe
That oils too solid,H he said. Lets
take another look"
The oil was poured out, and when
the 10 gallon can yielded less than a
quart of oil it was plain that there
was something wrong, for the empty
can had lost little of its weight by the
emptying process. The bottom was cut
off the can and 40 five tael tins OF
opium rolled out on the deck. At the
same time there was revealed one OF
the most ingenious smuggling devices
ever used, even by Chinese, who are
past masters at the game.
The bulk of the space inside the car
was reserved for opium, but to carry
out the deception there ran from the
cap to the bottom of the can a narrow
tin reservoir, which was filled with
oil. This supplied the necessary odor
and the opium contributed the weight
Forty more tins of opium were found
in a similar can. Nobody on the Asia
claimed the opium. The cans will be
given honored places in the federal
museum of smuggling devices.