The Hawaiian gazette., 1918-04-16

directed ny we'll organized ring
of smugglcts who have connections in
the Orient and messengers aboard lin
ers from Japan AMI China, traffic in
smuRRIrd opium has been hourishing in
Honolulu, according to disclosures
made yesterday by witnesses before the
federal grand jury which was made nc.
quainted with the devious method fol
lowed recently in landing one shipment
of the drug worth nearly $4,000.
Though a number of accused smukglers
are shared in the meshes Of the law
the entire shipment of the drug has
vanished.
That "honest men get their dues
when thieves fall OUT was nicely H.
Illustrated in the testimony that was
given, for it was only after one of the
gang sought to vietimiZe another by
staging a robbery and get away with
tn, whole shipment Of the drug, that
federal officers got on the trail of the
smuggling ring. They followed the
trail to house in Moiliili, the home
of n Japanese and his wife, where they
had learned that the drug had been
cached, hut they arrived too late. 1t
had vanished.
IIarbOr regulations were set at
naught in the landing of the shipment
of opium which, it is alleged, was
received frOm an Oriental liner in the
open sea by sampan which the fol
lowing midnight put out a small boat
'Ontaruing the drug and members of
the ring Of smugglers. The drug, it is
said, changed hands as the result of q
cut and dried automobile highway rob
berry, which is said to have occurred
almost in front of the MOana Hotel
on Kahkaua Avenue after the pack
age of opium had been carried ashore.
Names Withheld
The grand jury finished its session
yesterday morning, but the names and
the number of those indicted in tho
smuggling and conspiracy case had
not Leen made public yet, although at
east six japanese are known to be in
volved, besides nearly as many others
As witnesses and victims of the smng
glers and cOnspiratOrs.
Two Believed Held
| However, s. Obata, the Japanese cap
tain of a fishing sampan,' arrested on
March 20, and X. Fujiwara, we'll
known japanese plumber located at 81
| Beretania Street, arrested few days
/ later, are two of the Orientals against
whom it is believed indictments have
been returned for either smuggling or
conspiracy.
J Three or four others for whom it is
reliPved indictments have been re-
'urned are Japanese who took part in
| he hold up of q Chinaman and Full
wara at Waikiki, after they are alleged
have gotten l44 tins Of the opium
ashore from sampan, which ii is
'harged was in command of Obata.
The name of this. Chinamah has not
been given out for publication. as the
'fiicials evidently believe he might be
spirited away or killed by the members
IF the japanese band before they are
all apprehended.
Witness Vanishes
Already one other important witness,
md possibly later n defendant, the
lriver of the automobile used by tho
hold up men" has disappeared aml
all efforts to locate him in the past
week havF proved fruitless. He dis
appeared Immediately after he was
Questioned by the federal. officials, dur
ny which he is said to have given the
'lue as to the location of the opium
ache, as well as other important evil
lrnce
The government officials assert that
he Chinaman represented a hui which
made arrangements with the Japanese
gang to land the opium from trans
Pacific steamer calling here from la
pan ports. Then, according to the
theory of the prosecution, FuIwara Is
alleged to have arranged with baml
of Orientals to rob the Chinaman after
the dope WAS landed.
Customs and other federal officials
say the plan of the japanese worked
out as planned, the Chinaman was
cowed with a gun and the opium seiZs'l
and carried away in the automobile t.
II house in MOiliili, Fujiwara mean
while pretending to be as badly fright
cned and chaRrined as the Cmnaman al
the loss of the big quantity of drug.
An interesting sidelight Oh the method
used by the sampan operator to def$
be harbor night time regulations about
the departure or arrival Of vessels has
been divulged in the investigation Of
the conspiracy and opium smuggl inp
case. According to the officials, the
= unnamed Chinaman and FuUwara wct,
taken out to the sampan from Walk
1 XII in small boat carried On the fish
. my craft.
Awaited Steamer
This was on the night preceding thu
expected arrival of the drug on 1
steamer from the Orient. With Fuf
wnra and the Chinamnn aboard, OhutR
with his Okinawa crew, headed out /,
sea and to point of Barhar 3 Poin,
. where the coming of the steamer wa
awaited until towards the following
noon.
From information given the customs
inspectors there seems to have beeI
no concealmeht of the purpose Of ID,
~amuan when it met the steamer. %,
of the sampan party waved white
cloth as the small craft approachs
the steamer and others aboard the III!
passenger vessel saw package droPp%'
u overheard from a lower deck port. Tb
sampan, however, did not stop to PiGl
up the corked package until the Steud'
4 rr had passed.
IanAin0 ~ nTa,o