A report was yesterday locally circulated that the Customs Preventive Service had seized over $100,000 worth of opium in a raid made on the Butterfield & Swire godown No. 14 on the French Bund, on Monday evening. The drug was said to have been found concealed in well-packed and carefully-sealed cases, which were supposed to have contained Chinese sweets of southern manufacture. It is believed that the drug was sent from Swatow on a! consignee's bill of lading aboard the s. Kwantung, which arrived here on Monday morning.
One of the confiscated cases was said to have contained over 500 catties of the contraband, and was so carefully sealed that no odour escaped to betray its contents before the packing was removed. No arrests were reported. but it was believed that several members of Kwangtung's crew were to be questioned by the authorities o are conducting the investigation of this case.
This seizure was said to be the second largest made since the war. The largest was the one made on February 23, valued at $287,000, while - the value of the present seizure was said to be about $112,000.
The s. Kwantung is expected to sail today at 1 p.m. for Swatow and Hongkong.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.