$64 Million in Heroin Seized on Ship

In one of the first uses of a new law that allows drastically higher penalties to be imposed against commercial ship owners whose vessels are used in the smuggling of drugs, federal customs officials in Los Angeles said Friday that they may assess a fine of as much as $500,000 against an owner whose ship was involved in the seizure of 34.1 pounds of high-quality heroin earlier this week.

The heroin, estimated to be worth $64 million, was found on a crewman and in a locker of the Hong Kong freighter Campbell Island after it arrived in Long Beach Harbor, a U.S. Customs official said.

The ship can be held at Terminal Island until fines of up to $1,000 per ounce of the drug seized are paid under the Anti Drug Abuse Act of 1986. The fines are aimed at owners who are found to be negligent in failing to prevent drug smuggling by crew members. Previously, fines amounted to $50 per ounce.

Customs Service spokesman John Miller said the government has the option of imposing penalties less than the maximum “depending on the degree of complicity” of the ship owner. He said the penalty is usually assessed after negotiations for the return of the ship to the owner are completed. Those negotiations were continuing Friday.

‘Erratic Behavior’

Customs agents assigned to observe the Campbell Island arrested crewman Tin Wing Wah, 30, of Hong Kong, on Tuesday after they noticed “his bulky body contours and erratic behavior near the vessel,” Miller said.

A search turned up 4.7 pounds of “China white” heroin, and a subsequent search of the Campbell Island located 29.4 pounds in a locker, Miller said.

An investigation led to the arrest of Charn Kwan Wong, 43, a native of Canton, China, who resides in Hong Kong, as he was leaving an Inglewood hotel. Miller would not describe what led investigators to Wong.

Both men were taken into custody for investigation of possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute and conspiracy to possess a controlled substance with intent to distribute. Each charge carries a penalty of up to 20 years in prison and fines up to $250,000, Miller said.

The heroin was in the form of 23 bricks, each measuring 10 inches long, six inches wide and two inches thick, Miller said, adding that it was one of the “most potent and valuable” types of heroin.

The seizure of the Campbell Island was the second such incident in five months involving a ship owned by the Hong Kong Island line, Miller said.