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Chronicle

MARCH 1975

A heroin retail syndicate starts operating at the Yau Ma Tei Fruit Market.

3 APRIL 1976

Officers from the then Commerce and Industry Department arrest an American Eurasian, his wife and others inside a residential flat in the vicinity of the Fruit Market for allegedly packaging heroin. A quantity of drugs is seized and charges of possessions are laid.

10 AUGUST 1976

The Police Narcotics Bureau raids 23 locations in Kowloon and the New Territories and seizes $20,000 worth of heroin, along with records detailing bribe payments. Seven men and a woman are arrested including the mastermind and senior members of a drug syndicate active in the Fruit Market area. All are later charged with drug trafficking offences.

OCTOBER 1976

Three suspects in the drug case ask to meet ICAC officers, wishing to expose syndicated corruption of law enforcement officers.

FEBRUARY to MAY 1977

Several small-scale ICAC operations lead to the arrests of 21 suspects for alleged corrupt activities.

MARCH 1977

The trial of the Yau Ma Tei Fruit Market drug case begins.

25 MAY 1977

The drug case trial concludes when the mastermind pleads guilty and is jailed for 18 years. Four other principal offenders receive prison terms of 11 to 13 years.

JUNE 1977

Three convicted traffickers agree to testify for the prosecution. ICAC investigators begin taking statements in preparation for the related syndicated corruption case.

The mastermind and one principal member of the drug ring have their sentences reduced respectively to 11 years and eight years.

19 & 21 SEPTEMBER 1977

In a major ICAC operation, 87 police officers are arrested on suspicion of receiving bribes. All are released on bail. It is the largest number of people detained in a single operation since the establishment of the ICAC.

28 OCTOBER 1977

A number of police officers stage protest against the ICAC operations which target at police officers. They petition the Police Commissioner at the Police Headquarters.

About 40 protesters later march to the ICAC Operations Department Headquarters at Hutchison House to express their dissatisfaction.

5 NOVEMBER 1977

Faced with a serious situation, the then Governor Sir Murray MacLehose issues a "partial amnesty."

SEPTEMBER 1978

The syndicated corruption case is heard in three separate trials. One suspect absconds and 26 others are charged with conspiracies to pervert the course of public justice. Consequently, 18 people are convicted and jailed for 19 months to five years.

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