HEALTH DEPARTMENT INVESTIGATES HUGE DANGEROUS DRUGS ORDER

THE Health Department is investigating how a newly-established drugs and
pharmaceutical company received Police Ministry approval to import huge
quantities of chemicals which are known to be used in the illicit
manufacture of methamphetamine, popularly known as "ice" by drug users.

Health Secretary Dr Puka Temu told The National yesterday that because of
the political nature of the case he would not comment further until the
investigations are completed.

Dr Temu said that the department would report its findings to Health
Minister Ludger Mond.

Earlier, Deputy Health Secretary Isaac Ake had reportedly said that the
Health Department was the only legitimate and competent body authorised to
import prohibited drugs in close consultation with United Nations'
International Narcotics Control Board (INCB).

Dr Ake said the Health Minister's power is vested in the Medicines and
Cosmetics Act.

However, The National understands that the Dangerous Drugs Act (Chapter
228) could also be applied for this purpose.

In the case in question the Police Minister used the Police Act (Chapter
65), the National Narcotics Act 1992 and the Poisonous and Dangerous
Substance Act to authorise Yoji Drugs & Pharmaceuticals Ltd of P.O. Box
2252, Boroko, NCD "to import poison and dangerous substance" from China and
India on Feb 10 this year.

The INCB says that the Police Minister is not an authority reported as
empowered to issue such authorisation in PNG.

The National reported last week that the governments of China and India put
a stop to PNG-bound shipments of these chemicals, known as pseudoephedrine
and ephedrine.

This followed INCD intervention which asked the Papua New Guinea Government
to verify the legitimacy of the shipments.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Evoa Lalatute was not available yesterday to
comment on two urgent notes sent by the INCB in the past three weeks to the
Foreign Affairs Department on the matter.

Yoji Drugs and Pharmaceuticals Ltd was registered with the Investment
Promotion Authority on Nov 23, 1999, and has five directors - three Papua
New Guinea nationals, a Hong Kong (China) national and a Taiwanese living
in San Francisco, USA.

One of the Papua New Guinean directors was contacted but has declined to
comment on the business.

The INCB believes that the chemicals may be headed for a third country
where they would be used in the manufacture of "ice" which it described as
one of the leading illegal drugs worldwide.

Chemicals used in the manufacture of drugs (whether legal or otherwise) are
known as precursors and in this case, the chemicals are 4,000 kilograms of
pseudoephedrine to be imported from China and 8,000kg of ephedrine to be
imported from India.

The INCB says 4,000kg of pseudoephedrine could be used to manufacture about
5,700kg of methamphetamines with an estimated street value in the United
States of more than US$280 million (K687 million). This is in comparison
with the original cost of the pseudoephedrine of $212,000.

The last time PNG ordered pseudoephedrine was 46.5kg in 1998 which the
Government reported to the INCB.

However, the Board noted that there is no record at its disposal of PNG
having previously imported ephedrine.