F.B.I. SEEN AS 'SLOPPY' WITH DRUG CHARGES

Lawyers for Hing Hung Wong are claiming United States detectives are using
sloppy and unreliable evidence in order to extradite the alleged heroin
chief.

John Haigh, QC, yesterday told the Auckland District Court that the
"unsavoury antics" of federal agents meant crucial evidence against his
client should be tossed out.

Mr Haigh was talking about the transcripts of phone calls alleged to
involve Wong and a friend plotting heroin deals in 1995. He also attacked
two witnesses and claimed important papers had not been signed.

Wong, aged 37, is said to have been the deputy of a Thai drug lord called
Mad Six, whose Asian gang shipped a record 486kg of heroin to California in
1991 and moved tens of millions of dollars through accounts in Hong Kong.

A mystery witness for the US, tagged "John Doe," is also alleging Wong used
violence and that one of his many roles was to supervise heroin shipments
to the US.

Another heroin trader, New York-based Matthew Lo, says he knew of Wong as
Ah Dee and heard he was an important dealer able to ship heroin on demand
in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Mr Haigh said Doe's evidence should be spurned because he had made a
plea-bargain with US authorities and, because he was believed to be in an
Australian jail on drug charges, might not be able to give evidence in
court.

As for Lo, all his evidence was hearsay and had no place in a New Zealand
court.

Mr Haigh said federal interpreters had made "suspect" transcriptions of the
1995 Cantonese phone calls, and the US had since refused to let the defence
team hear the tapes.

"You are asked to accept the bland assurance of some FBI agent that all's
well, but it's just cavalier to throw this at the court," Mr Haigh said to
Judge Robert Kerr.

"The antics of the FBI are questionable to the point of being inexplicably
unsavoury."

The defence also said that two bundles of sworn statements provided by the
US had been signed just once each by a judge, meaning that only the
document on the top of each pile was properly certified. All the papers
underneath - including the affidavits of Lo, Doe and several FBI agents -
should not be used.

Auckland police arrested Wong for the US Government in January, and then
again last week for Hong Kong authorities. He has been bailed on strict
terms and is under 24-hour guard in a secret city apartment.

The hearing is expected to finish today.