Part 2 – The Mysterious Seto Gin Sits in Jail, But Where’s the Kingpin? – Canton Drug Runners of 1939

Following on from yesterday’s post on two Hong Kong drug mules arrested at San Francisco in 1939…

Mrs Seto Gin was originally arrested disembarking the President Coolidge from Hong Kong by Mr M.J. Jordan of the US Customs Service, a man who specialised in spotting drugs mules arriving from Far Eastern ports to America. Gin was transported to a jail cell and left overnight, but not before being fingerprinted by Matt Savasta, head of the San Francisco police check and bank detail.

The next day she appeared before U.S. Commissioner E.E. Williams where it was established that the “comely” Miss Gin was indeed Mrs Chung Lei. She further insisted that she was actually from Hong Kong and required an interpreter to translate. The U.S. Attorneys passed her case to the Federal Grand Jury and her bail was set at US$20,000. The defendant appeared in court still wearing the “lustrous brocaded Chinese gown” she was arrested in – but now with a “rich fur coat” too.

Gin was held incommunicado. The San Francisco Police stated that they believed she was a “runner” for a “huge drug syndicate” operating out of Shanghai and Hong Kong. In police custody Mrs Gin/Chung found time to redo her make-up in her hand mirror (see below).

Now the SFPD wanted Chung Lei, described as being 37-years-of-age. A man hunt was launched for him…and he was named as the Kingpin of the drug smuggling operation…

Tomorrow….the Hunt for Chung and the real plot revealed…