The Opium Smuggling Trap
A Seattle man accused of opium trafficking convinces a jury he was actually working as a government informant to expose a crooked customs inspector.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
The sensational trial of Ah How, who interposed a defense to the charge of opium smuggling that seemed unlikely when outlined by his attorney in the United States court, proved true to the satisfaction of the jury. Ah How was found not guilty. His attorney had announced that the defense would prove that instead of being a smuggler, he was in fact acting for the government himself and was honestly attempting to capture Customs Inspector McBride and his stool pigeon, Jimmie Wilson, who represented themselves as opium smugglers. It was also stated that Ah How would prove the opium was planted in his house by the government officers to secure a larger informer's fee. Ah How testified that he had been approached by Wilson about buying opium, and had immediately determined to give Wilson and McBride away to Deputy Collector McKenzie. On the day of the fight, he went to McKenzie's office to report, but found the officers waiting at his home instead. He was struck on the head with an axe and left for dead. Medical testimony corroborated that he was struck while in a stooping position, and other witnesses confirmed seeing the opium being brought in from the outside. After a brief charge from Judge Hanford, the jury returned a verdict of acquittal.
“The defendant Ah How himself... told how he had been set on the street by Wilson, who had asked whether he could buy some opium for opium smugglers; how he had agreed to buy it, and how he had been introduced to McBride at the Arlington hotel.”
This case highlights the volatile nature of customs enforcement and 'sting' operations in 1890s Seattle, where the line between law enforcement and criminal enterprise was often blurred by the lure of rewards. It reflects a period of intense anti-Chinese sentiment, where individuals could be framed for serious crimes by officials looking for a payout.
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