Drug squad follows the money trail

Police have launched a secret investigation into money laundering through Hong Kong banks by one of the SAR's most notorious criminal exports.

Duncan Lam Sak-cheung is thought to have shipped hundreds of millions of dollars worth of heroin during his reign as Australia's top drug dealer. Hong Kong's Narcotics Bureau is tracing a paper trail through Australia, the Golden Triangle, China and the SAR.

Lam, also known as 'Big Nose' Cheung, was arrested in 1999 after a tortuous two-year investigation by Australian police and the Narcotics Bureau. He is due to be sentenced in Sydney on Friday after being convicted for trafficking almost A$80 million (HK$309 million) in heroin. He faces a minimum of 10 years in jail.

The Sunday Morning Post has learned that Lam was at the heart of a network of around 30 heroin dealers who, like him, were global players. Lam identified several major Hong Kong drug dealers during taped telephone conversations. His arrest and conviction is understood to have launched a series of parallel probes in other countries, including the mainland.

Police hope Lam's jailing will bring down the curtain on a remarkable criminal career. Lam's record, however, suggests there's time enough for a few encores.

Born in Hong Kong in 1954, he arrived in Australia in 1976 on a visitor's visa. He was initially employed as a waiter before working his way through the catering trade. By the 1990s, he owned a restaurant in Kensington, Sydney.