Halvorsen nodded. “I guess it’s okay,” he said. Then he gave them the itinerary of the Fernhill. He told them the ship was scheduled to arrive in Boston on May 16. If possible, he would leave the ship there or in New York and travel by bus to San Francisco to make the delivery, after which he would return to Norway.
The fat Chinese left the room, and when he returned he was carrying ten cotton bags filled with heroin, each of them weighing about half a pound. He placed them in Halvorsen’s briefcase....
Q—What happened then?
A—Then he asked me if I saw the bags. I said, “Yes.” He said that was what I was going to take ashore and he said, “You have to keep it on your body.” And he showed me a white silk sash.
Q—Did he tell you how to use that white silk sash?
A—Yes. He said I was first to fold it double and put it around my waist and then I could put the white bags down in the folds of the sash. He said I should keep maybe two bags in front, two bags in the back and the others strapped to my legs.
After the Chinese put the heroin in the briefcase, Halvorsen left the house on Cameron Road. He returned to his ship and placed the briefcase in a ship’s locker. He explained to the officer in charge that it contained souvenirs.
From Hong Kong, the Fernhill steamed to Djakarta, Indonesia, where Halvorsen hurried ashore with several crew members for a look at the city. After a time he wandered away from the others. He was alone, sipping a glass of beer in a bar near the Hotel Des Indes, when a Javanese approached and stood beside him.
“Have you got anything you would like to sell?” the Javanese said. “Any clothes or shoes? I can get you a good price.”
Halvorsen looked at the man, a middle-aged Javanese with a jagged scar running from his left eyebrow to his chin. He said stiffly, “I’m not interested in small stuff.”