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“When people think of the "Mr Asia" drug syndicate they normally think of New Zealander Christopher Martin Johnstone who was murdered in 1979. Johnstone's handless body was discovered in a Lancashire quarry - still with his Chinese "long life" medallion around his neck. The chance discovery of the body of the man dubbed "Mr Asia" signalled the end of the huge multi-million dollar drugs operation that started in Auckland and ended up spanning the globe.
Journalist David Lomas tracks down former inmates who shared prison cells with head of the syndicate,Terry Clark, he speaks to the drug dealers who distributed his marijuana and heroin and interviews police in New Zealand, Australia and the United Kingdom who pursued Clark and eventually convicted him. Associates of Clark say, as his evil empire grew, he developed a taste for killing people - and as the inevitable cracks began to appear in his organisation, he had to murder more and more people to save himself.
"All told, the police say Clark murdered six people, but there are at least three other deaths which could be the work of Clark and his gang," Lomas says.
The other extraordinary feature of the Mr Asia story was the police corruption in Australia that allowed Clark and his syndicate to operate - and thrive. "In those days the police in New South Wales and Queensland were completely corrupt," says retired judge Mr Justice Stewart, the man given the job of later investigating drug trafficking in New Zealand and Australia. "It was said at the time you could buy the entire police force of Queensland and New South Wales for the price of a hamburger," Judge Stewart tells Lomas.
The Mr Asia gang was making more money than Clark could ever have imagined - but by the late 1970s the police were closing in. The murder of Clark's business partner - the playboy Marty Johnstone - in the north of England spelled the beginning of the end.” xtramsn.co.nz/entertainment; 01/11/2004
Interviews: Brears Basham, Graham Bell, Ken Berry, Greg Newbold, Justice Donald Stewart, Carl Mengler, David Horsborough, Peter Fulcher, Peter Williams, Frank Matthews, Ernie Pemberton, Brion Duncan, Terry Valiant, Jeff Meadows.