ON THIS DAY

1979

The body of “Mr Asia” Marty Johnston is found in a quarry in England. Johnston, who ran one of New Zealand’s largest drug smuggling rings, was killed on the orders of his associate Terry Clark, who took over the drug enterprise.

1982

US President Ronald Reagan declares a War on Drugs. The term was first popularised by his predecessor Richard Nixon, but Reagan went further in terms of introducing harsher sentencing for drug possession. The policy is considered a political success but a costly failure in practice.

1991

Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Under house arrest at the time, Suu Kyi did not deliver her acceptance speech until 2012. Now Myanmar’s state counsellor, some have called for her to be stripped of the prize because of her failure to intervene in atrocities against Rohingya Muslims.