Two handsome carved Chinese cedar chests, landed by a woman steerage passenger from the liner President Coolidge today, proved to be a cache for opium valued at $25,000.

The opium was discovered by customs officers at 1:30 p.m. today in the course of their regular search of passengers' baggage.

According to J. Walter Doyle, collector of customs, the two cedar chests were in possession of Mrs. Wan Sai, pretty young Chinese widow who resides on Pahala Lane, Honolulu, and who returned on the President Coolidge today after a two month visit to China.

In each of the chests John Olivera, chief customs inspector found a suitcase covered with blankets. In each suitcase he found 100 tins of opium, valued at $125 a tin.

Custom officials believe that one of the two chests was to have gone on to San Francisco and one landed here.

Mrs. Wan, when questioned by custom officials, denied that she had knowledge of the contents of the cases. She said that a man had approached her in Hong Kong and paid her $20 to take the chests to Honolulu. Her trip to the Orient, she said, was for the purpose of visiting her mother, who is sick, and not for illicit narcotic traffic.

Collector Doyle and Willson Moore, assistant U.S. attorney were this afternoon questioning Mrs. Wan further.

Mr. Moore said that she would be charged with violation of federal narcotic statutes.

Today's seizure was the largest since November 1935, when 220 tins of opium were found on the President Hoover. Collector Doyle announced that one customs inspector had been suspended pending an investigation of the case, but gave no detail as to his reasons for this action.