HONG KONG: Hong Kong customs officers seized 20 per cent more illicit drugs last year as they stepped up cooperation with their international counterparts.
Among the drugs busted, much of it from the mainland, amounts of ketamine and cocaine uncovered soared by a whopping 120 per cent compared to 2014.
In addition to increased liaison with other forces, customs attributed the rise to a popular concealment method that was easily uncovered by officers.
However, in many cases the culprits remained difficult to track down.
“Smuggling by air remained popular as the risk was relatively low,” assistant commissioner for intelligence and investigation Louise Ho Pui-shan told the Post.
“Smugglers only lost the drug when it was busted, but it barely left us any trace to make more arrests.”
She said syndicates transported drugs from the mainland to the city, repackaged them and mailed the parcels to countries including the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Each parcel normally contains one to two kilograms of a particular drug to avoid raising suspicions.
Nearly 280 kg of ketamine and 230 kg of cocaine were seized last year – a rise of around 120 per cent compared to 2014. On the flip side, the amount of crystal meth, or ice, dropped by 45 per cent to around 280 kg last year.
“In 2014, we detected a major case in which a water filter was used for concealment of 104kg of ice,” said Ho. “But we did not have this kind of [big] case last year. That explains the decline.”
Australia and New Zealand remain popular destinations for ice as the drug trade to Oceania is “very lucrative”, according to Ho. The street price of ice there can jump tenfold.
Seizures of “bath salts”– a synthetic form of cathinone – also dropped by 42 per cent to around 130kg.
Overall, the total amount of drugs busted last year increased 20 per cent to 1,213 kg. This involved 758 cases, with 60 per cent of the drugs being smuggled by air. Customs arrested 365 people for drug-related offences.
When asked if Hong Kong was being used as a base to direct drug trafficking, Ho said this was unavoidable as the city was an international logistical hub.
“Drug smuggling is an international problem. If we want to tackle the problem well, we need to put our focus beyond Hong Kong to other places,” she said.
She stressed that the territory should make good use of the logistical advantages and play a more proactive role in international cooperation.
“As we can get better information on the import and export goods [than any other countries do], Hong Kong customs can line up international law enforcement counterparts and step up joint efforts to tackle the problem,” Ho said.
