Customs officers have closed a site being used to produce crack cocaine after arresting two suspected drug traffickers and seizing HK$1.5 million worth of illegal substances.
The drug centre, based in a flat in Hung Hom, was uncovered after officers arrested a 22-year-old man and his 16-year-old girlfriend and seized 500 grams of the painkiller phenacetin in a Tseung Kwan O apartment at about 4pm on Monday.
Officers believed the phenacetin was used as a chemical additive to make crack cocaine.
“A rental document in the Tseung Kwan O flat led officers to the drug centre in Hung Hom,” a source said.
When customs raided the second flat at about 9pm, officers seized 1.1kg of suspected crack cocaine along with another 900 grams of phenacetin and packaging paraphernalia. The flat was empty at the time of the raid.
The source said initial investigation showed the centre had been in operation for about a month and was used to make crack cocaine.
According to the Customs and Excise Department, the haul had an estimated street value of HK$1.5 million (US$192,300). Officers were investigating the roles of the suspects and the source of the seized drugs.
As of 4pm on Tuesday, the suspects, both unemployed, were being held for questioning and had not been charged.
In Hong Kong, trafficking in a dangerous drug carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment and a HK$5 million fine.
Local authorities seized 604kg of cocaine in 2018, up 274.5 per cent from 220kg in 2017.
