Hong Kong customs officers shut down a narcotics storehouse at a discrete, upscale Tuen Mun private housing estate on Saturday, seizing an HK$80 million (US$10.2 million) stash of illegal drugs and making one arrest.
A total of 79kg of suspected cocaine and about 1kg of suspected methamphetamine – or “Ice” – was seized from the 400 sq ft, two-bedroom flat in the agency’s biggest cocaine raid in five years.
A 52-year-old Hong Kong man who was a core member of a local drug ring and in charge of guarding the cache, was arrested during the morning raid following a week-long operation, customs said, adding that the ringleaders behind the drugs operation were still at large.
“In terms of quantity, this case was customs’ largest cocaine seizure since 2013,” Lee Hoi-man, acting group head of the Customs Drug Investigation Bureau, said on Sunday.
“We will continue to investigate the source of the narcotics, the smuggling method used, the local distribution network in place and whether there are other suspected persons involved. We do not rule out the possibility of more arrests.”
Lee said the flat – valued at HK$8 million to HK$10 million – in the gated, medium-density private residential complex, which was not named, had been rented out by the syndicate for only a month and was chosen for its relative seclusion, unassuming nature and good security.
