HONG KONG: Police have seized HK$132 million worth of cocaine, methamphetamine and cannabis, just one week after a HK$99 million mega-haul of cocaine.
Revealing details on Sunday about Friday’s operation, police said the 127-kg seizure was the biggest in Hong Kong since 2013. But they denied the city had become a trafficking hub for drug syndicates.
Acting on a tip-off, officers from the Narcotics Bureau ambushed two suspects at Shun Lei Estate carpark in Sau Mau Ping at 8pm on Friday. The two men, aged 35 and 37, were subdued after a small struggle.
Hong Kong police seize cocaine worth HK$100m in big anti-drug operation
Drugs confiscated in the Hong Kong operation on display at Wan Chai Photo: Edmond So
Traces of cocaine were found on them, and a subsequent search of two vehicles produced another 121kg of cocaine blocks stashed in three suitcases and a duffle bag, along with 160g of the anaesthetic lidocaine.
“We believe the men were preparing to move the haul to a different location as we approached them,” chief superintendent Ma Ping-yiu said.
The operation continued at a residential complex in Fanling, where a third suspect, a 39-year-old man, tried to escape by climbing down the drain pipes from the first floor.
He was caught by officers, and found to be carrying 6kg of cocaine, 650g of methamphetamine or “ice” and 100g of cannabis buds in his backpack.
The three men were suspected to be core members of a drug syndicate with triad backgrounds. They were arrested on suspicion of drug trafficking and possession of dangerous drugs.
(L to R) Chief Inspector Narcotics Bureau Chan Kong-ming, Chief Superintendent Narcotics Bureau Ma Ping-yiu and Superintendent Narcotics Bureau Ng Wing-sze at press conference at police Headquarters in Wan Chai Photo: Edmond So
Ma said the cocaine blocks were packaged and labelled in the same way as the ones seized in the previous operation on June 17. He would not link them directly, although suspecting they came from the same origins.
Past experience indicated the drugs arrived from South America through “complicated” routes, he said.
Police rejected concerns about drug trafficking activities on the rise in the city.
While there was a 15 per cent increase in the amount of cocaine confiscated in the first five months of this year, Ma said it was part of a constantly fluctuating trend.
He suggested the sizeable quantities of drugs entering Hong Kong were for both local distribution and foreign export.
