HONG KONG:A woman was on Wednesday arrested at a border checkpoint in Hong Kong on suspicion of smuggling more than HK$400,000 worth of crystal meth into the city.
At around 4am, the suspected drug courier, 27, was intercepted by customs officers at Lok Ma Chau while returning from Shenzhen. Sources said she left for the mainland on Tuesday night.
Two bags carrying about 1kg of the drug Ice were found hidden in her underpants. The haul had an estimated street value of HK$430,000,” a government source with knowledge of the matter said.
He said he believed the consignment was for local consumption.
“After the Christmas and New Year holidays, there may have been a shortage of illegal drugs in the underground market,” the source said, suggesting the items found on the women were to resupply users.
Another source said the suspect might have thought she would come under less scrutiny when crossing the border in the early hours.
He said customs officers were investigating whether she was hired by a cross-border drug trafficking syndicate. They were also searching for her associates.
At about 8am, the woman was escorted, hooded and handcuffed, to her public housing flat in Cheung On Estate, Tsing Yi for a house search. No further seizures were made.
