Superintendent Wilson Tam of the drive’s narcotics bureau stated on Sunday that officers intercepted two cargo containers from South American nation Suriname final week after receiving intelligence, and found 225kg (495lbs) of cocaine bricks – essentially the most discovered this 12 months by police.
“We’ve observed that transnational drug syndicates have used worldwide logistics to site visitors massive quantities of suspected cocaine into Hong Kong,” he stated.
Tam stated officers traced the cargo to a ten,000 sq ft warehouse in Ping Che, close to Fanling, and spent greater than 15 hours on Friday analyzing each single piece of scrap metallic among the many 40 tonnes for hidden medication.
Chief Inspector Appeal Yiu-kwong of the bureau stated the drive discovered 225kg of cocaine bricks in 9 bins created from I-shaped metallic beams utilized in development.
“The syndicate employed staff who we consider had no information of the medication to unload the metallic on-site, with syndicate members controlling the operation,” Appeal stated.
Police stated officers apprehended two staff and two alleged members of the syndicate on the warehouse, arresting the latter pair.
The cocaine had a avenue worth of greater than HK$200 million.
The 2 suspects arrested have been an unemployed man surnamed Tse, 22, and a person surnamed Yip, 29, who labored as a handler.
The remainder of the scrap metallic discovered on the warehouse didn’t include any medication.
Tam stated the drive must examine whether or not the majority of the cocaine was meant for the native market or for transferring to different international locations.
However from previous expertise, he stated, cargo shipments contained a bigger quantity of medicine, which might often be saved domestically earlier than sale.
Tam stated the drive had acquired intelligence {that a} cargo with medication from Suriname would arrive within the metropolis and positioned it by tracing cargo arrivals from the South American nation.
“We’ve got methods to analyze cargo shipments to town, resembling tracing order numbers,” he stated.
The 2 suspects will seem at Fanling Court docket on Monday for allegedly trafficking in unlawful medication.
Final 12 months, police and the Customs and Excise Division intercepted 3,357kg of cocaine, a 55.7 per cent rise from 2022. The quantity of ketamine, methamphetamine, hashish and heroin seized final 12 months additionally rose by 25 per cent and 220 per cent.
Tam stated the rising development of large-scale busts was not distinctive to Hong Kong, citing a United Nations Workplace on Medication and Crime examine that discovered the worldwide provide of unlawful medication had been rising in recent times.
“That stated, we’ll proceed with our efforts to have joint operations and intelligence exchanges with different legislation enforcement businesses world wide to fight these drug-trafficking actions,” Tam stated.
The haul, a few of which was hidden in bins of frozen fish, comprised 592kg of suspected cocaine and 91.2kg of suspected hashish buds. 4 males have been arrested on suspicion of drug trafficking.
Final September, customs officers confiscated HK$180 million value of cocaine in a raid on an industrial unit. A supply stated an investigation indicated that the 230kg of medicine seized have been meant for the native underground market.
