During the joint operation by the special duties unit -- “Flying Tigers”, and the marine police, four men were arrested.

Police recently received intelligence that a drug syndicate has been renting vehicles before Christmas for trafficking a significant amount of ketamine.

Officers then mounted an operation at Sam Ka Tsuen Ferry Pier in Yau Tong on Friday, where they spotted speedboats approaching the pier. They also found the suspects unloading the drug from the boat onto the pier and waiting for the getaway car.

Police then took actions and approached the suspects, including a man on the boat who jumped into the sea and tried to flee the scene. Still he was arrested by officers, so were three others at the pier.

Officers later seized 17 bags of drug at the pier and retrieved 31 bags of drug that were thrown into the sea, weighing about 1.26 tonnes and exceeding the amount of ketamine seized in the first 11 months this year.

The four arrestees included three Hongkongers and an Indian man, aged 32 to 47. Two local men have been charged with trafficking in dangerous drug and will appear in court tomorrow.

After primary investigation, police believed that the drug was delivered from Pakistan.