Customs officers have confiscated 1.16 tonnes of illegal drugs at the Hong Kong International Airport in the first half of this year, double the 580kg of narcotics seized during the same period in 2021.

The latest official figures released on Thursday showed the value of the drugs, mostly discovered at the airport’s cargo terminal, had also increased by more than 30 per cent to HK$600 million (US$76.4 million) this year from HK$460 million during the first six months of last year.

A customs official said they believed the increase was the result of enhanced enforcement actions, which had pushed international drug dealers this year to change tactics when attempting to smuggle narcotics into the city.

Previously, illegal drugs were usually hidden in parcels airmailed into the city. This year, customs officers noticed an increase in the volume of narcotics found in air consignments, which can carry larger quantities of contraband.

“Amid our stringent inspection, they have changed their modus operandi using [air consignments] to smuggle a large number of illegal drugs into the city this year,” Assistant Superintendent Alan Lam Chak-lun of customs’ drug investigation bureau said.

In the first half of 2022, customs officers at the airport seized a total of 859kg of illegal narcotics worth HK$460 million in 51 drug trafficking cases involving the use of air consignments.

During the same period last year, customs seized 269kg of illegal drugs worth HK$215 million in 33 cases smuggled using the same method.

Lam said an investigation suggested that some of the drugs were intended for distribution via the city’s underground market, while the rest were destined for overseas.

“We will continue the exchange of intelligence with Macau and mainland authorities and overseas enforcement agencies to combat drug trafficking,” he said.

Among the five major illegal drug types seized at the airport, customs officers confiscated 576kg of crystal meth during the first half of 2022, a 12-fold increase from the 44kg confiscated during the same period last year.

The quantity of ketamine seized by customs rose 75 per cent to 258kg from 147kg, while the amount of cannabis confiscated increased by 30 per cent to 114kg this year.

Customs also discovered 82kg of cocaine this year, down 59 per cent from 198kg in the same period last year. The amount of heroin seized also dropped 64 per cent to 14kg in the first half of 2022.

Assistant Superintendent Fannie Chan Pui-fan of customs’ air cargo research division said they would continue to adopt various strategies and a flexible deployment of resources to combat drug trafficking activities.

“The rise in the drug seizures has demonstrated our successful adjustments on enforcement strategies and resources deployment,” she said.

With the coronavirus pandemic showing signs of easing, travel restrictions in some countries have been relaxed, Lam said the number of tourists coming to Hong Kong was expected to increase, with customs needing to prepare for drug trafficking activities involving inbound travellers.

In May, a 63-year-old man flying into the city from Brazil became the first air traveller to be arrested for drug trafficking since January 2021, with customs seizing HK$4.6 million worth of suspected cocaine hidden in his suitcase and briefcase.

Last year, the amount of narcotics seized which belonged to the five major illegal drug types – cocaine, cannabis, crystal meth, heroin and ketamine – more than doubled to 10,627kg from 4,678kg in 2020.