Hong Kong News

Nonpartisan, Noncommercial, unconstrained.
Tuesday, Mar 19, 2024

Hong Kong police seize HK$107 million worth of drugs, arrest 5 in raids

Hong Kong police seize HK$107 million worth of drugs, arrest 5 in raids

Police say one of the syndicates was using unwitting delivery workers to move its drugs around the city.

Hong Kong police seized more than HK$107 million (US$13.7 million) worth of illegal drugs and arrested five suspects over the past two days in a series of operations against two local trafficking syndicates.

The bulk of the drugs – nearly HK$79 million worth – was seized from one gang that was suspected of operating out of a hotel room and using unwitting workers from logistics companies for deliveries across the city.

Superintendent Chan Kong-ming, of the force’s narcotics bureau, said it was a new tactic used by traffickers in an effort to avoid detection by the authorities.

He said the syndicate rented many warehouses in different parts of the city to store the drugs, then placed delivery orders with the logistics companies instructing workers over the phone to go to the facilities to collect them.

“With the use of surveillance cameras installed in the warehouses, the gang could remotely control and instruct delivery men to enter the premises to pick up goods concealing drugs,” he said.

Chan said the entrances of the warehouses were fitted with smart locks, and the delivery workers were given passwords by phone to gain access. The drugs were then delivered to other traffickers or moved to another warehouse.

“Core members of this syndicate did not need to show up for these deliveries,” Chan said. “Drugs were concealed in daily necessities such as pillows and shoes. It was not easily detected from outside.”

Following an investigation, officers intercepted a 26-year-old man after he collected a box from a logistics company worker at Choi Ying Estate in Kowloon Bay on Wednesday afternoon.

Some of the drugs seized in the operations against the two syndicates.


In the box, police found 3kg of suspected cocaine hidden in plastic boots. In a raid on the man’s flat in the same public housing estate, officers seized another 580 grams of ketamine.

At the same time, officers raided a hotel room in Kwun Tong and arrested a 29-year-old man who was suspected of being a core member of the syndicate. Inside the room, police seized three mobile phones believed to have been used to control the drug trafficking activities.

Narcotics bureau officers then raided 16 industrial units in Kowloon and the New Territories, seizing a total of 53kg of suspected cocaine from six of them.

In a follow-up raid, police arrested another two men, both aged 19, and seized 4.5kg of suspected crystal meth, 6kg of suspected cocaine and 44 grams of suspected ketamine, along with packaging equipment.

Meanwhile, in the crackdown on the other syndicate, officers arrested a 17-year-old boy on suspicion of drug trafficking after seizing a HK$28.4 million haul in Tsuen Wan on the same day, according to the bureau’s Chief Inspector Ip Sau-lan.

Police said the investigation was continuing and further arrests were possible.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Hong Kong News
0:00
0:00
Close
It's always the people with the dirty hands pointing their fingers
Paper straws found to contain long-lasting and potentially toxic chemicals - study
FTX's Bankman-Fried headed for jail after judge revokes bail
Blackrock gets half a trillion dollar deal to rebuild Ukraine
Steve Jobs' Son Launches Venture Capital Firm With $200 Million For Cancer Treatments
Google reshuffles Assistant unit, lays off some staffers, to 'supercharge' products with A.I.
End of Viagra? FDA approved a gel against erectile dysfunction
UK sanctions Russians judges over dual British national Kara-Murza's trial
US restricts visa-free travel for Hungarian passport holders because of security concerns
America's First New Nuclear Reactor in Nearly Seven Years Begins Operations
Southeast Asia moves closer to economic unity with new regional payments system
Political leader from South Africa, Julius Malema, led violent racist chants at a massive rally on Saturday
Today Hunter Biden’s best friend and business associate, Devon Archer, testified that Joe Biden met in Georgetown with Russian Moscow Mayor's Wife Yelena Baturina who later paid Hunter Biden $3.5 million in so called “consulting fees”
'I am not your servant': IndiGo crew member, passenger get into row over airline meal
Singapore Carries Out First Execution of a Woman in Two Decades Amid Capital Punishment Debate
Spanish Citizenship Granted to Iranian chess player who removed hijab
US Senate Republican Mitch McConnell freezes up, leaves press conference
Speaker McCarthy says the United States House of Representatives is getting ready to impeach Joe Biden.
San Francisco car crash
This camera man is a genius
3D ad in front of Burj Khalifa
Next level gaming
BMW driver…
Google testing journalism AI. We are doing it already 2 years, and without Google biased propoganda and manipulated censorship
Unlike illegal imigrants coming by boats - US Citizens Will Need Visa To Travel To Europe in 2024
Musk announces Twitter name and logo change to X.com
The politician and the journalist lost control and started fighting on live broadcast.
The future of sports
Unveiling the Black Hole: The Mysterious Fate of EU's Aid to Ukraine
Farewell to a Music Titan: Tony Bennett, Renowned Jazz and Pop Vocalist, Passes Away at 96
Alarming Behavior Among Florida's Sharks Raises Concerns Over Possible Cocaine Exposure
Transgender Exclusion in Miss Italy Stirs Controversy Amidst Changing Global Beauty Pageant Landscape
Joe Biden admitted, in his own words, that he delivered what he promised in exchange for the $10 million bribe he received from the Ukraine Oil Company.
TikTok Takes On Spotify And Apple, Launches Own Music Service
Global Trend: Using Anti-Fake News Laws as Censorship Tools - A Deep Dive into Tunisia's Scenario
Arresting Putin During South African Visit Would Equate to War Declaration, Asserts President Ramaphosa
Hacktivist Collective Anonymous Launches 'Project Disclosure' to Unearth Information on UFOs and ETIs
Typo sends millions of US military emails to Russian ally Mali
Server Arrested For Theft After Refusing To Pay A Table's $100 Restaurant Bill When They Dined & Dashed
The Changing Face of Europe: How Mass Migration is Reshaping the Political Landscape
China Urges EU to Clarify Strategic Partnership Amid Trade Tensions
The Last Pour: Anchor Brewing, America's Pioneer Craft Brewer, Closes After 127 Years
Democracy not: EU's Digital Commissioner Considers Shutting Down Social Media Platforms Amid Social Unrest
Sarah Silverman and Renowned Authors Lodge Copyright Infringement Case Against OpenAI and Meta
Why Do Tech Executives Support Kennedy Jr.?
The New York Times Announces Closure of its Sports Section in Favor of The Athletic
BBC Anchor Huw Edwards Hospitalized Amid Child Sex Abuse Allegations, Family Confirms
Florida Attorney General requests Meta CEO's testimony on company's platforms' alleged facilitation of illicit activities
The Distorted Mirror of actual approval ratings: Examining the True Threat to Democracy Beyond the Persona of Putin
40,000 child slaves in Congo are forced to work in cobalt mines so we can drive electric cars.
×