Three suspects were arrested on Tuesday and Wednesday. The first man arrested, aged 29, appeared in Kowloon Court yesterday charged with trafficking in a dangerous drug. He was remanded in custody.

Slabs of cannabis were sliced into smaller blocks with an electric saw in the well-concealed 500 sq ft flat, said Daniel Cheung Chi-kwong, head of customs' drug investigation group.

'Inside one of the bedrooms, the drug was kept in vacuum-packed bags which were put inside plastic boxes to contain the strong smell,' he said.

Customs officers tracked drug couriers around the clock entering and leaving the flat about 10 times a day, picking up drugs for delivery to entertainment premises and private parties in Kowloon West.

Mr Cheung said the haul, the second largest in five years, was smuggled from Cambodia. In November 2001, officers seized 120kg of cannabis.

He said cannabis had been in short supply after crackdowns by customs and police last year.

Officers intercepted a car in Tai Kok Tsui on Tuesday, arrested the 29-year-old man and seized 3kg of cannabis. They believed the drug came from the Lai Chi Kok flat.

The next day, 30 customs officers intercepted another car leaving the car park of the Lai Chi Kok residential block. Two men, aged 22 and 30, were arrested. They were taken to the unit, where officers seized 77kg of cannabis and packaging equipment.

The two men - one a part-time TV actor - were being questioned last night. Officers are still hunting the mastermind and other syndicate members.