Customs seize 2.6kg of cannabis, arrest two men
Updated at 7.15pm: Customs officers on Saturday seized 2.6 kilograms of herbal cannabis in a speed post package at the airport and arrested two men, a government spokesman said on Wednesday.
The cannabis, worth $170,000, was detected at the Airmail Centre when officers inspected a speed post parcel from Ghana with x-rays and found it suspicious.
The contents of the parcel was declared as a 'sample'.
Officers conducted a controlled delivery operation and arrested two Ghanaian men, aged 24 and 25. The 24-year-old is charged with 'trafficking in a dangerous drug' and would appear at a Tsuen Wan Magistrate on Thursday.
The 25-year-old man has been released.
The spokesman said drug trafficking can lead to a maximum penalty of life imprisonment and a fine of $5 million.
Police in Hong Kong are concerned about an increase in drug trafficking into the territory in recent years.
Health experts generally agree that cannabis smoking causes several of the same health problems as tobacco smoking, such as bronchitis and bronchial asthma.
Others have claimed it has physiological effects - including impaired motor skills in people smoking it as well as hallucinations and paranoia.