Five-fold increase in ketamine seizures
Seizures of ketamine surged nearly five-fold in the first six months of this year.
But Hong Kong's security chief yesterday denied its use was soaring and attributed the increase to interceptions of the drug in transit.
In all, 316kg of ketamine were seized between January and last month, 496 per cent more than the 53kg in the same period last year.
The surge was the main blot in a crime report delivered by Secretary for Security Ambrose Lee Siu-kwong that showed a drop of 6 per cent in overall crime and a 0.7 per cent dip in violent crime.
After yesterday's quarterly meeting of the Fight Crime Committee, Mr Lee said there were no indications ketamine use was rising in Hong Kong.
Despite the discovery last week of Mongkok nightclubs selling large amounts of the drug, he said the number of registered drug addicts continued to decline.
'The increase in seizures is mainly attributed to good international co-operation and seizures that are made at our control points,' Mr Lee said.
'A large quantity of ketamine has been seized at our control points when the drugs were transiting Hong Kong to other countries and territories.'
He said one such case involved a large shipment from the mainland bound for Malaysia.
The amount of Ice seized also surged by 133 per cent, to 35kg, during the first six months of this year.
Mr Lee did not say whether there were concerns that the amount of drugs passing through Hong Kong was rising.
Until 2002, the CIA labelled the city a hub for drug transshipment in Southeast Asia - a designation that angered the government.
In the latest edition of the CIA World Factbook, Hong Kong is described as '[making] strenuous law enforcement efforts, but faces difficult challenges in controlling transit of heroin and methamphetamine to regional and world markets ... and rising indigenous use of synthetic drugs, especially among young people.'
