Baking powder swapped for gang's cocaine, court told
Four men used a truck and a goods van to transport what they believed was HK$9 million worth of cocaine across Hong Kong, but the illicit cargo had been substituted for baking powder, a court was told yesterday.
Police had swapped the cocaine for baking powder after finding the drug consignment in a shipment of cocoa at the airport, Mrs Justice Verina Bokhary and a jury were told in the Court of First Instance.
The four suspects - Chan Chu-leung, Ng Hon-yin, Hui Yiu-mo and Yim Chi-ho, aged 21 to 35 and all unemployed - were arrested on February 19 last year and jointly charged with one count of attempting to traffic in dangerous drugs. Their trial began yesterday.
Prosecutor Thomas Iu said that while the men never had the cocaine in their possession, they knew when they went to pick up the cargo that it was to contain dangerous drugs.
Iu said customs and excise officers found two boxes containing 6.6kg of cocaine in 25 packets among 20 boxes of cocoa powder, which arrived from Amsterdam at about 9.30am on February 19 last year.
Police were called and replaced the cocaine with baking powder, and the boxes were sent back into the cargo system at about 1.30 pm, he said.
At 4pm, a truck driver hired to work for the accused went to the airport to collect the cargo and transport it to Kin Fat Lane in Tuen Mun, the prosecutor said. Ng, who accompanied the load, had arranged for the powder to be repacked at Kin Fat Lane, he said.
A light goods van was hired to pick up the repacked boxes and Ng at Kin Fat Lane at about 7.30pm. The van was then driven towards Tsim Sha Tsui.
Iu said Chan followed the van in a private car, while Hui and Yim escorted the van from Tuen Mun to Tsim Sha Tsui in another private car.
The prosecutor said Hui and Yim observed from a distance while the van driver unloaded the boxes at a building in Granville Circuit before leaving the vicinity.
The boxes were then taken to a unit on the 3rd floor of Wing Hing Mansion in Granville Circuit, where Chan and Ng were arrested, the court heard.
Hui and Yim were arrested at a noodle shop in Tsim Sha Tsui, the court was told.
Iu said the market value of the seized cocaine was estimated at more than HK$9 million.
The hearing before the sevenperson jury continues today.
