Hong Kong police arrest schoolboy, 16, seize HK$14 million in liquid cocaine after swooping on industrial building flat
- Officers raid San Po Kong flat after finding crack cocaine on the teen outside the building, which police believe was being used to manufacture narcotics
- Another 16-year-old arrested on drug charges after Mercedes-Benz pulled over in Yau Tong residential area
Police have arrested a 16-year-old Hong Kong schoolboy in an anti-narcotics operation that uncovered HK$14 million (US$1.8 million) worth of liquid cocaine inside a San Po Kong industrial building.
Acting on a tip, officers intercepted the Form Five student outside the building on Ng Fong Street on Thursday afternoon and found a small quantity of crack cocaine on him.
In a follow-up raid on one of the building’s flats, the liquid cocaine was discovered hidden inside 22 bottles along with drug-production equipment, according to police.
“Each bottle contained 1.5 litres of liquid cocaine, and the haul had an estimated street value of about HK$14 million,” a police source said.
But investigators do not believe the teen to be the mastermind of the operation.
“The investigation showed he was paid HK$6,000 each time for helping to manufacture illicit drugs,” another police insider said, adding he had been recruited on the internet while seeking part-time work.