Three arrested and HK$9 million worth of cocaine, ketamine and crystal meth seized as Hong Kong police raid illegal drug factory
Total of HK$12 million in contraband confiscated and seven people arrested in separate operations over two days
Hong Kong police launched multiple anti-drug operations over two days, seizing more than HK$12 million (US$1.53 million) worth of illegal substances and shutting down an illegal drug manufacturing centre in a Yuen Long village house.
In a raid at about 11pm on Wednesday, two men and a woman were caught at a drug factory in a two-storey house at Wang Chau Fuk Hing Tsuen off Fuk Hi Street in Yuen Long. They were arrested on suspicion of drug trafficking and other offences.
Officers first stopped a man at Tseng Tau Tsuen in Wang Chau and seized 0.9 kg of crystal meth. Another 4.7kg of crystal meth, 3.5kg of cocaine and 4.7kg of ketamine were found in his home in nearby Wang Chau Fuk Hing Tsuen, along with 10 knives, a retractable baton and an air gun. Also seized were HK$80,000 in cash, and some manufacturing and packaging equipment.
Another man and a woman in the house were also arrested.
Police said the village house was being used as a site for turning cocaine into crack cocaine. The haul was worth HK$9 million.
Officers from the Yuen Long police district special duties squad uncovered the factory following a tip-off. As it involved a drug production centre, officers from the Narcotics Bureau were called in to take over the investigation.
A police source said said officers were still investigating how long the factory had been in operation and whether the finished product was for local consumption.
On Wednesday evening, officers from the Narcotics Bureau arrested another man outside a building on Tai Kok Tsui Road and found 8g of cocaine on him. Another 300g of cocaine, 3.9kg of crystal meth and packaging tools were recovered from his home. The haul was valued at about HK$2.43 million.
Police said the three male suspects in these cases were non-refoulement claimants.
Meanwhile, two suspected drug traffickers were arrested following the seizure of HK$1.3 million worth of suspected crack cocaine from a village house near the border with mainland China.
The suspects – a man, 23, and a woman, 28 – were picked up in the building in Lok Ma Chau Tsuen off Ha Wan Tsuen East Road during a police raid on Wednesday evening. The village is a short distance from the Lok Ma Chau immigration control point.
“During the operation, about 1.1kg of suspected crack cocaine was seized. The haul has an estimated street value of HK$1.3 million,” the force said.
Officers believed the village house was being used as a drug storage centre, and the seized contraband was intended for entertainment venues in the Kowloon East region.
Police arrested the two Hongkongers on suspicion of drug trafficking. As of Thursday morning, the pair were still being held for questioning.
Separately, a cabby was arrested on Wednesday last week for drug trafficking after police intercepted his taxi in Mong Kok at about 9pm and seized HK$250,000 worth of crack cocaine.
Trafficking in a dangerous drug is a serious offence that carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment and a HK$5 million fine.
Local authorities seized 355kg of cocaine across the city in the first six months of this year, a 97.2 per cent rise from 180kg in the same period last year.
