Hong Kong man arrested in possession of US$4,210 of crystal meth ‘may have used rice dumplings to conceal his drug trafficking’
- The 55-year-old man was stopped at a police checkpoint in Sham Shui Po at about 1am on Tuesday, and HK$160,000 in cash was found in his car
A suspected drug trafficker was arrested and HK$33,000 (US$4,210) worth of crystal meth seized, along with HK$160,000 in cash and a bag of zongzi rice dumplings when his BMW was intercepted at a police checkpoint in Hong Kong in the early hours of Tuesday.
A police source said it was possible the bag of rice dumplings was used to conceal the suspect’s drug trafficking.
“The suspect might believe he would come under less scrutiny from police in a stop and search if he pretended to deliver rice dumplings with the approach of the Dragon Boat Festival,” he said.
The car was intercepted at the checkpoint for inspection at about 1am at the junction of Tai Po Road and Wong Chuk Street in Sham Shui Po.
Police arrested the 55-year-old driver for drug trafficking following the seizure of 62 grams of meth, also known as Ice, in four bags along with HK$160,000 in cash, which was in the vehicle. The bag of rice dumplings was found in the front passenger seat.
Customs seize HK$6 million of suspected cocaine in luggage of Tuen Mun resident
Police said the drugs seized had an estimated street value of HK$33,000.
A sniffer dog was also deployed but no further drugs were found in the car.
As of 12pm, the man, a Hong Kong resident, was still being held for questioning and had not been charged.
Separately, officers from the special duties squad of Yau Tsim police district arrested a man, 39, and a woman, 41 and seized HK$246,000 worth of illegal drugs during a raid on a hotel room in Yau Ma Tei at about 10.30pm on Monday.
Customs officers smash drugs ring and seize HK$100 million worth of cocaine
The seizure included 121 grams of drug Ice, 54 grams of cocaine, 146 grams of heroin and 22 grams of cannabis, according to police. An electronic scales and packaging equipment were also found in the hotel room.
Figures show local authorities seized 604kg of cocaine in 2018, a rise of 174 per cent on the 220kg seized in 2017. Seizures of the drug Ice also rose by 149 per cent to 359kg in 2018, from 144kg the previous year.
