Hong Kong authorities seize more than 1 tonne of cocaine in first six months of 2019, in biggest haul since 2003 – ketamine and marijuana busts also skyrocket
- Authorities say 1,014kg is nearly three times the amount of cocaine grabbed over same period last year
- Ketamine seizures up more than 140 per cent and marijuana up more than 60 per cent
Hong Kong authorities have confiscated more than one tonne of cocaine, worth at least HK$1 billion (US$127.9 million), in the first half of this year, including 421kg captured by customs – most of which was bound for Australia on a private jet.
The police said in a statement yesterday that the 1,014kg seized this year was the biggest haul in the city since records began in 2003, and nearly three times the 355kg that customs and police uncovered in the same period last year.
More than 40 per cent of this year’s seized cocaine came from a major bust of a Balkan drug cartel by Hong Kong customs officials working with the US Drug Enforcement Administration and the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol).
The operation – code named “Familia” – started with Hong Kong customs officers arresting five men and grabbing 421kg of cocaine in three cases in April. The cocaine taken in the three operations had been shipped to the city from South America.
“We believe most the drugs were supposed to be smuggled to Australia by a private jet,” said Lee Kam-wing, head of the Drug Investigation Bureau of the Customs and Excise Department.