Hong Kong customs officials seize wine bottles filled with HK$11 million worth of liquid cocaine – in second such bust in a month

Five bottles of red wine were found in check-in luggage of man arriving from Malaysia – each held two litres of suspected liquid cocaine

Customs and police seized 1,014kg of cocaine in the first six months of 2019, nearly three times the amount uncovered last year

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A customs officer said the haul had an estimated street value of HK$11.6 million. Photo: Handout

Published: 8:14pm, 23 Oct 2019Updated: 8:50pm, 23 Oct 2019

Five bottles of wine carrying more than HK$11 million worth of suspected liquid cocaine were found in the luggage of a man arriving from Malaysia, according to the Customs and Excise Department.

The 30-year-old was selected for a routine customs search at Hong Kong International Airport at about 1am on Tuesday soon after he landed on a plane from Kuala Lumpur.

“Five red wine bottles were found inside his check-in luggage and each bottle contained two litres of suspected liquid cocaine,” a senior customs officer said on Wednesday. Nine grams of a substance suspected to be the methamphetamine Ice were also seized in the luggage.

The customs officer said the haul had an estimated street value of HK$11.6 million (US$1.48 million) and officers were investigating whether it was for local consumption.

The suspect was arrested on suspicion of trafficking in a dangerous drug, an offence that carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment and a HK$5 million fine.