Hong Kong airport customs nabs liquid cocaine worth US$2.9 million in second bottle-smuggling bust in two days
- Ten liquor bottles carrying 22kg (48.5lb) of suspected liquid cocaine are seized from luggage of a couple arriving from Peru
- A day earlier, customs officers found five bottles of wine carrying more than HK$11 million (US$1.4 million) worth of liquid cocaine on man arriving from Malaysia
Ten liquor bottles carrying about HK$23 million (US$2.9 million) worth of suspected liquid cocaine were seized from the luggage of a couple arriving from Peru on Wednesday, Hong Kong customs officials said, marking the second bottle-smuggling bust in two days.
The suspects – a 39-year-old man and a 28-year-old woman – were charged with one count of trafficking in a dangerous drug, a crime that carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment and a HK$5 million (US$637,950) fine. They will appear at West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts on Saturday.
The Customs and Excise Department on Friday said the couple arrived at Hong Kong International Airport on Wednesday from Lima, Peru, by way of Paris. During a customs check, officers found the 10 bottles containing about 22kg (48.5lb) of suspected liquid cocaine in their suitcases.
On Tuesday, customs officers found five bottles of wine carrying more than HK$11 million (US$1.4 million) worth of suspected liquid cocaine in the luggage of a man arriving from Malaysia.
The 30-year-old man was selected for a routine customs search at about 1am on Tuesday soon after he landed on a plane from Kuala Lumpur.
In September, police arrested four Malaysians – three men and one woman – with nine wine bottles, holding HK$20 million (US$2.5 million) worth of suspected liquid cocaine in a raid on a Cheung Sha Wan flat.
According to official statistics, customs and police seized 1,014kg (2,235lb) of cocaine in the first six months of 2019, nearly three times the 355kg (739lb) uncovered in the same period last year.
