Hong Kong police seize HK$14 million worth of cannabis during raid on indoor marijuana farm in village
- In second closing down of indoor marijuana farm in two days, police arrest two men in Shap Long Chung Hau village on Lantau Island on Tuesday
- Officers do not rule out the possibility criminals are setting up illegal indoor marijuana farms locally because of travel restrictions amid pandemic
Hong Kong police have seized HK$14 million (US$1.8 million) worth of cannabis during a raid on a village house, with officers suspecting the travel restrictions imposed amid the coronavirus epidemic might have driven drug dealers to grow marijuana at home.
Officers on Tuesday arrested two men, both aged 34, at a two-storey Lantau village house while seizing about 529 cannabis plants and 4.65kg of the drug, closing down the second indoor marijuana farm in two days. Some plant-growing and packaging equipment was also seized.
“Police do not rule out the possibility that due to the entry restrictions, criminals will expand or set up illegal cannabis-growing facilities in Hong Kong,” Senior Inspector Wu Lung of the narcotics bureau said.
He was referring to the restrictions imposed on travellers from around the world amid the coronavirus outbreak, which were further tightened in Hong Kong from Tuesday midnight by barring non-residents from entering the city and quarantining all other arrivals.
Wu said police would enhance intelligence gathering and step up enforcement against such illegal activities.
