Hong Kong police arrest 41 suspected drug dealers, including seven students, for selling narcotics via social media
- The suspected dealers are accused of using platforms like Facebook and Instagram to advertise their wares
- Undercover officers carry out arrests across the city while meeting the suspects to collect drugs ordered online
Seven Hong Kong students were among 41 suspected drug dealers arrested over the past three days after allegedly selling cannabis to undercover police over the internet, the force said on Friday.
During the operation, police confiscated illegal drugs with an estimated street value of HK$1.32 million, along with packaging equipment. The drugs included 5.1kg of cannabis, 264 grams of ketamine and 14 grams of crystal methamphetamine.
Senior Superintendent Ng Kwok-cheung said because entertainment venues, such as pubs, had temporarily closed because of coronavirus restrictions, an “increasing number of dealers had switched to the internet to sell illegal drugs”.
Describing such online activities as brazen and worrying, he said dealers made use of social media platforms, such as Instagram, Facebook and Telegram, to sell cannabis, adding that this helped them to find more buyers, especially among younger people.
Chief Inspector Ip Sau-lan said police had discovered more than 30 social media accounts that advertised a variety of drugs for sale.
“The price of narcotics and source of the drugs, along with their types, were openly posted on two such online accounts, which have hundreds of users,” she said. “Dealers also offered buyers services to help them make hand-rolled cannabis cigarettes.”
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Police began their undercover operation in June, with officers posing as customers to place online orders and gather evidence.
“After placing the orders, undercover agents arranged to collect drugs in face-to-face transactions at public places, such as MTR stations, bus stops and outside convenience stores in different districts,” Ng said.
Between Tuesday and Thursday, 36 of the 41 suspects were detained during the transactions. The remaining five were arrested when officers raided their homes.
Ng said he believed some of the suspects, who comprised 34 men and seven women, aged 14 to 45, were members of drug-trafficking syndicates.
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“We are still searching for those behind the syndicates,” he said.
Of the students arrested, five were at secondary school, and two were in further education. Eighteen of those taken into custody were unemployed, and most of the suspects have since been released on bail.
According to the force, officers had asked the social media platforms to remove posts relating to the drug deals.
In Hong Kong, trafficking in a dangerous drug carries a maximum penalty of life in prison and a HK$5 million fine.
According to latest figures, seizures of cannabis rose by 200 per cent to 735kg in the first half of this year, up from 242kg in the same period last year.
