Hong Kong teenagers increasingly involved in illegal import of marijuana and cannabis products, customs officers warn
- Several youths arrested over an estimated HK$45 million worth of the drug brought in via air over the past four months
- About 380kg of the banned narcotic substances seized between July and November marks an increase of 211 per cent from the first half of this year
Hong Kong teenagers are increasingly involved in the illegal import of marijuana and cannabis products, the customs department has warned, with several youths arrested in connection with part of an estimated HK$45 million (US$5.8 million) worth of the drugs brought in via air over the past four months.
The 380kg of the banned narcotic substances seized between July and November represented an increase of 211 per cent from the first half of this year, a senior customs official said on Thursday.
Over that period, five secondary school students, aged 15 to 17, were arrested for allegedly collecting parcels containing the drugs during decoy operations in which customs officers posed as couriers making deliveries.
Two students under 18 years of age were apprehended in the first half of the year.
Acting senior superintendent Rita Li Yim-ping of the department’s syndicate crimes investigation unit said officers had noticed an increasing number of teenagers were involved in drug-trafficking this year, a trend she called “worrying”.
“Some claimed they were helping friends collect [the parcels], while others received monetary rewards,” she said, adding payments ranged from hundreds to thousands of Hong Kong dollars for each package.
