Hong Kong police make biggest-ever ketamine bust, seizing HK$437 million worth of the drug hidden inside macaroni packages
- The haul, most of which was found in a Kwai Chung warehouse, contained more of the illicit drug than was seized in any single year since 2007
- A 23-year-old man arrested in Yuen Long on suspicion of trafficking led them to the location
Hong Kong police have made their biggest-ever seizure of ketamine, uncovering a 682kg stash with an estimated street value of HK$437 million (US$56 million).
The haul, shipped into the city from Pakistan in packages labelled “macaroni”, contained more of the illicit drug than was seized in any single year since 2007, Chief Superintendent Lam Man-han of the Narcotics Bureau said on Friday.
After discovering a rental flat at a private housing estate in Yuen Long was being used as a drug storage and distribution centre, police lay in wait on Wednesday.
They stopped a 23-year-old man as he left the block, and seized 2kg of ketamine which they found in his backpack. Another 5.5kg of the drug was found inside the flat.
After learning the narcotics had been picked up at a Kwai Chung warehouse, officers escorted the suspect there, where another 674.8kg was seized.
“There were more than 1,650 boxes of macaroni and spaghetti in the warehouse. More than 1,600 bags of ketamine were found concealed inside 71 of the boxes, and each bag contained 400 grams of the drug,” Senior Superintendent Ng Kwok-cheung said at a press conference.