Hong Kong customs arrests man over HK$16 million drug haul, including cocaine infused in candles
- Man, 20, arrested after he received parcel that had arrived from Brazil
- The mixing of drugs with wax is rare, customs source says
Hong Kong customs have arrested a man after seizing HK$16 million of cocaine and heroin in a parcel from Brazil, with some of the drugs infused in candles.
The arrest of the 20-year-old man on Thursday came after officers picked up an express parcel at Hong Kong International Airport two days earlier. The parcel, which contained six books, two necklaces and 15 white candles, initially showed no suspicious signs under X-ray examination. But the candles tested positive for cocaine when examined with an ion scanner.
A customs source said mixing drugs with wax was rare. “Though we have not yet extracted the narcotics from the candles, we believe there are about 11kg of suspected cocaine mixed with them,” he said.
Officers arrested the suspect in Kwun Tong for drug trafficking when he received the parcel.
According to officials, initial investigations showed that the suspect was also linked to another two drug cases, with the earlier one dating to last November, when officers found 325 grams of heroin in 13 sheets of laminated papers that arrived from Taiwan.
In the other case, in January, officers found 360 grams of suspected heroin concealed inside the false compartment of a suitcase that arrived from Cambodia.
The man in the latest cases was being detained for investigation. Drug trafficking is a serious offence in Hong Kong that carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
In 2020, Hong Kong customs seized 3.5 tonnes of illegal drugs, including 949kg of cocaine – up 51 per cent from 628kg in 2019.
