Hong Kong police arrest father and 2 daughters over drug trafficking, seize HK$28 million worth of heroin
- Police say 24kg of heroin found at trio’s Tseung Kwan O flat after 23-year-old daughter intercepted nearby
- Citywide, officers have confiscated HK$586 million worth of narcotics in 12 major seizures of illegal drugs in the past month alone
Police have arrested a family of three for suspected drug trafficking – a father and two daughters in their 20s – following the seizure of HK$28 million (US$3.6 million) worth of heroin in a raid on their Hong Kong home.
Officers said they found two slabs of the drug weighing 600 grams in total on the 23-year-old sister when they intercepted her in a Tseung Kwan O estate.
Detective Inspector Wong Yuk-ching, of Tseung Kwan O criminal investigation unit, said the probe suggested the woman was in the process of delivering the packages to others at the time.
Hong Kong customs seizes HK$230 million worth of drugs hidden in food shipments
Officers then raided her public housing flat on the same Hau Tak estate, off Sheung Ning Road.
“Another 70 slabs of suspected heroin weighing 24kg in total were seized inside a bedroom,” Wong said.
The estimated street value of the haul is HK$28 million.
Wong said officers arrested her 45-year-old father and 20-year-old sister at the flat. The younger sister is a postsecondary student and the father is a merchant.
The three suspects were detained for trafficking in a dangerous drug – an offence that carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.
Wong said police believed the consignment was for local consumption. He added officers were still investigating the roles of the trio in the drug-trafficking syndicate which had been operating for several weeks.
As of Thursday afternoon, they were still being held for questioning and had not been charged. According to the force, the investigation was continuing and further arrests were possible.
Over the past four weeks, police and customs officers have confiscated HK$586 million worth of narcotics in 12 major seizures of illegal drugs.
According to the latest official statistics, seizures of five major illegal drugs – cocaine, cannabis, crystal meth, ketamine and heroin – rose 63 per cent to about 3.68 tonnes in the first six months of this year, from around 2.25 tonnes in the same period the year before. Ecstasy seizures also rose sharply to 21,770 tablets, up 745 per cent.
Stressing that trafficking in a dangerous drug was a serious offence, Inspector Cheung Wing-lam warned youths not to be lured into such illegal activities by monetary reward.
The number of people aged between 10 and 20 arrested for drug offences also rose by nearly 66 per cent to 224 between January and June this year, from 135 over the same period last year.
