Hong Kong customs hunting runaway suspect after arresting six over HK$300 million cocaine bust
- Six arrested over drug-trafficking, money-laundering allegations but seventh suspect gets away, triggering manhunt
- Customs says it believes it has smashed transnational crime syndicate behind trafficking of HK$500 million worth of drugs in total from this case and another one last year
Hong Kong customs officials are hunting a 42-year-old suspected drug trafficker who escaped their clutches during the arrest of six others in connection with the seizure of about HK$300 million (US$38.4 million) worth of cocaine.
The suspects were also accused of money-laundering offences involving about HK$130 million, the Customs and Excise Department revealed on Friday.
About 260kg of suspected cocaine was found on October 19 in a refrigerated container storing frozen chicken legs at the Tsing Yi Customs Cargo Examination Compound following the shipment’s arrival from Brazil.
Six Hongkongers – three men and three women, aged 30 to 64 – were arrested between October 24 and Thursday in connection with the discovery. However, a seventh suspect, a 42-year-old local man surnamed Yeung, is still at large after fleeing an arrest operation.
Customs officials said they believed they had now smashed the transnational crime syndicate behind the trafficking of HK$500 million worth of drugs in total from this case and another one last year. The combined weight of the confiscated drugs was 500kg.
Lee Kam-wing, head of customs’ drug investigation bureau, suggested the most recent trafficking operation was amateurish.
“Although putting the drugs in a secret compartment seems perfect, this strategy is a low-end one,” he added. “This is because X-rays can easily detect the drug.”
He added it was the first time that customs had discovered drugs in the insulation material of a refrigerated container.
No one was arrested in the months following last year’s bust. But the aircraft engine case led investigators to the latest seizure through a complicated network of shell companies, with a 53-year-old woman surnamed Lam said to be at its centre.
After following the paper trail, customs officials opened a container that a food company previously owned by the woman imported into Hong Kong in early October.
They found 260kg of cocaine inside.
Officers monitoring the container spotted the 53-year-old suspect arriving in person for collection.
The container was transported to Sheung Shui on October 23 and subsequently transferred to a fenced area in San Tin after the frozen chicken legs were unloaded.
When two men attempted to take the drugs from the container the next day, officers arrested one of them, aged 30, but the other male suspect, 42, fled.
The 53-year-old woman, believed to be a syndicate member, was arrested in a hotel on Wednesday. Company documents and receipts relating to the two drug-trafficking cases were found inside the room.
Customs are expected to charge her with two counts of attempting to traffic dangerous drugs.
Another two women and a man were arrested in two flats on Wednesday. They are believed to have assisted the 53-year-old woman and have been released on police bail.
No details were yet available on the sixth arrestee.
Some of the drugs recovered in the customs operations were for local consumption, but most of them were destined for countries in Southeast Asia.
Under the Dangerous Drug Ordinance, anyone convicted of trafficking faces a fine of HK$5 million and life imprisonment.
