Man detained on suspicion of drug trafficking after police pounce at Hong Kong public estate
- Man intercepted outside his car at Pak Tin Estate in Sham Shui Po, with police officers seizing suspected cocaine, ketamine and cannabis
- Suspect’s arrest follows series of police operations cracking down on city’s cannabis trade between April 11 and 20
The arrest followed a series of law enforcement operations to clamp down on cannabis, with officers detaining 41 suspects and seizing about HK$1.96 million (US$249,853) worth of the substance from April 11 to 20.
The man was intercepted outside his car at Pak Tin Estate off Nam Cheong Street in Sham Shui Po at about 10pm on Thursday.
“Officers seized suspected cocaine, ketamine and cannabis, weighing about 57 grams in total in the car and from the man. The haul has an estimated street value of HK$70,000,” police said on Friday.
The suspect was detained on suspicion of trafficking in a dangerous drug – an offence punishable by up to life in prison and a HK$5 million fine.
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As of Friday morning, the man was still being held for questioning and had not been charged. Detectives from the Sham Shui Po special duty squad are investigating the case.
The force’s narcotics bureau revealed on the same day that 38 men and three women, aged between 18 and 54, were picked up during a series of anti-cannabis operations since April 11. The suspects included four university students and one high school pupil.
Officers relied on intelligence and undercover agents to intercept individuals suspected of selling cannabis through social media. The bureau said it had discovered that youngsters were paid several hundred dollars to traffic the substance or use their names to rent premises to store it.
During the 10-day operations, officers seized a total of 6.5kg of herbal cannabis, 4.1 kg of cannabis buds, 300 grams of cannabis oil and 31.5 grams of cannabis-infused candies.
Five of the suspects were charged with drug trafficking or drug possession, while the rest were released on bail pending further investigation.
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Seizures of five major illegal drugs – cocaine, cannabis, crystal meth, heroin and ketamine – more than doubled to 10,627kg last year from 4,678kg the year before.
Local authorities confiscated 2,088kg of cannabis in 2021, up 95 per cent from 1,071kg in 2020.
According to data from the Security Bureau’s Narcotics Division, the number of those aged under 21 who were reported to have used cannabis rose 48 per cent from 326 in 2020 to 483 last year.
Police said 624 youngsters aged below 21 were arrested for drug-related offences last year. According to the force, 257 of them were involved in offences related to cannabis, up 35 per cent from 191 in 2020.
The force, meanwhile, launched an anti-drug campaign on Wednesday with a short film based on true events about teenagers being lured into trafficking narcotics.
The initiative will also feature talks at international schools, an animated series on the harm caused by drugs and informative social media posts on cannabis abuse.
