Hong Kong customs seizes 3.8 tonnes of date rape drug GBL in first half of 2022, dwarfing amount detected over past decade
- Total amount of cannabis, cocaine, crystal meth, ketamine and heroin uncovered by customs officers rises 86 per cent to 1,533kg this year
- Despite significant increase in seizures, Customs and Excise Department says Hong Kong has not become a transit hub for illegal drugs
Hong Kong customs has confiscated 3.8 tonnes of a date rape drug so far this year, dwarfing the total amount seized in the decade since it was made illegal in 2012, latest figures have revealed.
The total amount of five major illegal drugs – cannabis, cocaine, crystal meth, ketamine and heroin – uncovered by customs officers also rose 86 per cent to 1,533kg this year from 821kg in the first six months of 2021. This year’s haul was estimated to be worth about HK$967 million.
Despite the significant rise in drug seizures, a spokesman for the Customs and Excise Department said in a reply to the Post that Hong Kong had not become a transit hub for narcotics, adding that the increase was the result of stringent enforcement.
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Up to June 20 this year, customs officers had seized 3,801kg of the date rape drug gamma-Butyrolactone (GBL) in seven shipments, 82 times more than 45.6kg they found in the whole of 2021, according to department statistics.
Over the past 10 years, officers had found 2,694kg of the drug, with the biggest annual haul in 2012 when 900kg was confiscated.
The dramatic increase in GBL seizures was the result of two major discoveries at Hong Kong International Airport’s cargo terminal, the Post has learned.
In the city’s biggest-ever single seizure of GBL, 2,127kg of the drug was found on March 1 in an air cargo consignment that arrived from Japan en route to mainland China.
Alarm bells over quantity of date rape drug arriving in Hong Kong
About seven weeks later, customs officers at the airport uncovered another 1,600kg of GBL, which was sent from Taiwan on April 8 with Singapore as its destination.
No arrests were made in the two cases.
A customs spokesman said the GBL detected this year was not intended for Hong Kong’s underground market, but was transiting through the city. In the past, he said, GBL seized in Hong Kong was mainly found in transshipment packages meant for overseas destinations.
GBL, a psychoactive substance, is a popular party drug and is legal in some countries. It is a clear and odourless industrial cleaner that is often used as a date rape drug. Users experience euphoria and reduced inhibitions. Stronger doses can cause sleepiness, confusion, dizziness and, in extreme cases, death.
Hong Kong listed GBL as a dangerous drug in 2012, meaning trafficking the substance to the city carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment and a HK$5 million fine.
Meanwhile, a customs official attributed the surge in confiscations of the five major narcotics to seven big finds.
In one case, officers from the customs drug investigation bureau dealt a heavy blow to a syndicate behind two shipments involving 700kg of crystal meth from Mexico in March.
The haul comprised 447 litres of liquid methamphetamine and 253kg of crystal meth, also known as Ice, with an estimated street value of HK$400 million.
They confiscated a total of 828kg of crystal meth worth HK$497 million as of June 20, a 560 per cent rise from the 125kg found between January and June in 2021. Ketamine seizures have amounted to 266kg so far this year, up from 151kg in the first six months of 2021.
Although the amount of cocaine detected in the first half of 2022 fell to 316kg from 331kg in the same period last year, customs officers confiscated 255kg worth HK$250 million in two separate operations in January and February.
“The increase in the volume of drugs seized in the first half of this year so far exemplifies stringent enforcement efforts of Hong Kong customs,” its spokesman said.
“The department reiterates that Hong Kong is definitely not a dangerous drugs transshipment hub. Transshipment seizures reflect nothing but the department’s effective enforcement actions.”
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He said it also showed customs’ determination in fulfilling its international role to combat drug trafficking activities.
Customs had been striving to combat cross-boundary drug trafficking and closely monitored global and local trends, the spokesman noted.
“Swift adjustments on enforcement strategies and resources deployment have been made with a view to stepping up actions against all kinds of drug trafficking activities through different channels, particularly in cargo and parcel channels,” he said.
