Hong Kong customs confiscates cannabis worth HK$30 million, arrests suspected triad member
- Customs officers ambush man leaving suspected drug storage facility in New Territories
- 159kg of cannabis was to be sold to young drug abusers during summer holidays, customs officer says
Hong Kong customs officers have arrested a suspected triad member and seized more than HK$30 million (US$3.8 million) worth of cannabis buds in a crackdown on a newly established illegal drug storage centre in the New Territories.
Investigations revealed the storage facility in the ground-floor flat of a two-storey house at Kam Tsin Village in Sheung Shui went into operation last week and the 159kg consignment was moved in several days before being uncovered on Thursday morning, according to a customs official.
“We believe the seized drug was for local consumption and young abusers would have been their targeted customers during the summer holidays,” Henry Fong Heung-wing, a divisional commander from customs’ drug investigation bureau, said on Friday.
He said a local drug ring behind the haul probably tried to take advantage of the reopening of entertainment venues, after the prolonged closure throughout the coronavirus pandemic, by bringing in the drug to make quick cash.
The Post has learned that the suspected Wo Shing Wo triad member arrested on Thursday was also linked to another haul of 383 marijuana plants customs officers found when they closed down an indoor farm in Pat Heung in July last year.
Acting on intelligence and a follow-up investigation, customs officers staged an ambush outside the house on Thursday morning. They intercepted the 30-year-old man when he left the house at about 10.30am.
One kilogram of suspected cannabis buds concealed in two vacuum-packed bags was found in a paper bag he was allegedly carrying.