Search under way in Hong Kong for 2 suspected smugglers who jumped into sea after high-speed marine chase
- Authorities launch air-and-sea search for two men after intercepting their boat in city’s southeastern waters, but another vessel managed to flee scene
- Suspects tried to throw authorities off course by flinging over 10 boxes of smuggled goods overboard during dramatic chase, according to source
An air-and-sea search in Hong Kong is under way for two suspected smugglers who jumped from their speedboat to evade capture after a dramatic chase by customs officers.
At about 10.30pm on Tuesday, two speedboats, each with two men on board, were spotted by officers on an anti-smuggling mission. The boats were operating without lights in Victoria Harbour off Yau Tong, and thought to be carrying contraband.
Customs deployed two high-speed pursuit crafts to intercept the speedboats, which then accelerated towards Tung Lung Chau.
“During the chase, more than 10 boxes of smuggled goods were thrown overboard from one of the speedboats in an apparent move to create obstacles for the pursuit craft,” a law enforcement source said.
As authorities closed in on that boat to the west of Tung Lung Chau, the source said two men jumped into the sea in an effort to avoid being caught.
He said the other boat managed to flee toward the maritime boundary with mainland China.
Customs officers carried out a sea search at the scene, but found no trace of the two smugglers.