Hong Kong student, 14, arrested on suspicion of drug trafficking after police uncover more than HK$880,000 in narcotics at factory
- Officers earlier raided flat of Form Two teen, finding electronic smoking device containing suspected CBD and fliers advertising illegal cigarettes
- Force then searched factory unit in San Po Kong, seizing crack cocaine and Ice along with fliers for illegal gambling
A 14-year-old Hong Kong student has been arrested on suspicion of drug trafficking after police discovered more than HK$880,000 (US$112,100) worth of illegal drugs in a factory unit.
The force said on Thursday the teenager, a Form Two student, was detained a day earlier when officers raided a public housing flat at Kwai Fong Estate in Kwai Chung at about 10.20am.
Inside the flat, an electronic smoking device containing suspected CBD, or cannabidiol oil, was found along with fliers advertising the sale of contraband cigarettes.
In a subsequent search, officers raided a flat in a Tseuk Luk Street factory building in San Po Kong on Wednesday afternoon.
“On the premises, officers seized 409 grams of suspected crack cocaine, 238 grams of suspected cocaine and 33 grams of suspected Ice [crystal meth] along with packaging equipment,” police said on Thursday.
The haul had an estimated street value of HK$885,200, the force said. Fliers advertising illegal gambling were also found in the factory unit.
The teen was detained on suspicion of drug trafficking, possession of a controlled drug and possession of paraphernalia fit for illegal purposes.
As of Thursday morning, the suspect was still being held for questioning.
Police stressed the force “has zero tolerance for all drug activities and will continue stringent enforcement”.
Billion-dollar meth seizure biggest drugs bust in Hong Kong history
In Hong Kong, the maximum punishment for trafficking in a dangerous drug is life imprisonment and a HK$5 million fine.
Between January and September this year, 12 male students, aged 13 or 14, were “exploited by drug syndicates” and arrested on suspicion of trafficking illegal substances, according to police.
Although the figures showed the number of young people aged 10 to 20 arrested for various crimes had dropped by 15.5 per cent to 1,913 in the first three quarters of the year, police last month said the situation of vulnerable youths being exploited by lawbreakers to commit offences “remained a concern”.
Hong Kong police arrest 1 man, seize cocaine worth HK$63 million
In the first nine months of this year, seizures of the five major illegal drugs in the city – cocaine, cannabis, crystal meth, heroin and ketamine – dropped by 58.5 per cent to 4.4 tonnes from nearly seven tonnes logged in the same period last year.
Last month, customs officers confiscated a HK$1.1 billion haul of liquid meth disguised as cartons of coconut water. It is Hong Kong’s biggest seizure of drugs by value and the second largest by weight. In 1996, customs officers seized 7.2 tonnes of cannabis.
