Hong Kong police arrest man, 26, after seizing HK$1.3 million worth of crack cocaine from flat used for drug-making
- Officers uncover packaging and manufacturing equipment in raid on Kwai Chung flat
- In separate street operation on same night, police detain man, 28, found with suspected ketamine and cocaine
Hong Kong police have arrested a 26-year-old man after seizing HK$1.3 million (US$166,400) worth of crack cocaine in a flat used for the production of the drug.
Anti-triad officers, acting on intelligence received, raided the Kwong Fai Lane flat in Kwai Chung at about 8pm on Tuesday.
“Officers seized a total of 1,011 grams of suspected crack cocaine from the man and in the flat, along with packaging and manufacturing equipment,” police said on Wednesday. The haul had an estimated street value of HK$1.3 million.
The 26-year-old man was detained on suspicion of drug trafficking and the manufacture of a dangerous drug, crimes punishable by up to life in prison and a HK$5 million fine under the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance.
As of noon on Wednesday, the suspect was still being held for questioning.
In a separate operation on the same night, police intercepted a 28-year-old man for a stop and search on On Luk Street in Ma On Shan.
Officers found 308 grams of suspected ketamine, 26 grams of suspected cocaine and packaging equipment in two bags the man was allegedly carrying at the time. The seized drug was worth about HK$218,000.
The man was detained on suspicion of trafficking in a dangerous drug. The force said the investigation was continuing and further arrests were possible.
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.
