Hong Kong police find cocaine worth HK$366 million inside hole in the ground at warehouse
- Police unearth 424kg of the drug, making it largest cocaine bust this year
- Officers also arrested four men and one woman aged between 22 and 25
Hong Kong police have seized 424kg of suspected cocaine worth about HK$366 million (US$47 million) hidden mostly in a hole in the ground at a warehouse, making it the largest bust of the drug this year.
Senior Superintendent Cheung Tin-lok on Friday said officers from the narcotics bureau on Wednesday had found 396 bricks of suspected cocaine – weighing around 1kg each – concealed inside a pit located in a warehouse in Yuen Long.
Another 28kg of suspected cocaine was later discovered in a metal hut owned by the same syndicate in Yuen Long.
Four men and one woman aged between 22 and 25 were arrested and detained. Police said they would lay a holding charge against them, with one count of drug trafficking.
Cheung said in a press conference that the 424kg of cocaine was the city’s biggest seizure of the drug this year.
“This is also the first time police have found someone using a hole in the ground to hide drugs and avoid detection by law enforcement officers,” Cheung said.
Police said they believed the drug syndicate behind the stash had planned to sell the cocaine during the coming new year, Lunar New Year and Easter holidays to gain huge profits.
