Hong Kong police seize HK$18.5 million worth of cocaine, arrest man in crackdown on syndicate using public housing flat for storage
- Senior Inspector Law Kai-yin says 26-year-old man put up ‘fierce struggle’ at Ho Man Tin Estate before arrest, with force seizing 17kg of suspected cocaine
- Investigation suggests public housing flat used by syndicate as storage facility in bid to avoid detection
The force on Wednesday revealed it had acted on intelligence the day before to intercept a 26-year-old man at Ho Man Tin Estate off Fat Kwong Street.
“When police declared their identities, the man put up a fierce struggle and attempted to escape. Eventually, officers subdued him,” said Senior Inspector Law Kai-yin of the narcotics bureau.
“Officers found 12 ‘bricks’ of suspected cocaine weighing a total of 12kg [26lbs] in two paper bags he was carrying.”
The man was detained on suspicion of trafficking in a dangerous drug and obstructing police in the execution of their duty.
He was then escorted to the flat in Yat Man House in the estate, where officers seized another 5kg of suspected cocaine.
Law said police seized a total of 17kg of the suspected drug, which had an estimated street value of HK$18.5 million, in the operation on Tuesday.
The cocaine was intended for sale in the city and the force was investigating its origins, he said.
According to police, the man had previously lived with his family in the flat and was unemployed.
The senior inspector said an investigation suggested the flat had been used to store the drugs for several weeks, with the suspect allegedly recruited by a trafficking syndicate to run the site and deliver the cocaine.
Law said the location was used in an attempt to avoid detection. Police had successfully prevented this batch of cocaine from circulating, he added.
As of Wednesday afternoon, the man was still in police custody. The investigation is continuing and further arrests have not been ruled out.
Provisional figures showed that seizures of the five major illegal drugs in the city – cocaine, cannabis, methamphetamine, heroin and ketamine – surged by two-thirds to 3,712kg in the first five months of this year from 2,227kg in the same period in 2022.
Seizures of cocaine increased by 228 per cent to 1,489kg between January and May, from 454kg in the same period last year.
