Man arrested at Hong Kong airport after HK$12 million haul of cocaine found in electric wheelchair
- Customs says officers searched electric wheelchair checked in by 51-year-old man arriving from Caribbean territory of Sint Maarten after X-ray
- Officers found chair’s seat cushion and backrest stitching had been unpicked and sewn back up again
The Customs and Excise Department on Sunday said the suspect, a 51-year-old man who claimed to be a car rental company director, arrived in the city from the Caribbean territory of Sint Maarten via Paris.
The man, who was using crutches, brought the electric wheelchair as one of his two pieces of checked baggage, customs said.
But officials decided to investigate further after an X-ray of the chair aroused suspicion.
Officers found signs that the chair’s seat cushion and backrest had been opened up and restitched and discovered 11kg (24lbs) of suspected cocaine hidden in concealed compartments.
The man was arrested on suspicion of trafficking a dangerous drug, an offence punishable with a maximum fine of HK$5 million and life imprisonment.
Customs said the man had told officials the wheelchair was loaned to him by a friend for use during his travels.
Drug smuggling through Hong Kong airport jumps sixfold in first eight months of year
The department promised to increase checks on visitors from high-risk regions as the city started to see a post-coronavirus pandemic increase in visitors after restrictions were lifted earlier this year.
A 65-year-old man was arrested in August for allegedly attempting to smuggle 2kg of cocaine worth HK$2.1 million hidden in three book covers.
The passenger arrived from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and was arrested as he tried to pass through customs.
Customs officers found 2kg of suspected cocaine, with an estimated market value of HK$2.1 million, concealed in the linings of three book covers in his rucksack.
Hong Kong customs arrests man for allegedly smuggling cocaine hidden in book covers
But the use of electric wheelchairs for drug smuggling is relatively rare in Hong Kong.
But US authorities last June detained a man at the Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport in Maryland as he attempted to smuggle 13.7kg of cocaine using the same method.
A similar incident at Charlotte Douglas International Airport in North Carolina in the US was foiled in the same month after officials seized 10.4kg of cocaine concealed in an electric wheelchair.
