Hong Kong customs arrests 100 passengers at airport over drug smuggling this year, seizes narcotics worth HK$220 million
- Number of visitors arrested at airport over drug trafficking this year rises by four times, and value of narcotics confiscated increases by 845 per cent
- Customs says uptick attributed to enhanced enforcement at airport after major travel restrictions dropped earlier in the year
Official data obtained by the Post revealed the number of visitors arrested for alleged drug trafficking this year, as of Sunday, rose by four times compared with the same period in 2022, and the value of narcotics confiscated increased by 876 per cent.
Superintendent Sky Fung Wai-ching of customs’ drug investigation bureau on Wednesday attributed the uptick to enhanced enforcement at the airport.
“We expected international drug trafficking syndicates to step up their use of couriers to smuggle the illegal substances into the city since the end of coronavirus restrictions made travel easier in February,” Fung said.
“So we made timely adjustments in law enforcement strategies at the airport’s passenger channels, resulting in more arrests and drug seizures this year.”
The data as of Sunday showed customs officers at the airport this year arrested 100 inbound travellers and confiscated 233kg (513lbs) of illegal drugs with an estimated street value of HK$220 million.
They apprehended 20 alleged drug traffickers and seized 24.7kg of narcotics worth HK$22 million in the same period in 2022.
According to the Customs and Excise Department, this year’s arrests relate to 75 separate cases of drug trafficking.
The use of couriers to smuggle illegal drugs into the city largely stopped for 17 months during the pandemic.
The first traveller arrested for drug trafficking at the airport since January 2021 was a 63-year-old man who arrived from Brazil in May last year. He was among 20 couriers detained over the whole of 2022.
Drugs seized at airport passenger channels this year were concealed in secret luggage compartments, stuffed toys and wine bottles, hidden in the bodies of suspects who had swallowed pellets or disguised as food products and skin lotion.
Twenty-five of the 100 suspects were found to have 26kg of drugs concealed internally. The seized drugs, mostly cocaine, had an estimated street value of HK$26 million.
In the same period last year, four air passengers were found to have 3.8kg of illegal drugs worth HK$3 million hidden internally.
Eleven of the 25 travellers found to be concealing drugs internally were caught over the past month in seizures worth HK$12 million.
A source familiar with the operations said air couriers usually took different routes to reach the city and avoid detection.
“Some came from South America via the Middle East, while others arrived from Africa via Asian countries,” he said, adding that recently some couriers had arrived from European countries.
In the latest case on Tuesday, a Swedish man, 48, flew to the city from Paris and was arrested after being found to have an illegal drug concealed in his body.
He was chosen for inspection during customs clearance at the airport.
No illegal substances were found when officers examined his baggage, but he was taken to hospital where an X-ray examination of his body revealed pellets of suspected narcotics.
He was arrested on suspicion of drug trafficking on Wednesday after one of the pellets tested positive for cocaine, according to another source.
The man was being held in Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Yau Ma Tei as of the afternoon.
Customs officers are investigating whether the case is linked to another involving two women, who also arrived from the French capital and were arrested on Sunday after they were found to be concealing HK$2 million worth of cocaine in their bodies.
Superintendent Fung said customs would continue to swiftly adjust its enforcement measures and apply a risk assessment approach to select travellers arriving from high-risk regions for inspection.
In Hong Kong, trafficking in a dangerous drug is punishable by up to life in jail and a HK$5 million fine.
