Hong Kong customs arrests duo flying from Mozambique over HK$16.5 million meth haul
- Man and woman arrested at airport after officers discover 33.5kg of suspected narcotic hidden down backs of oil paintings and concealed in handicraft items
- ‘Customs will continue to apply a risk assessment approach and focus on selecting passengers from high-risk regions for clearance’, department vows
Hong Kong customs officers have arrested two people travelling from Mozambique on suspicion of trafficking HK$16.5 million (US$2.1 million) worth of methamphetamines.
The Customs and Excise Department on Saturday said a 27-year-old woman and a 29-year-old man were arrested after officers found about 33.5kg (73.8lbs) of suspected narcotics hidden down the backs of 10 oil paintings and concealed in 54 handicraft items stored in their check-in luggage.
The duo landed in Hong Kong on Friday after flying from Maputo, the capital of Mozambique, and making a transit stop at Doha. An investigation is still ongoing.
“Following the resumption of normal travel and exchanges with the mainland and other parts of the world, the number of visitors to Hong Kong has also been increasing steadily,” the department said.
“Customs will continue to apply a risk assessment approach and focus on selecting passengers from high-risk regions for clearance to combat transnational drug trafficking activities.”
In Hong Kong, those convicted of drug trafficking can face a maximum penalty of life imprisonment and a fine of up to HK$5 million.
Earlier this week, two Hong Kong residents returning from Italy were arrested at the airport on suspicion of trafficking HK$36 million worth of ketamine and liquid cocaine.
Customs seized 128kg of illegal drugs from inbound air passengers over the first eight months of 2023, an increase of 652 per cent from the amount discovered over the same period last year.
But the surge is still a far cry from the amount confiscated before the Covid-19 pandemic, with the department seizing 256kg of illegal drugs from air passengers in 2019.
