Hong Kong customs seizes drugs worth HK$4.4 billion in first 11 months of year in 2-decade record, 274 arrested
- Crystal meth, cocaine, ketamine and cannabis top list of 8.4-tonne haul, about half from airport
- Customs says successful operations thanks to cooperation with international law enforcement agencies
Hong Kong customs officers confiscated more than 8.4 tonnes of illegal drugs worth HK$4.4 billion (US$563.2 million) in the first 11 months of 2023, a record for any single year over the past two decades.
The Customs and Excise Department seized 2.2 tonnes of crystal meth with an estimated street value of HK$1.3 billion, about 1.5 tonnes of cocaine worth HK$1.4 billion and 1.6 tonnes of ketamine worth HK$813 million, according to provisional figures obtained by the Post.
Cannabis, also known as marijuana, accounted for more than a quarter of the total, mostly coming from North America. Officers seized 2.3 tonnes worth nearly HK$50 million.
2 Hong Kong residents arrested at airport on suspicion of drug trafficking
In the first 11 months of the year, 274 people were arrested over alleged drug-related offences, up from 163 over the same period last year.
The quantity of drugs seized was 43 per cent more than the 5.8 tonnes over the same period last year, said Superintendent Ip Kwok-leung of customs’ drug investigation bureau.
“This year’s drug seizures are more than in any full year since records began two decades ago,” he told the Post.
The previous record was the 6.9 tonnes of narcotics seized over the whole of last year.
Ip attributed the increase to “the cooperation and intelligence exchange with mainland [Chinese] and overseas law enforcement agencies”.
One joint operation led to the seizure of HK$170 million worth of crystal meth and the arrest of three men in Hong Kong in August. The haul came from Mexico and was destined for Australia.
The transnational operation also led Australian authorities to arrest a 28-year-old man in Sydney.
With Covid-19 travel restrictions lifted, customs officials resumed overseas trips to meet their counterparts, exchange intelligence and discuss ways to combat international drug trafficking.
In September, Hong Kong customs officers met anti-drug trafficking agencies from the mainland and overseas to improve collaboration and intelligence sharing. Similar meetings were also held in February.
This year, cannabis, ketamine and heroin recorded the biggest increases by weight among the seized drugs.
The 2.3 tonnes of cannabis seized was up from over 410kg found from January to November last year.
The ketamine haul rose to 1.6 tonnes from over 470kg, and the 280kg of heroin seized was up from nearly 90kg over the first 11 months of last year.
Half of the drugs, or 4.5 tonnes, seized this year were found at Hong Kong International Airport.
The drugs were found in air consignments and from arriving travellers. That was double the 2.2 tonnes confiscated at the airport in the same period last year.
Hong Kong family of 4 arrested on suspicion of drug trafficking
Another 3.2 tonnes was found hidden in seaborne shipments and 138kg was seized at land control points, up from 2.3 tonnes and 71kg respectively for the same period last year.
Drug seizures within Hong Kong itself fell to 565kg from 1.2 tonnes over the same period last year, which Ip said was thanks to tighter law enforcement.
Ip said after travel restrictions were lifted, international drug dealers took advantage of the resumption of the cross-border cargo deliveries and influx of visitors to smuggle narcotics into the city through various routes.
“Our frontline officers kept their high vigilance at different air, land and sea control points, leading to more drug seizures,” he said.
100 arrested over drug smuggling worth HK$220 million this year at Hong Kong airport
The use of couriers to smuggle illegal drugs into the city mostly stopped for 17 months during the pandemic, but resumed this year.
Of the total arrests up to November, nearly 100 were arriving travellers caught at the airport. Only 20 were arrested over the same period last year.
Ip pledged that customs would not lower its guard and would keep up its mix of strategies, including close cooperation with global law enforcement agencies.
“We will adjust our enforcement strategies in a timely manner to cope with ever-changing drug smuggling trends,” he said.
