Hong Kong police make biggest Ecstasy seizure in 20 years, intercept drugs worth HK$5.2 million and arrest 3 in Sai Kung
- Police say they discovered 33.3kg of illegal drugs in house in Kau Sai San Tsuen, including 46,000 Ecstasy pills
- Man and his girlfriend and mother arrested for alleged trafficking and possession of dangerous drugs
Senior Inspector Chu Siu-lun of the narcotics bureau revealed on Saturday that officers had uncovered an alleged drugs warehouse in a house in Sai Kung on Thursday.
They found 33.3kg of illegal drugs in the house in Kau Sai San Tsuen, including 46,000 Ecstasy pills weighing 23kg in total.
“We have discovered that some drug-trafficking syndicates use houses in remote villages as a cover. They will rent units for storing drugs before selling them in parts,” Chu said.
Officers also seized 5kg of cannabis buds and 327 grams of Etomidate, a short-acting injected anaesthetic listed as a Class A poison, in the house.
Chu said the haul of Ecstasy pills was the biggest intercepted since 2004, while the amount of Etomidate found was the most in the past decade.
A man, his girlfriend and his mother, aged between 21 and 47, were arrested at the scene for alleged drug trafficking and possession of dangerous drugs.
The drugs had an estimated street value of HK$5.2 million, Chu said.
The man is expected to be charged at Kwun Tong Court on Monday, while the two women have been granted bail.
Chu said officers first stopped the man outside the village house, discovering a paper box containing 5kg of cannabis buds in airtight packaging, before going into his home, where they found the rest of the drugs.
The senior inspector said Etomidate was usually administered by registered medical professionals as an anaesthetic or sedative. An overdose of the drug could cause irreversible neural damage, breathing stoppage and bronchial spasms, he warned.
“This is our seventh interception of Etomidate in our records. In the past six cases, we had found the substance inside vape pens after laboratory tests. The products in ready-made powder form in our bust this time are rare,” Chu said.
On Wednesday, police raided a flat in Cheung Sha Wan and seized 2.6kg of cocaine and crack cocaine worth HK$3.1 million. Officers arrested one suspect.
The flat was suspected to be a drug manufacturing and storage facility that had been in operation for a month.
Trafficking in a dangerous drug is punishable by up to life in jail and a HK$5 million fine in Hong Kong. Anyone convicted of possessing a dangerous drug faces a maximum punishment of seven years’ jail and a HK$1 million fine.
