Source:
https://scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-crime/article/2131367/hong-kong-customs-officers-seize-hk13-million-crack-cocaine Law and Crime
Hong Kong customs officers seize HK$1.3 million in crack cocaine, arrest five in Tai Po raid
Four of the arrested are suspected triad members who law enforcement say were running a crack lab out of a flat in Fung Yuen Road
Crack cocaine is belied to have a street value of HK$1,300 per gram. Photo: Handout
Four suspected triad members were among five people arrested during a raid on a Hong Kong flat by local customs officers who also seized an estimated HK$1.3 million in crack cocaine.
The gang – four men and one woman – was suspected of using a Fung Yuen Road flat in Tai Po as a base to produce and distribute drugs. Plain-clothes officers intercepted the four men on the street just before 11pm and seized a kilogram of crack.
The officers then stormed the flat, where they said they found 40 grams of cocaine, scales, chemicals and other tools. The woman was arrested inside.
“We believe the gang used the flat to turn cocaine into crack before supplying the illegal drugs to entertainment venues in the West Kowloon region,” a source said.
The Post understands a gram of crack is worth HK$1,300 (US$165) and that cocaine has a street value of HK$900 a gram.
Officers from the customs drug investigation bureau had been investigating the gang for about a week before the raid after receiving a tip.
The five Hongkongers, aged between 18 and 21, were arrested on suspicion of trafficking in a dangerous drug. It was understood the four men were suspected members of the Wo Shing Wo triad.
On Wednesday morning, the suspects were being held for questioning and none of them had been charged.
According to official statistics, local authorities seized 402kg of cocaine last year, down 14.6 per cent compared with the figure in 2016.