Hong Kong customs officers have arrested four people and seized more than HK$30 million (US$3.8 million) worth of drugs after finding suspected liquid cocaine hidden in fake bottles of alcohol in the luggage of a woman arriving at the airport.
Senior Investigator Yeung Wai-hon of customs’ drug investigation bureau on Saturday said officers found 12kg (26.4lbs) of suspected liquid cocaine worth an estimated HK$15 million in eight bottles of alcohol she was carrying after arriving from North America on Thursday.
Some of the narcotics seized by customs earlier this week. Photo: Handout
“The difficulty is that many people will bring in wine or alcohol bottles from overseas into the city,” he said. “This batch of alcohol bottles had no visible flaws. It is very hard to discover the drugs in regular checks.
“But our customs officers have a high level of alertness and discovered that the market price or the value of the batch of alcohol was very low. It is unlikely for people to import this type of alcohol from overseas.
He said officers arrested a second woman in Tsim Sha Tsui in connection with the case later on Thursday, before stopping a man in Fanling on Friday when a search revealed he was also carrying a small amount of drugs.
“We arrested him and escorted him to a unit in Fanling where another eight bottles of suspected liquid cocaine and about 500 grams of various types of suspected drugs were found,” he said. “We then rearrested the man and another woman in the flat.”
In total, officers seized 24kg of suspected liquid cocaine and 530 grams of various drugs worth HK$30.1 million, according to Yeung.
The three women, aged 27, 33 and 17, and the 18-year-old man were being held on suspicion of trafficking in dangerous drugs – an offence punishable by up to life in jail and a HK$5 million fine. They will appear in West Kowloon Court on Monday.
Customs officers believed they had successfully broken up a drug-trafficking syndicate, Yeung said, adding the department was still investigating what roles the suspects played in the network.
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