Hong Kong Customs yesterday (January 20) detected a dangerous drugs internal concealment case involving a passenger at Hong Kong International Airport and seized about 1.3 kilograms of suspected cocaine with an estimated market value of about $1.3 million.
A male passenger, aged 30, arrived in Hong Kong from New York, the United States, yesterday. During Customs clearance, Customs officers suspected that the passenger had dangerous drugs concealed inside his body cavity. He was then escorted to the hospital for examination. Upon examination, a doctor confirmed that foreign objects were concealed inside the passenger's body cavity. The man was arrested immediately. As at 7pm today (January 21), the arrested person has discharged 116 pellets of suspected cocaine weighing about 1.3kg in total.
The arrested man has been charged with one count of trafficking in a dangerous drug. The case will be brought up at the West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts tomorrow (January 22).
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. 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.
Under the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance, trafficking in a dangerous drug is a serious offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $5 million and life imprisonment.
Members of the public may report any suspected drug trafficking activities to Customs' 24-hour hotline 2545 6182 or its dedicated crime-reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk) or online form (eform.cefs.gov.hk/form/ced002/).
Ends/Sunday, January 21, 2024
