Hong Kong Customs yesterday (December 21) seized about 720 grams of suspected cocaine with an estimated market value of about $910,000 at Hong Kong International Airport.
A 40-year-old male passenger arrived in Hong Kong from Entebbe, Uganda via Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE) yesterday, and was about to depart for Macao. He was found to be suspicious upon customs clearance and was suspected to have dangerous drugs concealed inside his body cavity. He was escorted to hospital for examination and later discharged the batch of suspected cocaine. He was then arrested.
The arrested man has been charged with one count of trafficking in a dangerous drug. The case will be brought up at West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts tomorrow (December 23).
Customs will continue to apply risk assessment strategy to select inbound, outbound and transit passengers for clearance to intercept different kinds of 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).
Ends/Sunday, December 22, 2019
