Hong Kong customs has arrested two men in connection with the seizure of 20kg (44lbs) of suspected ketamine worth HK$9 million (US$1.2 million) concealed inside plastic buckets, as well as HK$420,000 in cash.
A spokesman for the Customs and Excise Department said on Wednesday evening that officers had intercepted two parcels declared to be pesticides in a joint operation with anti-smuggling authorities in mainland China.
The two parcels were sent to Hong Kong from the mainland and were found to contain 20kg of suspected ketamine hidden inside plastic buckets.
City officers mounted a controlled delivery operation on Tuesday and arrested two men, aged 21 and 77, in Cheung Sha Wan in connection with the parcels.
Officers also seized HK$420,000 from the 21-year-old man’s private car during the arrest.
The two men are expected to appear at West Kowloon Court on Thursday after being charged with two counts of attempting to traffic in a dangerous drug.
The customs spokesman urged residents to refrain from trafficking drugs for financial gain and not to carry unknown items for others or provide their personal information or home addresses to receive parcels or goods on behalf of others.
“They must not accept employment or instructions from others to carry controlled items into or out of Hong Kong,” he said.
In Hong Kong, the maximum punishment for trafficking in a dangerous drug is life imprisonment and a HK$5 million fine. -- SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
