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Two teenage boys were among three Hong Kong residents arrested in a crackdown against a drug trafficking syndicate with the seizure of more than HK$6 million (US$765,000) worth of narcotics in a public housing flat, police said on Thursday.
One of the suspects was a 17-year-old boy who was intercepted by officers at So Uk Estate in Cheung Sha Wan on Tuesday night. Police seized 11 bags containing 2.8kg of ketamine allegedly in his possession.
In a follow-up raid in one of the flats in the public housing estate, officers confiscated another 7.7kg of ketamine, according to senior inspector Sit Tsz-kit of the Kowloon West special duty squad.
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Hong Kong couple arrested over HK$36 million in suspected drugs found in flat
“An initial investigation suggested the flat had been used for drug trafficking activities for about a month,” he said.
Sit said the 10.5kg haul had an estimated street value of HK$6.1 million.
The teenager, who is a waiter, was detained on suspicion of trafficking in a dangerous drug – an offence punishable by up to life in jail and a HK$5 million fine.
In the early hours of Thursday, officers arrested a 22-year-old man and a 16-year-old boy in a hotel room in Kwai Chung after a follow-up investigation.
According to the force, the 22-year-old man was the suspected ringleader of a drug trafficking syndicate and the 16-year-old boy was his assistant. The pair, who are unemployed, were arrested for conspiracy to traffic an illegal drug.
As of Thursday afternoon, the three suspects were still being held for questioning. An active investigation was still under way.
The senior inspector said the investigation showed one of the teenage boys knew the alleged mastermind from playing online games before being recruited into drug trafficking.
Sit said police noticed there was a trend of young people being arrested for drug-related offences.
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“We believe crime syndicates use money to lure young people into drug trafficking activities,” he said.
He urged parents to pay more attention to their children to prevent them from being exploited by criminals.
On May 11, police released a report detailing the city’s overall crime situation, noting that offences committed by young people fell 37.5 per cent in the first quarter from a year ago.
But the force said there were still cases where vulnerable young people had paid a high price for taking part in criminal activities.
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Police highlighted cases in which four 13-year-old male students were arrested on suspicion of trafficking illegal drugs, and 11 girls aged between 12 and 15 were lured into prostitution. Ten of the girls were students.
Describing youth crime as a complex social issue, the force said, different sectors of the community needed to collaborate in the use of education and publicity to help cultivate a law-abiding attitude among youngsters.
Local authorities seized 3,296kg of ketamine in 2021, up 600 per cent from 471kg in 2020.
More from South China Morning Post:
- Hong Kong police arrest teens aged 16 and 18 for selling and manufacturing drugs after HK$1.8 million narcotics seizure
- 14-year-old schoolboy among 2 arrested by Hong Kong police on suspicion of trafficking, manufacturing illegal drugs
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