A 49-year-old man was sentenced to 50 months' imprisonment at the District Court today (November 9) following his conviction for drug trafficking and dealing with property known or believed to be crime proceeds (money laundering) on November 5, in contravention of the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (DDO) and the Organized and Serious Crimes Ordinance (OSCO).
Customs officers intercepted the man in Yuen Long and found about 4 kilograms of cannabis in the plastic bag he was carrying and in his residential premises in March 2017. About $1 million in cash was also seized.
Further investigation revealed that the man laundered about $5.4 million in total in 2016 and 2017.
Under the DDO, trafficking in a dangerous drug is a serious offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $5 million and life imprisonment.
Under the OSCO, a person commits an offence if he deals with any property, knowing or having reasonable grounds to believe that such property in whole or in part directly or indirectly represents any person's proceeds of an indictable offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $5 million and imprisonment for 14 years.
Members of the public may report any suspected violations of the DDO or OSCO to the Customs 24-hour hotline 2545 6182 or its dedicated crime-reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk).
Ends/Friday, November 9, 2018