Hong Kong Customs yesterday (June 3) smashed a suspected cannabis cultivation centre in Yuen Long. The market value of the suspected drugs seized was about $1.34 million.
Acting on information, officers of the Customs Drug Investigation Bureau intercepted a man in Yuen Long yesterday evening. The man was subsequently escorted to a godown for a search. As a result, an establishment for cultivation with 75 suspected cannabis plants was found. The man was arrested at the scene. Afterwards Customs officers further found about 487 grams of suspected cannabis in total in the godown and in the man's private car.
The man, aged 42 and claiming to be unemployed, was arrested for suspected cultivation of cannabis and trafficking in a dangerous drug. The case is still under investigation.
Under the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance, both cultivation of cannabis and trafficking in a dangerous drug are serious offences. The maximum penalty for cultivation of cannabis is 15 years of imprisonment and a fine of $100,000, and that for trafficking in a dangerous drug is life imprisonment and a fine of $5 million.
Ends/Thursday, June 4, 2015
