Hong Kong Customs yesterday (October 10) detected a dangerous drugs internal concealment case and seized about 1.2 kilograms of suspected cocaine with an estimated market value of about $1.2 million.
A 43-year-old male passenger on October 9 arrived in Hong Kong from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, via Bangkok, Thailand. During Customs clearance at Hong Kong International Airport, Customs officers found him to be suspicious, and suspected that he had dangerous drugs concealed inside his body cavity. The man was then escorted to hospital for examination.
Upon examination, Customs officers yesterday confirmed that foreign objects were concealed inside his body cavity. The man was arrested immediately. As at 10am today (October 11), the arrested man has excreted 59 pellets of suspected cocaine weighing about 1.2kg in total.
An investigation is ongoing.
Customs will continue to apply a 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/Tuesday, October 11, 2022
