Hong Kong Customs yesterday (April 8) detected a dangerous drugs internal concealment case involving two incoming passengers at Hong Kong International Airport and seized about 1 kilogram of suspected cocaine with an estimated market value of about $1 million.
A 37-year-old male passenger and a 41-year-old female passenger arrived in Hong Kong from Paris, France, yesterday. During customs clearance, Customs officers suspected that the passengers had dangerous drugs concealed inside their body cavities. They were then escorted to the hospital for examination.
Upon examination, they were confirmed by a doctor to have foreign objects concealed inside their body cavities. They were arrested immediately. As at 8pm today (April 9), the arrested persons have discharged 120 pellets of suspected cocaine weighing about 1 kilogram in total.
The arrested persons have been charged with one count of trafficking in a dangerous drug respectively. The case will be brought up at the West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts tomorrow (April 10).
Following the resumption of normal travel and exchanges with the Mainland and other parts of the world, the number of visitors to Hong Kong has also been increasing steadily. Customs will continue to apply a risk assessment approach and focus on selecting passengers from high-risk regions for clearance to combat transnational 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) or online form (eform.cefs.gov.hk/form/ced002/).
Ends/Tuesday, April 9, 2024
