HONG KONG: The amount of illegal drugs confiscated from air travellers at Hong Kong International Airport soared to 370 kilogrammes in the first four months of the year, a 32% increase over the total amount seized in all of 2023.
Senior Inspector Ivan Chow Wing-cheong of customs' drug investigation bureau said on Monday the narcotics discovered this year, worth about HK$200 million (950 million baht), were taken off 46 arrivals between Jan 1 and April 28.
Seizures have been steadily rising as travel resumes following the near standstill brought by the pandemic.
Customs officers seized 279kg of illegal drugs from 84 air passengers last year, compared with 17kg found on 15 arrivals the year before. No drugs were found on passengers in 2021, when strict travel restrictions reduced arrivals to a trickle, after officers seized 162kg in 2020 and 256kg in 2019.
A source told the South China Morning Post that after pandemic travel restrictions were dropped, international drug dealers resumed using couriers to smuggle narcotics into the city.
Chow cautioned residents, especially young people, against accepting cash and free air travel from drug trafficking syndicates.
More than 10 of the 46 air passengers arrested this year were Hong Kong residents, the Post has learned. The latest arrests came on Sunday and involved two men aged 25 and 46 returning from Bangkok at around 4am.
In one piece of their checked-in luggage, officers discovered 23kg of suspected cannabis buds worth HK$5.1 million, according to the Customs and Excise Department.
The senior inspector said the two men knew each other and the elder suspect claimed he was allegedly paid thousands of Hong Kong dollars to carry the luggage into the city.
They were detained on suspicion of trafficking in a dangerous drug - an offence punishable by up to life in prison and a HK$5 million fine.
It was one of the three drug trafficking cases customs officers detected in the airport's passenger channel in a space of seven hours on Sunday.
At around 5.30am, three Macau residents flying in from Bangkok were picked up during customs clearance after 32kg of suspected crystal meth and 15kg of heroin were discovered in their luggage. The haul had an estimated street value of HK$31 million.
Chow said an investigation suggested two of them were paid tens of thousands of Hong Kong dollars to help others smuggle illegal drugs.
About five hours later, customs arrested a mainland Chinese traveller, 35, after seizing 4kg of cannabis buds worth HK$900,000 in his suitcase. The suspect also flew in from Thailand.
He claimed he was offered free air travel in exchange for bringing the luggage into the city, the source said.
At midday, customs officers arrested a 61-year-old European man in connection with the third case. He was intercepted at the airport before getting on a plane to Thailand.
Chow said they were still investigating the origin of the seized drugs and whether the same syndicate was behind the three cases.
"We believe the seized drugs were intended for the local market," he said.
The senior inspector reminded residents to resist the temptation of free trips, money or other rewards that might lure them into drug trafficking activities.
"People should stay alert and never accept offers or payments from individuals to transport controlled substances into or out of Hong Kong," he warned. "They should never assist others in delivering items without knowing that they are or their contents."
Chow said customs would adjust enforcement strategies in a timely manner to cope with ever-changing trafficking trends.
Official figures showed seizures of five major illegal drugs - cocaine, cannabis, methamphetamine, heroin and ketamine - rose by 68% to 13.29 tonnes last year from 7.9 tonnes in 2022.