Hong Kong police seize HK$45 million of suspected drugs in 2 cases on same day

Hong Kong police have seized HK$45 million (US$5.8 million) worth of suspected cocaine and cannabis buds in two separate cases in one day, with traffickers hiding the drugs under floorboards and inside furniture.

Senior Inspector Conrad Chan Yuen-fun, of the narcotics bureau’s operations division, said on Saturday that officers had arrested three men in two separate busts in Yuen Long and Tsing Yi the previous day, confiscating a total of 105kg (231lbs) of suspected cocaine and cannabis buds.

“After our preliminary investigations, we believe that syndicates used corrugated iron sheds in remote locations as storage units, putting the drugs in hidden compartments to increase the difficulty for law enforcement,” Chan said.

In the first operation, officers stopped a private car outside Shek Tong Tsuen in Yuen Long and discovered 11 packs of suspected cocaine, each weighing 1kg, and arrested the male driver.

Officers then searched a corrugated iron shed the driver had rented and found 29 more 1kg blocks of suspected cocaine hidden under the floorboards.

“We have discovered 29 more packs of suspected cocaine with the same packaging hidden inside underground compartments, which were covered up with wooden planks and screwed shut,” Chan said.