A 25-year-old Chinese national who flew into Hong Kong from Penang was arrested at Hong Kong International Airport after officers found 2kg of suspected cocaine in his check-in baggage, Hong Kong Customs said in a statement.
The man was charged with one count of trafficking in a dangerous drug, NST reported, and his case was brought before West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts on 24 Oct.
He was detained after officers inspected his baggage during clearance at the airport, FMT noted.
Trafficking in a dangerous drug is among the most serious offences on the Hong Kong statute book. Under the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance, conviction carries a maximum fine of HK$5 million and a maximum of life imprisonment. FMT put the fine at about RM2.6 million.
A mention is a short first appearance, at which the charge is read out and the case is adjourned, usually for a further mention or for transfer to a higher court.
It was the second seizure at the airport in about a fortnight involving a passenger who had flown in from Penang. On 8 Oct, officers found about 2kg of suspected cocaine in the carry-on baggage of a 24-year-old Mainland man who arrived from Penang, Customs said in an earlier statement, and he was charged the following day.
In a second case detected during the same operation, a 36-year-old Mainland man who arrived from Phnom Penh through Bangkok was found with about 3kg of suspected cannabis buds, two types of products containing a Part I poison and 38 sticks of duty-not-paid cigarettes in his carry-on baggage. Customs put the estimated market value of the two seizures at about HK$1.9 million.
The arrest adds to a run of drug cases with a Malaysian link. In July, a Malaysia Airlines pilot was arrested at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Jakarta after he was found with 25kg of ecstasy pills and 2.7g of methamphetamine, FMT reported. Earlier in October, five Malaysians were arrested at Haneda Airport in Tokyo over an attempt to smuggle 1kg of cocaine hidden beneath the insoles of their shoes.
Hong Kong Customs said it would step up enforcement against cross-border drug trafficking through intelligence analysis and a risk assessment approach that focuses on passengers from high-risk regions. It also reminded travellers not to carry controlled goods or items of unknown contents for other people, even in exchange for payment.
