For illustration (AP Photo/Vincent Yu)
Authorities say the collapse of worldwide journey throughout the coronavirus pandemic has compelled smugglers to make riskier bulk shipments as a substitute of utilizing drug mules travelling by means of airports.
- AFP Hong Kong
- Last Updated:April 04, 2021, 16:23 IST
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Hong Kong police introduced a record-breaking 700 kilogramme cocaine seizure on Sunday with officers suspecting the large cargo was smuggled into town on speedboats. The bust is the biggest within the territory in almost a decade and netted some HK$930 million ($119.6 million) value of cocaine.
Authorities say the collapse of worldwide journey throughout the coronavirus pandemic has compelled smugglers to make riskier bulk shipments as a substitute of utilizing drug mules travelling by means of airports.
Police stated the bust was made on Friday when officers intercepted a person with a trolley within the Fo Tan industrial district and located 150 bricks of cocaine in cardboard containers.
Another 492 bricks had been later present in an industrial constructing and an condo in the identical district, resulting in the arrest of two males aged 19 and 25.
“We believe (the drugs) were transported via long-range shipping to waters near Hong Kong from their source area in South America and then smuggled in by illegal speedboats,” senior superintendent Ng Kwok-cheung instructed reporters.
“We found a lot of water-proof bags that were still wet at the scene and all the cocaine bricks were carefully wrapped in plastic,” he added.
Police stated Hong Kong’s earlier report cocaine seizure was 649 kilogrammes found by customs in 2012.
