Mexican man arrested in Hong Kong over 12kg of suspected crystal meth found in parcels from the United States
- Customs department sends officer posing as courier to consignment’s final destination
- Mexican passport holder, 30, arrested there
A Central American traveller was arrested on Tuesday in Hong Kong after HK$5.7 million (US$730,000) worth of suspected crystal meth was found in parcels airmailed to the city from the United States.
After finding almost 12kg of the drug, also known as Ice, at the cargo terminal of the city’s airport on Tuesday and Wednesday last week, customs sent an officer posing as a courier to their intended destination, a hotel in Tsim Sha Tsui. The 30-year-old man was arrested there at about 10am on Tuesday.
In a follow-up raid, the suspect was taken to a flat in Sham Shui Po, where customs officers seized a bag containing HK$350,000.
A law enforcement source said it seemed the man, a Mexican passport holder, arrived in Hong Kong about two weeks ago. He said the two parcels had been listed as carrying clothes but inside, taped to some clothes, were six bags containing nearly 12kg of Ice.
“The haul had an estimated street value of HK$5.7 million,” he said.
He said customs officers were investigating whether the drugs were for local consumption and whether the cash seized from the flat was criminal proceeds.
On Tuesday night, the man was being held for questioning and had not been charged with anything.
In Hong Kong, trafficking a dangerous drug carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment and a HK$5 million fine. In the first 10 months of this year, Hong Kong customs officers seized 117kg of crystal meth.
