Hong Kong police seize HK$19 million in cocaine that washed up on popular beach
- Beachgoer calls police after spotting suspicious packages near shore and shark prevention net in Stanley
- Parcels turn out to be cocaine after the force cordons off beach and calls bomb experts to examine labels that read ‘TNT’
Hong Kong police have launched an investigation following the discovery of a HK$19 million (US$2.4 million) haul of cocaine on a popular beach.
Officers arrived at Chung Hom Kok Beach in Stanley in Southern district at around 4.39pm on Thursday after a beachgoer reported spotting suspicious packages.
A source familiar with the case said on Friday that the man found about 10 packages near the shore and another five floating near a shark prevention net.
“The caller unwrapped one of the packages and found white powder inside. He then called police,” the insider said.
At the site, officers discovered 19 packages, each measuring about 12cm by 22cm (5 inches by 9 inches).
The insider said police cordoned off the beach and called bomb experts to the scene as the parcels had labels that read “TNT”, which could stand for the explosive chemical compound trinitrotoluene.
“After examining the packages, personnel from the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Bureau believed the packages carried 19 slabs of what appeared to be cocaine,” police said on Friday.
The force said the haul had an estimated street value of HK$19 million. Detectives from the narcotics bureau are investigating the case. No arrests have been made so far.
The source said officers were investigating all possibilities surrounding this case, including the theory that the packages could have washed up on the beach after somehow falling into the sea.
Hong Kong police arrest 5, seize HK$215 million in drugs from South America
In a separate case, officers from the narcotics bureau seized 13kg (28.6lbs) of suspected cocaine and arrested a 31-year-old man during an operation in the New Territories on Wednesday.
Police said the seized drugs were estimated to be worth about HK$13 million.
Provisional figures show seizures of the five major illegal drugs – cocaine, cannabis, methamphetamine, heroin and ketamine – rose by 68 per cent to 13.29 tonnes last year from 7.9 tonnes in 2022.
The amount of cocaine seized by police and customs in 2023 increased by 55.8 per cent to 3.53 tonnes in 2023 from 2.27 tonnes uncovered the year before.
In December, customs officers seized a record HK$490 million worth of liquid cocaine disguised as white wine that arrived in an ocean container sent from Brazil.
The haul was hidden in a shipment of 706 boxes of red and white wine, as well as juice, that arrived in the city on December 19. Two local men were arrested in connection with the case.
Signs of resealing were found on 37 of the 706 wine boxes. Each of the 37 boxes was supposed to contain four three-litre white wine bags, but samples tested positive for cocaine.
