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Crime in Hong Kong
Hong KongLaw and Crime

Hong Kong customs seizes drugs worth HK$800 million in cargo shipments at airport in first 4 months of year

  • Figures obtained by Post show 1.47 tonnes of narcotics discovered in 290 shipments between January and April
  • Value of drugs confiscated at airport so far this year up 88 per cent from same period in 2022

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Customs has found 1.47 tonnes of narcotics in 290 air cargo shipments at the airport’s cargo terminal this year. Photo: Yik Yeung-man
Clifford Lo
Customs officers confiscated more than HK$800 million (US$102 million) worth of illegal drugs at Hong Kong International Airport in the first four months of the year, up 88 per cent over the same period in 2022.
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Figures obtained by the Post revealed that 1.47 tonnes of narcotics with an estimated street value of HK$804 million were discovered in 290 shipments intercepted by customs officers at the airport’s cargo terminal between January and April.

They found 864kg of illegal drugs worth HK$427 million concealed in 197 shipments during the same period last year. For all of 2022, customs seized 2.58 tonnes of narcotics worth HK$1.2 billion in 821 cases arising at the airport.

Authorities have said international drug trafficking syndicates have stepped up the use of couriers to smuggle narcotics into Hong Kong.

Last week, officers seized more than HK$10 million worth of cocaine and arrested five people arriving from Brazil.

In the first four months of this year, nine inbound travellers were detained, and 5.8kg of illegal drugs seized at the airport.

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Senior Superintendent Lee Ka-ming, head of customs’ drug investigation bureau, said that as travel returned to normal following the end of pandemic restrictions, the number of visitors had increased, creating more opportunities for traffickers.

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