17-year-old Hongkonger arrested for allegedly trafficking HK$3 million in ketamine, crack cocaine
- Stop-and-search in Cheung Sha Wan leads customs officers to haul of suspected ketamine and crack cocaine, as well as drug packaging tools
- Teen suspect arrested over trafficking in a dangerous drug, with police earlier warning young people over dangers of being lured into narcotics trade
Investigator Matthew Shum of the Customs and Excise Department said on Thursday officers stopped and searched the 17-year-old near Cheung Sha Wan on Wednesday, finding four grams of suspected crack cocaine.
Police arrested the teenager and took him to his flat for further investigation.
Shum said officers found 5.5kg (12lbs) of suspected ketamine at the residence, as well as 10 grams of suspected crack cocaine and drug packaging tools, with an estimated value of HK$3 million.
Customs suspected the teenager, who said he was unemployed, was responsible for packing and distributing the drugs.
Customs suspected the residence was being used as a drug storage and distribution centre, with the narcotics set to be supplied to the West Kowloon area.
In Hong Kong, trafficking in a dangerous drug is punishable by up to life in prison and a HK$5 million fine.
Police previously warned that dealers had been offering free drugs to teenagers as young as 14 years old, intending to get them hooked and later recruit them as traffickers when they ran out of money to fund their addictions.
The force cautioned that young people found guilty of drug trafficking would face legal repercussions and a lifelong criminal record.
Second cocaine haul worth HK$8 million found in sea off Hong Kong beach
A police insider earlier told the Post that dealers also lured youngsters into drug trafficking by using their peers to influence them, targeting those who spent their nights hanging around playgrounds at public housing estates and parks.
The source said some young couriers were paid as little as hundreds of dollars for delivering drugs.
Police urged parents to seek help promptly if they had suspicions about their children’s unusual sources of income.
Officers arrested 107 people between last December and January this year, with 12 of them aged from 14 to 20 and detained on suspicion of trafficking in dangerous drugs and possession of illegal substances.
