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Clifford Lo

Hong Kong customs officers have raided and shut down a makeshift laboratory used to make the party drug Ecstasy, believed to have been destined for the city’s entertainment venues over the summer holidays – the first discovery of such a production line in two decades.
The Customs and Excise Department said on Monday the laboratory was “newly set up” in a 200-square-foot office in Tai Kok Tsui and that dozens of bags and bottles of chemicals were seized along with drug manufacturing equipment on Sunday.
“There were around 20 types of chemical substances that could be used to produce as much as 120,000 Ecstasy tablets worth HK$10 million [US$1.3 million],” Senior Inspector Tom Cheung Kwong-tat of the customs drug investigation bureau said.
Cheung added that equipment used for heating, extraction and distillation to change the substance from liquid to solid form was also discovered on the premises.
A 19-year-old man was arrested and 4.3kg of refined Ecstasy with an estimated street value of HK$1 million was seized, along with HK$80,000 worth of heroin.

“A preliminary investigation suggests the makeshift laboratory was set up about a month ago and is in the experimental stage,” he said.
Cheung added it was the first such drug manufacturing operation that authorities had uncovered in 20 years.
The senior inspector said he believed the production line was set up so the party drug could be produced and sold in entertainment venues over the summer.
“We intercepted this batch of the drug at source, preventing the narcotic from hitting the market,” he said.
Customs officers identified the premises during earlier investigations and set up a sting operation outside the office block on Sunday.
They intercepted the 19-year-old as he left the building and found the lab after they escorted the teenager to the rented office and searched it.
Cheung said some of the seized chemicals had been bought from suppliers of raw materials in the city and the rest was acquired overseas.
Four of the chemicals found are listed as controlled substances.
He added that some of the chemicals were highly corrosive, flammable and even explosive and could have posed a risk to other occupants of the building, as well to the public.
Cheung added that preliminary inquiries suggested the detained man had run the lab himself and that he had claimed to have learned how to make the drug on the internet.
Cheung said the man had said he was unemployed and that he had a triad background.
He was arrested on suspicion of drug manufacturing, drug trafficking and possession of controlled chemicals – offences punishable by up to life in prison.
The man was still in custody for questioning on Monday afternoon.
Authorities seized 3,346 Ecstasy tablets between January and May, a sharp rise on the 678 tablets found over the same period in 2023.
Combined seizures of five major illegal drugs – cannabis, cocaine, Ice, heroin and ketamine – in the first five months of the year went up by 27 per cent to 4.7 tonnes, up from 3.7 tonnes over the same period in 2023.


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Crime in Hong Kong

Hong Kong customs raids and shuts down Ecstasy lab, 19-year-old arrested

Customs displays an image of the Ecstasy lab that had been allegedly set up by a 19-year-old in a Tai Kok Tsui office. Photo: Jelly Tse

Senior inspector Tom Cheung of the customs drug investigation bureau shows media some of the seized equipment that investigators suspect was used to cook Ecstasy. Photo: Jelly Tse

Hong Kong police confiscate HK$300 million of cocaine, record seizure of drug this year

Wilson Tam (left), superintendent for operations at the narcotics bureau, says police believe drug trafficking syndicates have seized on the lower cost of coca leaves. Photo: Jelly Tse

Officers seize 386 slabs of cocaine weighing 1kg each during a raid on a Castle Peak Road flat. Jelly Tse

Hongkonger arrested with HK$3 million in Ice could face death penalty in Singapore

Singapore police have seized meth hidden in two figurines. Photo: Handout

The Hongkonger was arrested in Changi South after he deposited a package at a warehouse. Photo: Handout

The meth was concealed within the base structure of the two figurines. Photo: Handout

Hong Kong custom officers arrest 2 men over separate narcotics smuggling cases

The headquarters of the Hong Kong Customs and Excise Department in North Point. Photo: Jelly Tse

Hong Kong custom officers showcase drugs seized as part of the two narcotics cases. Photo: Handout

News

Hong Kong

Law and Crime

Authorities seize drug manufacturing equipment and chemicals after making first discovery of such a production line in two decades


Authorities seize drug manufacturing equipment and chemicals after making first discovery of such a production line in two decades.


Drugs