Hong Kong Customs Seizes 12kg of Suspected Cannabis Buds and Arrests Two Passengers at Airport

Hong Kong Customs detects drug trafficking case involving incoming passenger at airport

Hong Kong Customs detected a drug trafficking case involving two incoming air passengers at Hong Kong International Airport yesterday (May 1) and seized about 12 kilograms of suspected cannabis buds with an estimated market value of about $2.3 million, and nine suspected duty-not-paid cigarettes.

A 37-year-old male passenger arrived in Hong Kong from Bangkok, Thailand yesterday. During customs clearance, Customs officers found a total of about 6kg of suspected cannabis buds in his carry-on baggage. The man was subsequently arrested. After a follow-up investigation, Customs officers further arrested a 34-year-old male passenger, who also arrived from Bangkok, Thailand, and was suspected to be connected with the case, at the airport on the same day. During baggage examination, Customs officers found a total of about 6kg of suspected cannabis buds and nine duty-not-paid cigarettes in his carry-on baggage.

After an investigation, the two arrested persons involved in the case have been jointly charged with one count of trafficking in a dangerous drug. Moreover, the 34-year-old arrestee has also been charged with one count of possession of dutiable goods and one count of failing to declare to a member of the Customs and Excise Service the possession of dutiable goods. The case will be brought up at the West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts on May 4.

Customs will continue to step up enforcement against drug trafficking activities through intelligence analysis. The department also reminds members of the public to stay alert and not to participate in drug trafficking activities for monetary return. They must not accept hiring or delegation from another party to carry controlled items into and out of Hong Kong. They are also reminded not to carry unknown items for other people.

Customs will continue to apply a risk assessment approach and focus on selecting passengers from high-risk regions for clearance to combat transnational drug trafficking activities.

Under the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance, trafficking in a dangerous drug is a serious offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $5 million and life imprisonment.

Under the Dutiable Commodities Ordinance, any person who imports, possesses, sells or buys dutiable commodities without a valid licence commits an offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $1 million and imprisonment for two years.

Members of the public may report any suspected drug trafficking activities to Customs’ 24-hour hotline 182 8080 or its dedicated crime-reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk) or online form (eform.cefs.gov.hk/form/ced002).

Government concludes thirteenth-day arrangements for Wang Fuk Court residents returning to their units

Today (May 2) is the thirteenth day of phased arrangements for residents of seven blocks of Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po to return to their units. Five middle-zone floors of Wang Tai House and 10 low-zone floors of Wang Shing House were opened. The access arrangements were carried out in an orderly manner and operated smoothly.

A total of 119 households (438 people) registered to return to their units today through the “one social worker per household” service, while 119 households (457 people) actually turned up.

The average time residents spent entering and leaving the building today was two hours and 23 minutes, with the shortest time being 10 minutes and the longest three hours and 33 minutes. About 77 per cent of the residents stayed in the building for less than three hours. About 24 per cent of the residents stayed in the building for less than two hours. About 5 per cent of the residents stayed in the building for less than one hour.

A total of 73 households (135 people) went up and down the building more than once. Among them, 44 households (90 people) made one additional trip, 15 households (29 people) made two additional trips, 9 households (11 people) made three additional trips, 3 households (3 people) made four additional trips, and 2 households (2 people) made five additional trips.

The integrated enquiry counter set up by relevant departments today received 12 cases requesting police assistance and 3 cases involving residents seeking help due to physical discomfort, as well as 1 case seeking psychological counselling services.

The 12 cases requesting police assistance involved suspected loss of property, including jewellery, cash and gold items. Officers were immediately deployed to assist in searches, and lost property was recovered in 4 cases. In another four cases, the units concerned were severely damaged and residents believed after investigation that the property might have been destroyed by fire. For the remaining 4 cases, there were no signs of ransacking in the units, and the residents could not provide details on the property concerned.

The Government spares no effort in supporting the residents returning to their units. Each day, the Government deploys over 1 000 personnel from various departments, including the Police, the Civil Aid Service, the Fire Services Department, the Auxiliary Medical Service, the Home Affairs Department, the Social Welfare Department (SWD), the Housing Department, and the Housing Bureau, as well as District Services and Community Care Teams members. The “Government-wide Mobilisation” mechanism has also been activated to bring together greater interdepartmental resources to support residents.

Under the “Government-wide Mobilisation” mechanism, the Civil Service Bureau has co-ordinated nine government departments to mobilise civil servants to form the Government Quick Response Unit to support these access arrangements. These civil servants come from the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD), the Architectural Services Department (ArchSD), the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department (EMSD), the Environmental Protection Department (EPD), the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD), the Lands Department (LandsD), the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD), the Post Office, and the Water Supplies Department (WSD). They will form dedicated teams with social workers and clinical psychologists from the SWD, stationed on different floors to provide support to residents returning to their units. The civil servants mobilised in the first three days were from the AFCD, those mobilised from the fourth day to the sixth day are from the EMSD and the LCSD, those mobilised from the seventh day to the ninth day are from the LandsD and the WSD, those mobilised from the tenth day to the twelfth day are from the Post Office and the ArchSD, while those mobilised from the thirteenth day to the fifteenth day (including today) are from the FEHD and the EPD.