News / HK police warn logistics players after $4.5m of cocaine is found in containers

Organised crime gangs smuggling drugs into Hong Kong often use logistics move hidden goods, so liner operators, freight forwarders and trucking companies in the territory must be more vigilant, said Hong Kong’s anti-narcotics force this week.

The message followed the discovery of 28kg of cocaine, with a market value of almost $4.5m, seized from a warehouse on Tuesday. The drugs had arrived in containers declared as carrying household products.

The narcotics squad had acted on information received and raided the warehouse to find the 104 packages of cocaine. A 36-year-old local man was subsequently arrested.

Investigations indicated that the man was employed by drug traffickers to transport the drugs from the warehouse to a unit in a factory in Hong Kong.

Inspector Tam Wai-nuo said: “By shipping the drugs in containers, customs inspection was bypassed and the drugs were successfully transported into the urban area of ​​Hong Kong.

“The Narcotics Bureau has noticed that drug trafficking syndicates take advantage of the convenience and advantages of Hong Kong’s logistics industry to hide drugs in goods, transport these into Hong Kong by air, ship or truck, and then wait for opportunities to sell the goods.”

The inspector  said all stakeholders in the logistics sector must look out for consignments that appear out of the ordinary. He said: “If industry members find unusual orders or suspicious goods, they should report these to the police immediately.”

In August, Dutch Customs made its largest drug haul, when eight tonnes of cocaine, with a street value of $653m, was found in a container on a Maersk box ship.