Three Hong Kong women have been arrested after police found HK$400,000 (US$51,360) worth of drugs in a New Territories hotel room suspected to have been used as a packaging facility.
The force said on Thursday that the raid was conducted in Tin Shui Wai the previous afternoon upon receipt of intelligence, with officers finding the three suspects in the room.
“During the operation, officers seized 420 grams of suspected ketamine, 230 grams of suspected cocaine and 10 grams of crystal meth in the hotel room. The haul has an estimated street value of HK$400,000,” a police spokesman said.
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Police also found packaging equipment along with drug-taking instruments in the premises.
The three women, aged 29 to 33, were detained on suspicion of trafficking in a dangerous drug and possessing related instruments.
As of Thursday morning, the trio were still being held for questioning.
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In Hong Kong, the maximum punishment under the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance for drug trafficking is life imprisonment and a HK$5 million fine.
In the first nine months of this year, seizures of the five major illegal drugs in the city – cocaine, cannabis, crystal meth, heroin and ketamine – dropped by 58.5 per cent to 4.4 tonnes from nearly seven tonnes logged in the same period last year.
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In October, customs officers confiscated a HK$1.1 billion haul of liquid meth disguised as cartons of coconut water. It is Hong Kong’s biggest seizure of drugs by value and the second largest by weight. In 1996, customs officers seized 7.2 tonnes of cannabis.
More from South China Morning Post:
- Hong Kong customs on the hunt for drug syndicate behind meth haul worth HK$60 million
- Police report 24 per cent drop in number of young people arrested over narcotics in Hong Kong, but use of drug mules on rise after Covid-19 travel restrictions eased
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