Hong Kong Customs has seized two separate shipments of suspected ketamine hidden inside swimming pool sanitizer buckets and garden posts, with a combined estimated market value of HK$7.6 million ($973,000).
On Aug 27, Customs officers inspected an express parcel from Belgium declared as garden posts based on risk assessment. Officers discovered about 6.4 kilograms of suspected ketamine, worth an estimated HK$2.6 million, concealed in 17 garden posts.
Following an investigation, officers conducted a controlled delivery operation on Monday, arresting two boys, aged 13 and 14, in Ngau Tau Kok.
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They were set to be charged with one count of trafficking in a dangerous drug and the case was presented at the Kowloon City Magistrates' Courts on Wednesday.
In a separate case on Sunday, officers inspected an air parcel, declared as swimming pool sanitizers, arriving from Spain via France. Approximately 13 kg of suspected ketamine, which was estimated to be worth over HK$5 million, was found inside four plastic buckets.
In a controlled delivery operation the next day, officers arrested a 23-year-old local man in Kwai Chung. He has been charged with one count of attempting to traffic in a dangerous drug. The case was brought at the West Kowloon Magistrates' Court on Wednesday.
A Customs spokesperson reminded the public that trafficking in a dangerous drug is a serious offense under the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance and the maximum penalty upon conviction is a HK$5 million fine and life imprisonment.
