Customs seizes HK$24.8m worth of opium and ketamine at HK airport

Hong Kong Customs said on Friday that they have uncovered two drug trafficking cases at the Hong Kong International Airport and seized 130 kilograms of opium and 16 kilograms of ketamine, with an estimated market value of HK$24.8 million.

Customs officers of the Airport Command inspected a cargo declared as “plastic bottles” being shipped from Pakistan to the city and found the batch of opium within, with the batch estimated to be worth HK$15 million.

Customs said they believed the drug was not meant for local market with the cargo pending tranship to other countries.

Meanwhile, officers found the 16 kilograms of ketamine hidden within a parcel declared as “electric cables” being shipped from Belgium.

A Customs spokesman said officers found the parcel suspicious after conducting an X-ray scanning, and that it is rare for people to ship electric cables from Belgium.

Officers eventually found the ketamine being hidden within the cable drums, with the drug estimated to be worth around HK$9.9 million.

The cases are still under investigation and no arrests were made so far.