I am 23 years old and currently in a correctional institution. I am charged with trafficking 59 kilograms quantity of methamphetamine. A duty lawyer told me that my sentence could be between 33 to 36 years, and even with remission, I would still have to serve at least 16 years before being released.
On May 23, 2023, a man I had met previously met in Hong Kong called me and asked me to come back with a part-time job offer. The job would pay me HK$5,000, including some money owed to me. At the time, I was in in Mainland China taking care of my mother, who had returned there for medical treatment, and I was planning to return to Hong Kong where I had been living to look after my younger brother. So I agreed.
On the evening of May 27 I returned to the city and received a call from this male acquaintance, who told me that another contact would reach out with instructions. I had met this contact a few years ago and had had a meal with him once. Sometimes he contacted me to help pick up things—usually mobile phones or cosmetics. This time, I thought it would be similar and did not ask many questions.
The next day, the contact asked me to view a flat, saying he wanted to rent a place to store things. He sent me some rental listings and asked me to book appointments with agents. A day later, he chose a flat and asked me to sign the lease the following day. That night, he transferred money into my account—some for agency fees and some for rent. The remaining amount was for buying a new phone and SIM card to communicate with him. I withdrew all the money from my account in two transactions that night.
Because I am not a Hong Kong resident and do not have an ID card, I feared I would not be able to rent the unit, the contact asked me to find a friend to sign the lease for me. I found a friend who agreed to help. The following day, I took my friend to sign the lease. After signing, the contact told me to leave the original lease in the flat and change the keypad lock. The flat was a unit in an industrial building.
The contact kept calling and told me to record videos while opening the packages. After some time, I opened the first tire and saw several sealed bags of pale white crystals inside. I began to suspect it was drugs.
A short time later, the contact called me and told me to go to a car park the next day to accept the goods and deliver them to the industrial building. The next day, I went to the car park to wait for the vehicle. After some time, a truck arrived, and the driver asked me to sign for the goods. After signing, the contact called and asked me to take photos and then order a van to deliver the goods to the unit. I waited for the driver I had called to arrive. I followed the driver to the unit and helped the driver carry the goods upstairs.
After the driver left, the contact told me to unpack the goods for him. The goods were several stacks of tires wrapped in cling film. I had no tools, so the contact told me to buy tools and come back to open them. I went to a nearby hardware store to buy tools, and when I returned, I started unpacking. The contact kept calling and told me to record videos while opening the packages. After some time, I opened the first tire and saw several sealed bags of pale white crystals inside. I began to suspect it was drugs. The contact called again and asked me to arrange the items and photograph them. After taking photos, I said I needed to go home.
The contact agreed, and I left immediately. As soon as I closed the door, police officers came up a nearby staircase and arrested me. They took my backpack and phone and began asking if there was anyone else in the unit and what was inside. I told them everything truthfully.
Later, the police and I returned to the unit, and they asked me to show them the items. After inspection, an officer pulled me aside to question me. During this time, I saw an officer put something from a tire into my bag and take photos. Another officer pressed the light switch in the unit with my fingers twice. Then they took me to a police station and later to an investigation office.
When I arrived there, I asked to call my family, but the police said I could only make the call after giving a statement. They then dictated my statement during a recorded session. Because I was afraid my friend would be implicated, the police told me to admit all the charges so they would not arrest my friend. Later that evening, I gave the recorded statement exactly as the police instructed.
That is the general course of my case. Thank you very much for patiently reading my letter!
Note: This letter has been translated and edited from its original in Chinese. Switch language to read the original letter.