This letter details the facts of my drug trafficking case for which I was arrested in January 2020. I will have a hearing in the High Court soon. My lawyers said I would face 19 years imprisonment.
My ordeal started back in December 2019, when my boss Ken called me for a job bringing some souvenirs to Hong Kong from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Because I had lost my passport and had to re-apply for a replacement, my trip was arranged for January 19-21, 2020.
He said to me that he had arranged for his assistant, Hung, to arrange everything for me. Later Hung sent me the trip details, and gave me HK$3,000 cash for my travel expenses.
On January 19, I took the plane to Kuala Lumpur and arrived there in the evening. Hung had arranged for a local driver to wait for me outside the airport who took me straight to the hotel. I arrived at the hotel a couple of hours later, checked in, and went to my room.
On the next day at about 16:30, a local Chinese man called me and said he would drop off some souvenirs and small jade stones for me to take back to Hong Kong. I met him at the hotel lobby at about 17:30 where he gave me twenty packages in two separate bags. He instructed me to keep these packages in my checked luggage and not to open them. I followed his instructions.
On the last day of the trip after having breakfast, the driver, who took me from Kuala Lumpur Airport two days prior, picked me up again from the hotel to drive me to the Airport. While on my way there, Hung called me and instructed me to call him as soon as I arrived in Hong Kong.
I took the 13:30 flight out of Kuala Lumpur and went through custom clearance without issues. As soon as I arrived in Hong Kong I turned on my mobile and called Hung as instructed. I passed through the immigration counter smoothly. I then went to the luggage belt, picked up my luggage, and approached customs for clearance.
At customs, the officer stopped me and told me that my luggage needed additional clearance. At first glance, they checked my bags and did not find anything out of the ordinary. However, they took a closer look at the souvenirs and inspected a box containing coffee powder. Another officer found tablet-like pills inside the coffee bag and used a screwdriver to take a little bit of powder for examination. The drug examination machine confirmed that the pills were Ketamine. I was shocked on the spot as I believed that I was only bringing back some small jade stones together with the souvenirs. I did not know I was bringing back any drugs.
A short moment later, I was taken away by a team of police officers from the Drug Investigation Bureau. I told them that I did not know I was bringing back drugs, however, they threatened me that I would face more than 20 years imprisonment if I did not plead guilty and cooperate with them. I was really worried at that moment and in emotional distress.
I agreed to cooperate with them. I admitted I was controlled by my boss to traffic drugs, but I did not know what the drugs were. I felt that this was a forced admission as I was in emotional distress and mentally weakening. I could not be thinking logically at that moment.
At about 21:30, after the initial investigation and statement-making, I was escorted to the Wan Chai Police Headquarters. We arrived there at about 23:00. Then, they proceeded with another detailed interview and I was questioned until 03:00 the following day. As I cooperated with them, they told me that I might only get about six years imprisonment and offered assistance to my family if necessary. At about 05:00 they went to my home to proceed with an additional search but they did not find any more drugs.
I have been remanded for more than a year now. I would like to take this opportunity to remind anyone thinking about drug trafficking that this is really a very serious offense that carries a maximum imprisonment of 35 years. Don’t let it happen to you.
Note: this letter has been edited for grammatical errors and better readibility
