Tag: drug trafficking

Will I ever see my children again?

I’m a 29-year-old male from Uganda, born in the city of Iganga. I come from a modest Muslim family, one of ten children. Growing up was challenging due to our limited resources. Our parents struggled to provide for our basic needs like food, shelter, clothing, and medical care, a problem further compounded by the government’s inability to assist.

Despite these hardships, I attended school, though I often lacked the funds for school fees, books, and other materials. When I was old enough to work, a friend offered me a job opportunity. I didn’t think twice before accepting, eager to earn money and improve my situation.

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Drug courier’s addiction spirals out of control

Allow me to introduce myself. I was arrested on October 25, 2022, and have been in custody for 17 months. I face two charges of trafficking dangerous drugs on two separate occasions. I pleaded guilty in November and will be sentenced on June 27, 2024.

To be candid, my history with drug abuse only began around 2020. Compared to others who have been using drugs for 10 years or more, I’m relatively new to this. Regrettably, during the most difficult period of my life, my consumption may have been higher than others because I had easy access to large quantities of drugs as a wholesaler in the drug supply chain. There was a time when I consumed over 30g of cocaine in a single day, and periods when I didn’t return home, leaving behind my wife and our three-year-old daughter.

Looking back, I deeply regret my actions.

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Gambled freedom for gambling debt

I was arrested for drug trafficking, a case involving three types of drugs. Although I’m not a drug user, you might ask, why did I get involved in this?

Previously, I worked at a finance company, answering phone calls. The job provided decent commissions, but it led to a gambling addiction. Eventually, I lost all my money and accumulated significant gambling debts. My family, using all their savings, helped me pay off these debts and loans.

My 72-year-old father is retired, dealing with a chronic illness that requires medication and regular check-ups. My mother, a 68-year-old housewife, works part-time as a cleaner. My older brother is a restaurant chef, and my sister works as a salesperson at a clothing store. We’re not wealthy, and while my family didn’t rush me to repay them, my guilt pushed me down the wrong path.

Eventually, I lost all my money and accumulated significant gambling debts. My family, using all their savings, helped me pay off these debts and loans.

A friend of a colleague heard about my desperate need for money – the rest, as they say, is history.

I’ve been in remand for about two and a half years for this first offense. I’ve noticed that many here have lost friends, family, jobs, and most importantly, their health due to drug addiction. Hence, I encourage them to quit drugs when they’re released, and I intend to spread this message when I’m released as well.

Note: This story was originally written in Chinese. It has been translated and edited to improve legibility. Switch language to read the original. 

Who will care for my father now?

I’m thankful for the opportunity to share the suffering I’m currently facing. This is about my case and story.

My mother committed suicide in 2012 when I was 10 years old, and since then my father began having emotional problems. Previous to that, my father had a severe accident at work that left him disabled. This limited his mobility, and the household expenses became a huge burden to him. I felt immense pressure and felt I needed to grow up quickly to start working and help support the family.

So, when I was 16 years old, I dropped out of school, only completing up to Form 4. I’d been working as a kitchen assistant ever since, trying to earn money to contribute to my disabled father’s care. This has been my daily routine.

When I was 21 years old, I met a friend at a bar. He asked me to help deliver an item to someone, and that he would cover my travel expenses for the favor. At first, I refused because he wouldn’t tell me what the item was. But given my family’s situation, with a disabled father to support, and the financial temptation, I reluctantly agreed. I didn’t know it was drugs until the night of September 7, 2023, when I received the item from a man. I had no intention of using the drugs myself. However, I was immediately arrested that same night.

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False hope from a false friend

I am a 36-year-old woman from South Africa. I have a 13-year-old son and have been also caring for my grandmother and my late sister’s children. My sister passed away in April 2021, leaving behind a son and daughter who are 7 and 5.

I lost my job in 2020 and started a food business, but I lost that too due to the unrest in my city in 2022. I was living in an unhappy marriage with an abusive husband. It took me a long time to leave him because I was concerned about how I would support the children.

One day, I met a woman who said she knew me, though I didn’t remember her. She said she was sorry about the passing of my late sister and my failed food business. I was surprised to hear this so I asked how she knew all that. Turns out she used to be acquainted with my sister and had patronized my business once before. I cried. She was moved and asked me what I needed most. I told her I desperately needed to restart my business, as it was very difficult to find a job due to the unrest. She said she was going to Johannesburg and would return in two weeks to discuss how she could help me. She gave me her contact information and a food voucher before leaving. I was so happy about this encounter that I told my family all about it and the nice woman I had met.

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Pile of debt to pillar of strength

To start my story, I’ll share my family’s initial reaction upon learning I was in jail. I couldn’t face them, especially my wife and daughter. When my parents came to visit me, they burst into tears. Before this, I rarely kept in touch with them due to my gambling addiction. My debtors had harassed them multiple times, so I chose to stay away from them. Nevertheless, they spent three hours commuting every day just to visit me. Our relationship has become closer because of this experience.

Initially, my parents scolded me for committing such a crime. They did so because they love and care for me. During the first month of their visit, my mom cried every time. I regret making an unwise choice that hurt them.

My wife and daughter were devastated by the news of my imprisonment. At first, my wife refused to accept the fact and it took her a month before she visited me. Each time she came, she collapsed and cried at the sight of me.

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Into the deep pit

I am 32 years old. I was arrested for drug trafficking and I am currently on remand. I want to use this opportunity to share my story as a warning to young people about the dangers of drugs and the importance of cherishing their loved ones.

I used to be a construction worker, earning about HKD 20,000 per month. Both my parents suffer from health issues; my father is unemployed due to heart problems, and my mother is physically disabled and unable to work. Additionally, I used to care for my niece because my sister was constantly working. My sister works in sales. However, her monthly income is modest and she also has to finance her daughter’s education.

My romantic relationship also added to my financial burden. The physical strain of my job began to impact my health. I developed a protruding disc in my spine, which caused significant difficulties in my work.

Sleep eluded me. When I did manage to doze off, nightmares would jolt me awake. By the time I woke up, dawn had already broken. This pattern continues to this day.

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Ignorant, but not innocent

I am a 26-year-old half-Pakistani charged with trafficking, involving approximately 90 grams of cocaine found in my residence during a police raid on May 1, 2022.

I grew up in a broken family. My parents divorced when I was four years old, leaving me to grow up with my mother, a single parent. Later, my stepfather frequently subjected me to physical abuse. One time, my injuries were so severe that my school called an ambulance, which took me to the hospital. This incident alerted the authorities, and my stepfather was subsequently taken to court on charges of domestic violence.

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A life utterly destroyed by drugs

Hello everyone, I’m sharing my story to urge you and your loved ones to steer clear of drugs. I’ve been in prison for two years on charges of dangerous drugs trafficking, specifically over 800+ grams. The sentence for this charge ranges from 20 to 23 years. That’s what I’m facing.

I am a 45-year-old man with a 73-year-old mother who suffers from chronic illnesses such as hypertension and diabetes. I also have a 19-year-old son who is still in school. We lived together renting a place for HK$6,000 a month. I studied in Australia until the age of 13 but had to abandon my studies in year 11 due to my parents’ financial difficulties. I got married at 21, had my son at 26, and by 27, I was divorced and had custody of my son. It wasn’t easy being a single parent, but my mother was always there to help.

…But when she left me, taking most of my money, I was devastated. I turned to alcohol and eventually tried ICE, a drug a work friend suggested. This marked the downturn of my life. I treated my mother poorly, moved into an industrial building with my son, and squandered money on drugs.

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Will I ever see my girl again?

I resided with my father, stepmother, and stepbrother. Upon completing ninth grade, I immediately joined the workforce. In 2015, I got married and moved out, renting a place with my then-husband.

I became a full-time housewife after the birth of our daughter, and to supplement our income, I started an online shop selling cosmetics and baby products.

Sadly, my marriage was riddled with conflict, and in 2018 my husband took our daughter and severed all contact with me, my family, and my friends. He subsequently filed for divorce unilaterally and gained custody of our girl.

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My life in numbers

Six

I grew up in foster care from a young age under the Social Welfare Department. I lived in a total of six foster homes from the age of 2 to 12. Let me start with the first one. I lived there for four years, from the age of 2 to 6. Because I was very young at the time, I considered them my family – my father, mother, and brother. I didn’t know my biological parents then and thought that this was my very own family. However, that was not the reality. When I entered first grade, someone came to my home and took me to court for a family progress hearing. It was the first time I saw a man claiming to be my biological father. However, I was too young to understand anything, so I didn’t say anything to him. After that court hearing, the person who asked me to go to court came again and took me to another home, where I met a new family. After that, I never saw my original father and mother again. I knew I wouldn’t see them anymore.

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Living in anguish far from home

I am now in detention and I want to share my story of how I got tricked into trafficking cocaine into Hong Kong on 25th October 2022. That was the day I got arrested at the Hong Kong International Airport upon arriving.I am a 29-year-old mother of two. In 2020, I got a call from my ex-husband because things could not work out between us. We had separated in 2016 when I had just gotten pregnant with our second child. I had to relocate to a different town because a lot had happened to me. I needed space. I had left home by then, my grandparents who raised me didn’t agree with me having a baby. They were scared that with the way I was maybe I would go dump the child in the street. So I left them and went to my childhood friend who was willing to take me in. We started living happily. We found work as sales agents at one of the most popular insurance companies in my country because before I could separate from my ex-husband I was already selling insurance.

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For my baby boy’s sake

My parents divorced when I was three years old, and I lived with my father, grandmother and my two brothers, who are about ten years older than me. My father worked diligently each day to provide for us, often leaving early in the morning and returning late at night. Consequently, the responsibility of my care fell on my grandmother with the help of my brothers.

I should have been grateful that I had three meals a day and a roof over my head. Why should I expect my father and grandmother to pay attention to my emotional needs?

I only reached elementary school level of education as my family couldn’t provide a suitable environment for my learning. Everyone only focused on making ends meet. To ease the financial strain on our family, I desired to start working early. This led to a loss of interest in studying, as I perceived earning money to be more valuable.

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Woman arrested for hiding HK$770,000 worth of cocaine in body

A 55-year-old woman was arrested at the airport on Friday as customs detected a drug trafficking case and seized about HK$2.2 million worth of cocaine weighing 2 kg.

A 30-year-old woman who arrived in Hong Kong from the Democratic Republic of the Congo was arrested after she was found to have cocaine concealed in her body by Customs.

The woman was intercepted during customs clearance at Hong Kong International Airport after she flew to the city from the Democratic Republic of the Congo via Ethiopia last Friday (Oct 27).

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Woman arrested for smuggling in HK$600k worth of drugs within body

Customs announced on Friday that they busted a drug trafficking case on October 25 (Wed) and seized about 570 grams of suspected cocaine with an estimated market value of about HK$600,000.

A 53-year-old female passenger arrived in Hong Kong from Bogata, Colombia, via Paris, France, on Wednesday (Oct 25).

During customs clearance, customs officers found her suspicious and suspected that she may have had drugs concealed inside her body. She was escorted to the hospital for an examination.

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