Tag: drug trafficking

From remitting to on remand

After the 2019 social unrest and gradual calmness following the extradition bill controversy in Hong Kong, my friend and I opened a currency exchange store around November of the same year. Our main business was currency exchange and remittance services. However, due to the time required for the customs financial license application, we were unable to start operating the business just yet. We had already paid $24,000 for store handover fees, $36,000 for a one-time deposit, and monthly rent of $18,000. We spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in about six months.

As one wave subsided, another one rose in 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic spread and the government implemented work-from-home measures for its departments. The approval for the customs financial license was further delayed, and we became very anxious.

With only expenses and no income, I looked for a way to raise some quick capital. I got introduced to a drug dealer through a former colleague. Continue reading From remitting to on remand

Tourist from Brazil caught hiding at least HK$850,000 worth of cocaine in his body

A male tourist arriving Hong Kong from Brazil will appear at the West Kowloon Court on Friday after he was earlier arrested for hiding drugs in his body, including 770 g of suspected cocaine worth HK$850,000 customs have seized so far.

The 27-year-old, reportedly a security guard, flew to Hong Kong on Tuesday via Dubai and Bangkok, according to customs. He was carrying light luggage and claimed to be a tourist.

Continue reading Tourist from Brazil caught hiding at least HK$850,000 worth of cocaine in his body

What’s in the package?

On the afternoon of July 28, 2022 a “friend” called me, and asked where I was. I told her I was at my boarding house. She then asked if I could run an errand for her, and gave me an address. She mentioned that she needed me to collect a package delivery from DHL.

Upon my arrival, I saw three men delivering the package. I approached them and told them that I was here to pick up the package. I showed them the tracking number. They asked for the phone number of the consignee, so I called my friend and she answered. The DHL couriers saw me calling and heard my conversation. My friend then told me that I didn’t need to pick up the package anymore. However, the men asked me for my identification and took me inside a van.

Continue reading What’s in the package?

Locked up, lockdown, locked up again

I am 47 years old and originally from Nigeria. I first came to Hong Kong in 2010 and was subsequently arrested for drug trafficking at the Hong Kong International Airport. I pleaded guilty to the charge and served my sentence until my release from prison in 2018. Since then, I have stayed in the city and lived as an asylum seeker.

In 2019, when the Covid pandemic struck, family and friends who were financially supporting me lost their jobs. Moreover, I used to earn a small amount of money helping people that came from Africa to buy second-hand electronics goods, but they stopped coming to Hong Kong because of the pandemic. I started having difficulty meeting my basic daily needs, and then in 2020, my girlfriend informed me that she was pregnant. This made the situation worse, and as a result, I began looking for help.

In desperation to earn money, I turned to some old clients whom I used to help since they couldn’t come to Hong Kong due to the pandemic. However, some of these clients reduced their orders because of lockdowns in their countries, and they couldn’t sell the previous goods they had ordered through me because their shops were closed.

Continue reading Locked up, lockdown, locked up again

Tricked into trafficking? Hong Kong drug mules face uphill fight to prove innocence, with most spending years in prison before release

Aminah* and her aunt Sunarti* were shocked when they arrived at Hong Kong International Airport and customs officials used an electric drill to take their suitcases apart.

The Indonesian women were arrested for drug trafficking after the officers found 5kg of crystal meth, commonly known as ice, hidden in the bags.

A few weeks before their arrest in June 2019, Aminah, 25, a housewife living in Lombok, had been contacted by her Indonesian friend Kartini* who was working as a domestic worker in Hong Kong.

Continue reading Tricked into trafficking? Hong Kong drug mules face uphill fight to prove innocence, with most spending years in prison before release

Drugs fight hits high with reopening of the border

Customs officers have seized 2.3 tonnes of drugs with an estimated market value of HK$970 million at the airport in the first half, up more than 80 percent compared to the same period last year.

The 2.3 tonnes of suspected dangerous drugs, seized in 604 incidents, made up 88 percent of the 2.6 tonnes, the highest proportion in the past 10 years, that were hauled in all ports of entry.

By quantity, the top seizures were of cannabis (572 kilograms), ketamine (504 kg), methamphetamine (436 kg) and cocaine (241 kg).

Continue reading Drugs fight hits high with reopening of the border

Man arrested for smuggling 6.3 kg of cocaine in cookie tins

Customs arrested a man after discovering 6.3 kilograms of suspected cocaine worth about HK$6.9 million in four cookie tins.

Officers were doing a routine check on a foreign man arriving from Macau on Saturday before finding the tins suspicious and opted to open it to check the contents.

They then found 6.3 kg of suspected cocaine with a market value of HK$6.9 million.

Continue reading Man arrested for smuggling 6.3 kg of cocaine in cookie tins

Drug trafficking overwhelms customs controls at Bole airport

The Ethiopian Customs Commission said it is struggling with the growing sophistication and capacity of drug smugglers who use Addis Ababa Bole International Airport.

Ethiopia is becoming among one of the emerging transit hubs for smugglers. Of around 156 drug seizures of outgoing drugs in Brazil, 64 were planned to arrive in or transit through Ethiopia, according to a report published by United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in March this year.

Continue reading Drug trafficking overwhelms customs controls at Bole airport

The plight of a victim of a Nigerian drug ring

I am a domestic worker and I have been on remand for two years as a result of trusting a man from Nigeria who took advantage of me. These people only want to gain your trust so they can use you for their illegal activities. Unfortunately, I am not the only victim. Many Filipina and Indonesian women are also in prison because of this Nigerian ring.

I want to bring this to the attention of the Hong Kong authorities in order to warn them about this Nigerian ring. We all admit that we were foolish to trust them, but I believe that God will help us because only He knows the truth.

Continue reading The plight of a victim of a Nigerian drug ring

UN says cocaine demand, production booming

Cocaine demand and supply are booming worldwide and methamphetamine trafficking is expanding beyond established markets, including in Afghanistan where the drug is now being produced, a United Nations report said on Sunday.

Coca bush cultivation and total cocaine production were at record highs in 2021, the most recent year for which data is available, and the global number of cocaine users, estimated at 22 million that same year, is growing steadily, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime said in its annual World Drug Report.

Continue reading UN says cocaine demand, production booming

Two arrested in $11 million drug bust

Police arrested two men for making and trafficking drugs in Mong Kok and Yuen Long, seizing suspected ketamine worth over HK$11 million.

In an anti-triad operation, officers intercepted a man at Foo Kwai Street in Mong Kok and found suspected ketamine on him. They further seized suspected ketamine weighing about 4.9 kilograms in his rental apartment.

Continue reading Two arrested in $11 million drug bust

‘Double-identity’ deliveryman arrested as Tsuen Wan police seize HK$3.6m of drugs

A 39-year-old man was arrested as Tsuen Wan police raided two warehouses in the area on Wednesday night and seized HK$3.6 million worth of drugs, including crack cocaine and “ice” drug.

After in-depth investigations, Tsuen Wan police targeted two warehouses at an industrial building on Wang Lung Street that were used as storage by drug distributors.

Continue reading ‘Double-identity’ deliveryman arrested as Tsuen Wan police seize HK$3.6m of drugs

Double the mistake, double the shame

I am a 40-year-old man who works as a porter and earns HK$25,000 per month. On July 14, 2022, the day I received my salary, I was arrested by a plainclothes officer. Prior to my arrest, I had used HK$5,000 to purchase some ketamine and cocaine, roughly 3.95g and 1.9g respectively.

Although I had only intended to bring these drugs home for me and my friends, my lawyer informed me that this still counts as a trafficking offense. As a result, I am facing a minimum sentence of three years. The sentence for trafficking 0-10 grams of ketamine is two to four years, which means that based on the amount I had, my sentence will be between two years and six months to two years and eight months. The sentence for trafficking 0-10 grams of cocaine is two to five years. Since I had both types of drugs on me, an additional six months will be added to my sentence.

Continue reading Double the mistake, double the shame

The package that stole my freedom

I am currently 25 years old and I have been in remand for over nine months on drug trafficking charges. When I was first arrested, I was very confused. I didn’t know anything about drugs, and I had no idea about the trial process or sentencing details. Learning that I might be sentenced to over twenty years imprisonment for the 1.8 kg of drugs found in the package I picked up left me feeling hopeless.

I grew up in a lower-middle-class family with one older brother. My father worked as a chef, while my mother stayed home to take care of the household. My parents would often argue due to financial issues, and they constantly instilled in us the belief that “money is extremely important, without it we cannot survive.” This made me eager to earn money and alleviate the financial burden on my family. My family was also relatively introverted, and we did not communicate much about personal matters, which led me to develop a more independent personality.

Continue reading The package that stole my freedom

Scapegoat on wheels: 14 years behind bars

I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and found myself wheelchair-bound. My financial situation was dire, and I was desperate for money. An old friend suggested that I deliver drugs and introduced me to a man from India who promised to inform me when he had drugs to deliver. The pay was HK$20,000 to HK$30,000 per run, but I was still unsure whether I should take the job.

One night, my friend called me twice in the early hours of the morning, but I did not answer. When I called him back the next day, he asked if I had anything to do. I told him I had to go to the hospital for an MRI. He then asked me to call him again after my examination, and when I did, he offered me a drug delivery job for HK$50,000. I agreed without thinking twice.

Continue reading Scapegoat on wheels: 14 years behind bars