Hong Kong police seize submachine gun, ammunition during HK$3.6 million drugs bust, investigate whether radicals were planning attack
- Police say they are looking into whether possession of weapon was triad-related or that radicals planned to launch attack in coming days
- Skorpion vz. 61 Czechoslovak machine pistol was equipped with a sound suppressor, an extendable gunstock and a magazine
Revealing case details a day after the operation, the force on Wednesday said they seized a Skorpion vz. 61 Czechoslovak machine pistol, which was was equipped with a sound suppressor, an extendable gunstock and a magazine. The weapon was not loaded and the 50 bullets were packed in 10 tiny bags placed near the firearm.
A couple, a man named Yeung, 30, and a woman, Choi, 27, were still being detained on Wednesday afternoon after being arrested in Cheung Sha Wan for drug trafficking, possession of offensive weapons and possession of arms or ammunition without a licence.
Chief Inspector Ho Yan-kit said officers would examine whether the pistol had firing power and had been used before. They were also looking into the source of the weapon and the intention for possession, said Ho, of Hong Kong Island regional anti-triad unit.
“These included whether it involved disputes among triads, or whether radicals planned to launch an attack in the coming days,” Ho said. “If this high-powered submachine gun was used in busy streets, the possible casualties would be unimaginable.”
Officers first picked up Yeung near Smiling Plaza in Cheung Sha Wan at 4.30pm on Tuesday and found 1.5kg of suspected ketamine on him. They then escorted him to his subdivided flat, which he shares with his girlfriend, for a search, during which officers uncovered the gun, brass knuckles and a quantity of drugs.
