Hong Kong customs seizes HK$500,000 worth of suspected Covid drugs, arrests couple over illegal import, possession
- Customs officers on Saturday arrest couple and discover 130 boxes of pills at flat after earlier intercepting air parcel containing another 250 packages
- Meanwhile, Post finds local pharmacies have begun restocking popular painkiller Panadol after last month’s wave of panic buying
Hong Kong customs officers have seized 380 boxes of suspected Covid-19 antiviral drugs worth HK$500,000 (US$64,017) and arrested a couple over allegations of illegally importing and possessing unregistered medicines.
The announcement by customs on Sunday came as some local dispensaries began to restock Panadol, a popular painkiller and fever-relief drug that flew off shelves during a recent wave of panic buying amid a coronavirus outbreak in mainland China.
The department said it had intercepted an air parcel from India containing around 250 boxes of the pills on Wednesday, which was addressed to a flat in Tin Shui Wai.
Customs arrested the husband, 40, when he attempted to collect the parcel at his local post office on Saturday, while his 34-year-old wife was apprehended at home, where officers discovered another 130 boxes.
Hong Yan, an inspector with the department’s syndicate crimes investigation bureau, said the seized oral drugs had no registration numbers and officers were investigating whether they were authentic.
