Amount of drugs found on air passengers in Hong Kong last year up by 244% over 2019
Customs officers seized 874kg of narcotics, worth HK$349 million, from air travellers in 2024, Post learns
The amount of narcotics confiscated from air travellers at the Hong Kong International Airport soared to 874kg (1,927lbs) last year, an increase of 244 per cent over the figure for 2019, before the Covid-19 outbreak, the Post has learned.
Statistics obtained by the Post showed that narcotics worth HK$349 million (US$44.9 million) were seized from 111 arrivals from different parts of the world last year.
Customs officers arrested 60 arriving travellers on suspicion of smuggling 254kg of illegal drugs with a total estimated street value of HK$225 million in 2019 before the outbreak of the pandemic in the first quarter of 2020.
“Intelligence indicated these suspects were allegedly paid up to 1 per cent of the value of the narcotics they were transporting,” a source said. “The suspects included people burdened with heavy debts and those who were allegedly offered monetary rewards and free air travel to engage in drug trafficking activities.”
The surge in drug seizures was attributed by the insider to stepped up enforcement at the airport, especially during the festive season when international drug trafficking syndicates attempted to take advantage of busy traffic and increased their use of couriers to smuggle narcotics into the city.
In December alone, customs officers arrested 17 air passengers on suspicion of smuggling 131kg of illegal drugs with an estimated street value of more than HK$70 million into the city.
