Hong Kong a key player in Asian drug trade as traffickers profit from integration: UN report

Seizures of methamphetamine across Asia have quadrupled as international crime syndicates reap huge profits on the back of growing regional economic integration and co-operation, according to a United Nations report.

The 35-page study identifies Hong Kong and the mainland as key players in the burgeoning narcotics trade, with seizures of the powerful stimulant crystal meth - more commonly known here as Ice - exploding fourfold from 11 tonnes in 2008 to 42 tonnes in 2013.

Releasing the report in Bangkok yesterday, Jeremy Douglas, regional representative for the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, said: "Increased cross-border trade, regional integration and reduced border restrictions … have also created opportunities for increasing the cross-border trafficking of drugs and the precursors needed to make them.

"It is undeniable that many positive economic opportunities and benefits are being seen, but the activity of transnational criminal groups involved in the region's synthetic drug trade is also increasing."

The report cites law enforcement authorities in the Philippines and Australia, which pinpoint Hong Kong as a base for syndicates smuggling crystal meth.

Earlier this month, Australian authorities revealed shipments of crystal meth were arriving in the country from Hong Kong at a rate of almost one a day.