Hong Kong police arrest 99 people, aged 13 to 74, in citywide drug trafficking crackdown
Hong Kong police have arrested 99 people, aged between 13 and 74, following a citywide crackdown on drug trafficking over the past month.
'The arrested persons included 74 men and 25 women,' Senior Inspector Ho Ho-ting of the police force's narcotics bureau said in Cantonese during a press conference on Tuesday.
'Among the 99 arrested, 19 are under the age of 21, and nine of them are students,' he added.
The inspector said that following the citywide operation from March 30 to April 26, police seized 220 kilogrammes of drugs, ranging from cocaine and ketamine to cannabis and ' space oil,' with an estimated market value of HK$117 million.
The bust included 51 kilogrammes of cocaine, 81 kilogrammes of ketamine, 33 kilogrammes of heroin, one kilogramme of ice, 669 cannabis plants, more than 12 kilogrammes of cannabis, and around 900 capsules of cannabis oil, Ho said.
Police also confiscated around 2,500 capsules of space oil, a newly outlawed dangerous drug that is commonly inhaled through an e-cigarette and has been popular among youth.
The force seized around 1.1 litres of liquid etomidate – a short-acting anaesthetic agent and the main ingredient of space oil – and one kilogramme of powdered etomidate, the inspector said.
'The liquid and powdered etomidate seized is believed to be capable of producing an additional 12,000 capsules of space oil,' Ho said.
Social media
Police alleged that some of the suspects were part of a drug-trafficking syndicate that used social media platforms to deal drugs.
Undercover police officers first posed as customers to identify the drug sellers online, Ho said. Afterwards, police raided two premises in Yau Tong and Kai Tak that were used by the syndicate to store and distribute drugs.
The force arrested a 27-year-old man, allegedly the syndicate leader who controlled the social media accounts and arranged drug trafficking, as well as six others who assisted in drug sales and delivery.
The syndicate's social media platforms have also been deactivated, Ho added.
Some of the suspects were charged with drug trafficking and conspiring to traffic dangerous drugs, and they were brought to court on April 19 and 25.
'We believe some of them recruited minors to traffic drugs,' Ho said, adding that police would ask the court for heavier sentences because of their role in recruiting young people to commit crimes.
As of the end of March, police had arrested 171 people over the sale of etomidate and space oil, with 38 of them under the age of 21, Ho added.
Hong Kong classified etomidate as a dangerous drug in February in an attempt to crack down on its emerging use as a recreational drug.
Similar substances, such as metomidate, propoxate, and isopropoxate, were also added to the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance, putting them in the same category as ketamine and cocaine.
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