Four men were arrested after anti-narcotics officers seized a shipment of heroin and the drug ice worth more than HK$160 million in Hung Hom over the weekend.

The four suspects are a 47-year-old taxi driver, a 29-year-old owner of a car and two men aged 31 to 39, with the latter three claiming to be maintenance workers or jobless.

Narcotics bureau acting senior superintendent Chan Kong-ming said more than 100 kilograms of suspected heroin and approximately 10 kg of suspected crystal methamphetamine were seized in the Saturday operation in Hung Hom.

According to police intelligence, the suspects were planning to sell the drugs locally after the Lunar New Year holiday.

At around 7am on Saturday, police intercepted a taxi and found 134 bricks of heroin weighing 50 kg after spotting a suspected drug deal being made at a car park in Hung Hom.

Two men, believed to be lookouts, were also arrested at the entrance to the car park.

Another car suspected to be transporting the rest of the drugs rammed a police vehicle before fleeing in the direction of Jordan.

After a one-kilometer chase, the driver abandoned his car on Cox's Road after getting stuck in traffic. Officers found 173 heroin bricks weighing 65kg inside the vehicle.

Police later traced the car owner of the car through the vehicle registry and arrested him at a flat in Hung Shui Kiu.

"We believe that this operation has uncovered a major drug trafficking ring, and has stopped drugs from reaching the streets," Kong said.

Two of the suspects, he said, were from the Shui Fong (Wo On Lok) and 14K triads. More arrests may follow, he added.

"Based on previous investigations, most of the heroin we seized comes from the Golden Triangle region [Thailand, Laos, and Myanmar]," Kong said, adding that the force is still investigating the origin of the drugs.

There has been a 50 percent increase in heroin seizures last year with 534kg confiscated, up from 368kg in 2020. With border controls remaining in place, syndicates have shifted from carrying small amounts across land border points to transporting big shipments by sea.

Kong said that police would step up their promotional and educational efforts to improve knowledge of narcotics and their effects.

Chan Kong-ming said the border closures have caused drug traffickers to think big.

Four busted over $160m drugs