Police arrest 120, including a 12-year-old, in $26m drug bust

Police have arrested 120 individuals, among them a 12-year-old child, and seized approximately HK$26 million worth of illicit drugs following a sophisticated undercover operation targeting syndicates that use social media platforms to sell narcotics and recruit minors as couriers.

The city-wide crackdown, which ran from March 29 to April 25, resulted in officers uncovering 74 separate drug-related cases and confiscating a total of 53.7 kilograms of dangerous drugs and Part 1 poisons.

The operation led to the arrests of 78 males and 42 females. Alarmingly, 14 of those taken into custody were minors, with some having been actively recruited by drug syndicates to deliver narcotics.

The major operation was launched after officers conducting cyber patrols identified two highly active social media groups that were frequently posting advertisements for illegal drugs.

Following an in-depth investigation and intelligence analysis, the force identified three drug storage warehouses located in Tsim Sha Tsui, Tseung Kwan O, and Tuen Mun.

Police also pinpointed the identities of five key individuals responsible for managing the drug channels, storing the narcotics, and coordinating deliveries for the two groups.

On April 15, officers launched a series of raids, successfully dismantling all three storage facilities and arresting the five local men and women. The suspects, aged 26 to 35, have been provisionally charged with trafficking in dangerous drugs.

During the raids, police also seized drugs from the vehicle of one suspect, who is believed to have used a private car to conduct deliveries.

The haul from this specific syndicate included approximately 1.7 kilograms of marijuana buds, 419 cannabis oil vape capsules, 420 grams of cannabis resin, 791 etomidate capsules, and a large quantity of products containing THC and CBD.

Following these key arrests, police announced they had taken full control of the syndicate's online drug trafficking channels, completely uprooting their operation.

In addition to this primary success, four other online drug trafficking cases were broken up during the wider crackdown, resulting in the arrest of another 23 individuals, including two more minors.

Police expressed deep concern over the involvement of underage youths in the illegal operation. While some were recruited as couriers, others were arrested for possessing electronic cigarette products containing liquid nicotine or etomidate.

The force is urging parents, peers, teachers, and other stakeholders to intervene early if they notice young people engaging in such activities, preventing them from falling deeper into drug abuse.

 

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