Billion-dollar meth seizure biggest drugs bust in Hong Kong history with 1.8-tonne stash uncovered in shipment of coconut water from Mexico

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Billion-dollar meth seizure biggest drugs bust in Hong Kong history

Customs officers seize 1.8 tonnes of meth worth HK$1.1 billion disguised as shipment of coconut water.

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A HK$1.1 billion (US$140 million) haul of liquid meth disguised as cartons of coconut water is Hong Kong’s biggest ever seizure of drugs by value, customs officers have said.
The 1.8-tonne (2 ton) stash found on a cargo ship was en route from Mexico to Sydney, Australia, via the city, customs officials said on Saturday.

Officials said the drugs, hidden in 1,800 one-litre cartons, could bring in about HK$8 billion if sold in Australia, but were valued at around HK$18 million in Mexico and had an estimated street value of HK$1.1 billion in Hong Kong.

The drugs were hidden in one-litre cartons. Photo: Handout

Henry Fong Heung-wing, a customs assistant superintendent with the service’s drug investigation bureau, said the consignment was selected for inspection because coconut water was an unusual cargo from Mexico.

He added intelligence reports had also warned of the likelihood of a large amount of liquid meth, also known as methamphetamine or Ice, passing through the city.
“We had been alerted in an exchange of intelligence with overseas law enforcement agencies that a huge consignment of Ice would be coming to Hong Kong from Mexico this month,” he said.

The haul was concealed in a consignment labelled as coconut water that arrived in the city last Saturday.

The meth was transported on two of four pallets packed with a total of 3,600 cartons of in a shipping container alongside other goods such as machine parts.
Officers found the liquid meth hidden in half of the consignment after inspection at customs’ examination compound in Kwai Chung on Sunday.

Fong said that in terms of value, it was Hong Kong’s biggest haul of illegal drugs and the second largest by weight. In 1996, customs officers seized 7.2 tonnes of cannabis.

The discovery pushed the total amount of meth seizures by customs officers this year to more than 2.96 tonnes.

Customs and police confiscated 1.79 tonnes of the powerful and addictive drug in 2021 and 1.49 tonnes the year before.
The meth haul was the second found in a shipment from Mexico to Australia in less than two weeks.

Customs officials impounded HK$46 million worth of crystal meth hidden in an air consignment of electrical transformers from Mexico on October 14. The drugs were also destined for Sydney.

The consignment, labelled as coconut water, arrived in Hong Kong last Saturday. Photo: Handout

Senior Superintendent Lee Ka-ming, head of the bureau, confirmed the drugs had an estimated street value of HK$1.1 billion in Hong Kong.

“In terms of its weight and value, it is Hong Kong’s biggest ever seizure of meth,” he said.

The investigation discovered the intended recipient of the drugs was a non-registered company in Sydney.
No arrests have been made, but Hong Kong customs officials were working with overseas authorities to track down the people behind the operation

The seizure surpassed the previous record of 700kg of Ice, also from Mexico, worth HK$400 million made by customs in March.

Lee attributed the growing amount of the drug confiscated to the result of cooperation with mainland Chinese and overseas law enforcement agencies and a customs crackdown which resulted in several major seizures this year.
“Drug trafficking is a global problem and requires international cooperation and information sharing among law enforcement agencies around the world to tackle the problem,” he said.
Lee said customs officers had stepped up intelligence gathering and network analysis with mainland and overseas authorities to combat drug trafficking at the source.

Customs has seized 5.4 tonnes of illegal drugs so far this year, up 72 per cent from the 3.14 tonnes logged in 2021.
Drugs have also been found disguised as avocado oil, machine parts and food products, as well as wine.

Fong said traffickers had used different types of transport and concealment methods to smuggle illegal drugs either into or through the city.

“We continue to scrutinise shipments based on risk assessments, targeting those from high-risk countries and spare no effort to combat drug trafficking,” he said.
Drug trafficking carries a maximum penalty of life in prison and a fine of HK$5 million in Hong Kong.