Customs officers in Hong Kong have arrested three people and seized 500 kilograms of cannabis in a shipment of soybeans from Canada, reports the South China Morning Post.

The stowed cannabis was discovered in a container that had been unloaded from a cargo ship which had drawn the attention of customs officials. The incentive to smuggle cannabis into the country is high, with prices reportedly more than HK$200 a gram, or about 35 Canadian dollars.

According to the Morning Post and a video on Facebook, seizures of cannabis in Hong Kong rose by 108% to 3,021 kilograms between January and July this year, up from 1,449 kilograms in the same period last year. The report also notes that the Hong Kong Customs and Excise Department says that the 2.6 tonnes of cannabis seized in the first nine months of this year is up more than 80% compared with the same period in 2023. 

Canada is not the only source of illicit cannabis imports into the country, but it’s not an uncommon occurrence. On March 10, 2024, Hong Kong Customs seized about 87 kilograms of suspected cannabis at Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) in the largest passenger cannabis trafficking case detected by customs at HKIA in the past decade.

Two men, 67 and 48, arriving from Vancouver, were arrested after customs officers found the suspected cannabis in their checked-in luggage. 

In November 2023, around 223 kilograms of suspected cannabis were seized from a ship declared as transporting tires en route from Canada. Seventy-six kilograms were seized from a ship from Canada on October 5, 2023, another 120 kilograms in August, and 110 kilograms in July of the same year. 

In December 2022, Hong Kong customs seized 348 kilograms of cannabis hidden in a shipment of ceiling tiles arriving from Canada. 

Officials arrested two men, 32 and 34, who were suspected to be connected to the case, after discovering the cannabis hidden among 40 boxes of ceiling tiles.

Related Articles

BC civil forfeiture office seeks to seize property, cash connected to three illicit cannabis websites

August 8, 2022

Study looks at impacts of cannabis legalization on organized crime in Canada

October 8, 2024

Despite stiff penalties, Hong Kongers are importing hundreds of kilograms of Canadian cannabis

November 13, 2020