Hong Kong Customs arrested a 23-year-old female passenger arriving from Vancouver, Canada, after about 32 kilograms of suspected cannabis was found in her luggage on May 25.
Customs officers found the suspected cannabis inside her two pieces of checked-in suitcases. The arrested person was charged with one count of trafficking in a dangerous drug. The case will be brought up at the West Kowloon Magistrates’ Court on May 27.
Under Hong Kong’s Dangerous Drugs Ordinance, trafficking in anything classified as a dangerous drug is a serious offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $5 million and life imprisonment.
Such seizures are not unusual. On April 10 of this year, Hong Kong Customs seized about 60 kilograms of suspected cannabis arriving on a ship from Canada and declared as carrying wooden floors.
Customs officers in Hong Kong arrested three people and seized 500 kilograms of cannabis in a shipment of soybeans from Canada in October 2024.
On March 10, 2024, Hong Kong Customs seized about 87 kilograms of suspected cannabis en route from Vancouver, BC, at Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA). This was the largest passenger cannabis trafficking case detected by Customs at HKIA in the past decade.
In November 2023, around 223 kilograms of suspected cannabis were seized from a ship declared as transporting tires en route from Canada. In October 2023, 67 kilograms were seized from a ship sailing from Canada, 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.
The incentive to smuggle cannabis into the country is high, with prices reportedly more than HK$200 a gram, or about 35 Canadian dollars.
Canada is not the only source of cannabis seeking to find its way into Hong Kong. On May 24, about 5.4 kilograms of cannabis was seized on its way from Thailand. On May 16, customs officials in Hong Kong seized another 13 kilograms of cannabis en route from Thailand, and on May 15, 12 kilograms were seized, also coming from Thailand.
Featured image via gov.hk
