Hongkonger arrested with HK$3 million in Ice could face death penalty in Singapore

Hong Kong narcotics bureau tipped off its counterpart in Singapore after suspecting a drug trafficking syndicate sent people to city state

A Hong Kong man who was arrested in Singapore after HK$3 million (US$384,260) worth of suspected crystal meth was discovered in two stone figurines could face the death penalty in the city state.

Local police said on Thursday the narcotics bureau tipped off its counterpart in Singapore in late June after suspecting a trafficking syndicate had sent people to the Southeast Asian country for drug-related activities.

On Tuesday afternoon, officers from Singapore’s Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) arrested the 25-year-old Hongkonger in Changi South just after he deposited a package at an airfreight warehouse in the same vicinity.

According to police, the package contained two figurines of a Chinese mythological creature called qilin.

“Four bags containing 4.15kg [9lbs] of suspected crystal meth in total were found concealed in the two figurines,” police said, adding that the haul had an estimated street value of HK$3 million.

The meth, also known as Ice, was concealed within the base structure of the two figurines, according to the CNB.

CNB deputy director Leon Chan said on Thursday his bureau “would like to thank HKNB [Hong Kong Narcotics Bureau] for their sharing of intelligence which led to this large seizure of ‘Ice’.

“Drug syndicates operate with no regard for borders and will cooperate with anyone anywhere so long as there are profits to be made. In the face of such criminals, law enforcement agencies must cooperate closely with one another.”

Singapore’s bureau added: “If a person is found guilty of trafficking more than 250g of methamphetamine, he or she may face the mandatory death penalty”.

It said investigations into the drug activities of the arrestee were ongoing.

Hong Kong police said they would continue to enhance information exchange with the Singapore Central Narcotics Bureau in order to trace the mastermind and other members of the syndicate.

“Police will also maintain and strengthen information exchange and cooperation with law enforcement agencies in other countries to jointly combat transnational drug trafficking activities,” the force said.

This marks the third case in less than four weeks where Hong Kong authorities have carried out joint operations with overseas law enforcement agencies to crack down on drug trafficking syndicates.

On June 23, Thai police arrested four Hong Kong men at Bangkok’s airport who were allegedly carrying a suitcase containing 40 slabs of heroin estimated to be worth HK$10 million. The arrests was made in a joint investigation with the city’s narcotics bureau.

Hong Kong customs and Australian authorities jointly cracked down on an international drug trafficking syndicate that allegedly smuggled narcotics concealed in stone statues, confiscating nearly 20kg of illegal substances and arresting two local residents, including a 17-year-old boy.

The teenager was arrested in Perth by Australian authorities on June 25 while the other suspect, 27, was picked up in Hong Kong two days later.

In the first five months of this year, the combined seizures of five major illegal drugs – cannabis, cocaine, crystal meth, heroin and ketamine – by local authorities rose by 27 per cent to 4.7 tonnes from 3.7 tonnes over the same period last year.

Source: scmp.com, Clifford Lo, July 18, 2024

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