Six in court after $600m coke bust at village
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An American and five Mexicans, charged in connection with the biggest cocaine seizure in Hong Kong, will appear in Tuen Mun Magistrates' Court this morning.
The four men and two women, aged between 24 and 40, along with a Hong Kong man, 55, and his Columbian wife, 49, were arrested in different locations after Narcotic Bureau officers smashed an international drug gang and seized more than 560 kilograms of cocaine worth HK$600 million on the street.
Police conducted a series of swoops that began on Friday following a tipoff about a South American drug syndicate.
The American and Mexicans were arrested at Fuk Hang Tsuen, Tuen Mun, on Friday night. Police found 40kg of cocaine in the luggage of two men and a further 12kg in the women's handbags.
They later raided a 1,000-square- meter recycling warehouse in the village and seized about 460kg of cocaine and some packaging equipment. Police also raided four apartments in Cheung Sha Wan, Kwai Chung and Mong Kok, seizing about 50kg of cocaine in Cheung Sha Wan and US$50,000 (HK$390,000) in Mong Kok.
Chief superintendent John Paul Ribeiro said most of the cocaine was hidden in engine oil containers for recycling. He said the drug was packed into containers of 350 grams each, and then turned into recycled blocks along with other recycled garbage.
Police have so far seized 1,240 containers containing cocaine.
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