Over the years at Coconuts, we’ve seen stories about traffickers attempting to conceal drugs in all sorts of unusual ways, hiding them in everything from candles to candy to cans of tomato sauce. But we’re particularly outraged that somebody would desecrate the good name of coconut water this way.
On Saturday, Hong Kong Customs announced that they detected a shipment of about 1.8 tons of liquid methamphetamines at the Kwai Chung Customhouse Cargo Examination Compound on Oct. 23. The shipment, which arrived from an undisclosed South American country, contained 7,700 boxes of coconut water, of which about 1,800 contained liquid meth.
Customs estimated the market value of the narcotics at around HKD 1.1 billion (US$140 million) making it the biggest meth bust in Hong Kong’s history.
The container was bound for New South Wales, Australia. Australian Federal Police (AFP) officers in Mexico and the Australian Department of Home Affairs shared intelligence with Hong Kong Customs which led to the bust.
Officials have not named any potential suspects behind the shipment. Under Hong Kong law, the maximum penalty for drug trafficking is a fine of HKD 5 million and life imprisonment.
