A teenager was arrested earlier this week after she was found with 20 kilograms of cocaine at the border, police said.
Earlier today, the Hong Kong Police Force held a press conference announcing that officers had arrested an unnamed 15-year-old Hong Kong girl at the Shenzhen Bay Border Control Point on Tuesday for trafficking dangerous drugs into Hong Kong.
Police seized 20 kilograms of cocaine with an estimated market value of HKD20 million (USD2.56 million) from the teen’s suitcase as evidence. Upon further investigation, the authorities also arrested two Hong Kong men, the oldest of whom was only 24, for conspiring to traffic in dangerous drugs.
Chief Superintendent Ng Wing-sze said there had been no attempt to hide the cocaine in the girl’s suitcase, and she had been arranged to leave border control in a luxury car. “It’s likely the suspects thought the girl wouldn’t be searched because of her appearance and luxury transport.”
Chief Superintendent Ma Ping-yiu of the Narcotics Bureau said police believed the bulk of the drugs were intended for the Hong Kong market, but did not rule out the possibility that a small amount was intended to be trafficked abroad.
Police said they were still investigating the drug syndicate. All three suspects are believed to be members, and the two men are believed to be core members. Ma said they are still trying to determine whether the girl was a longtime trafficker but said she is believed to have smuggled the drugs willingly in return for a monetary reward of approximately HKD10,000.
Ma told reporters that the trio had been arrested following over a month of investigation, and added that more suspects could be apprehended. “As our investigation is ongoing, we do not rule out that further arrests will be made,” Ma said.
Ng said drug syndicates often lure youths by posting summer job adverts for quick and easy money on online forums, and groomed the teens by taking them out for meals and fun activities. “They tell these children that they won’t get into trouble because they’re young and first-time offenders get off easy, but [drug trafficking] is not a light offence,” Ng said.
Ng added that Hong Kong parents could look out for signs that their children are involved with illicit trafficking. “Perhaps they have no income but start wearing flashy clothes and using luxury goods, or they often leave Hong Kong for day trips or overnight trips and can’t tell you why,” she said.
Ma said that there were 48 cases of minors, aged 10 to 15, being arrested for drug offences in 2016. Of those arrests, 41 were for serious drug offences, and seven were minor. For the first four months of 2017, Ma says “there has been a decreasing trend”, with only six people aged 10-15 arrested for serious drug offences. The superintendent told reporters that teenagers are usually promised monetary rewards ranging from a couple thousand HKD to around ten thousand HKD.
