Hong Kong police arrest 2 tourists from Spain after finding HK$120 million in cocaine at hotel room

Superintendent Wilson Tam Wai-shun of the force’s narcotics bureau said the suspects were believed to be working for a transnational syndicate that recruited foreigners to smuggle drugs and briefly stay in the city.

“This is the largest haul of suspected cocaine confiscated by the force this year so far,” he said.

“We notice that the syndicate are using guerilla tactics, which means they carefully chose tourists to traffic the drugs in suitcases in order to conceal their true identity as narcotraffickers.”

Tam said both suspects had flown to Hong Kong from Spain late last month, with the journey including a layover in London.

The drugs had been stored in the hotel room since early February, he said, adding that officers were investigating how much of the cocaine had already been sold.

The two suspects are being held in police custody and will appear at Kowloon City Court on Monday morning.

Last month, the force seized 2.6kg of suspected cocaine at a flat in a private housing estate in Cheung Sha Wan and arrested a 28-year-old man in connection with the case.

The haul had an estimated street value of more than HK$3.1 million, police said at the time.

The amount of cocaine seized by police and customs last year reached 3,537kg, a 55.7 per cent jump from the 2,271kg uncovered in 2022.