Hong Kong police arrest 5, seize HK$215 million in illegal drugs, including liquid cocaine disguised as wine from South America

“We believe 426 bottles labelled as table wine, found in 71 of these boxes, were actually used as a disguise for the 320 litres [84 gallons] of suspected liquid cocaine,” Tam said.

Inside the flat, officers also seized a 1kg (2lbs) slab of what appeared to be cocaine, 400 grams of suspected ketamine and 740 grams of cannabis buds, he said.

The superintendent said police arrested three men, aged 18 to 23, who were unpacking boxes in the office at the time of the raid.

“We believe one of them was in charge of controlling the unpacking operation and recruiting the two other men [two students] to deliver the ‘drug wine’,” Tam said.

Police later raided a Sheung Shui flat and arrested a 31-year-old man.

Tam said a preliminary investigation suggested the suspect played a controlling role, including arranging the three younger men to pick up the bottles of suspected liquid cocaine from the Kwai Chung office.

In the evening of the same day, police arrested the alleged ringleader, 33, in Sham Shui Po.

Officers seized HK$500,000 in suspected crime proceeds generated from drug trafficking in his car and flat in Yau Ma Tei.

The next day, officers raided another four locations in Yau Ma Tei, Kwai Chung, Kwun Tong and Lau Fau Shan that were linked to the syndicate.

In the Lau Fau Shan flat, police found 635 boxes containing 3,810 bottles of wine. Officers found no illegal drugs inside.

Chief Inspector Charm Yiu-kwong believed the batch of wine was used as cover and transported together with the haul of suspected liquid cocaine into Hong Kong from South America.

He said officers also seized three bottles labelled as wine containing suspected liquid cocaine and about 500 grams of suspected crack cocaine during a raid on the Kwun Tong premises.

“The illegal drugs seized during the two-day operation have an estimated street value of HK$215 million,” Charm said.

A police source said the investigation suggested the syndicate had been in operation for several months and the seized drugs were destined for local and overseas markets.

Cocaine beats cannabis as top drug among young Hong Kong substance abusers

The five men were detained on suspicion of trafficking in a dangerous drug – an offence punishable by up to life in jail and a HK$5 million fine.

Acting Chief Superintendent Chan Kong-ming of the bureau said police employed a comprehensive approach to target all levels of the drug trafficking syndicate, arresting members of different seniority.

He said the two 18-year-old suspects were students and one of them was in Form Six.

“They were lured into working for the drug trafficking syndicate for quick money. This decision has cost them their bright prospects, which is truly unfortunate,” Chan said.

He said police would continue to carry out stringent enforcement action and enhance the gathering of intelligence to combat drug trafficking.

Provisional figures showed that seizures of the five major illegal drugs – cocaine, cannabis, methamphetamine, heroin and ketamine – rose by 68 per cent to 13.29 tonnes last year from 7.9 tonnes in 2022.

The amount of cocaine seized by police and customs last year reached 3.53 tonnes, a 55 per cent rise from 2.27 tonnes uncovered in 2022.