Hong Kong police arrest man after finding HK$1.4 million of cocaine in flat

The force estimated the street value of the narcotics to be about HK$1.41 million.

The man was detained on suspicion of possessing narcotics, drug trafficking and manufacturing a dangerous drug – offences punishable by up to life in prison and a HK$5 million fine.

He was still being held for questioning as of Thursday morning.

The amount of cocaine confiscated by police and the Customs and Excise Department between January and May this year reached about 1.5 tonnes, down 6kg from the same period in 2023.

Two weeks ago, police made the city’s biggest bust on cocaine this year, seizing HK$300 million worth of the drug in a Yuen Long flat. A 22-year-old man was arrested in connection with the case.

In the first five months of this year, the combined seizures of five major illegal drugs – cannabis, cocaine, Ice, heroin and ketamine – rose by 27 per cent to 4.7 tonnes from 3.7 tonnes over the same period in 2023.