Hong Kong police raid Pokemon card shop allegedly used as drug front, seize HK$10 million of meth

“But storing such a large quantity of the narcotics in a place where teenagers and children can visit is irresponsible and disgraceful behaviour that also heightens the possible risk of teenagers and children mistakenly encountering illegal drugs,” he said.

Following an extensive investigation, officers from the bureau intercepted a man, 28, for a stop and search outside the Hung Hom store on Monday.

Officers discovered 5kg of what appeared to be crystal meth, also known as Ice, among his belongings.

The man was taken back to the store, where officers discovered another 16kg of suspected crystal meth in a staff rest area.

Police said the seized 21kg narcotic was worth an estimated HK$10 million.

The suspect, one of the store’s proprietors, was detained on suspicion of trafficking in a dangerous drug, an offence punishable by up to life in prison.

Liong said a preliminary investigation suggested the drug storage facility had been operating for about a month.

He said he believed the suspect was recruited by a drug-trafficking syndicate with promises of money and used his store to store the narcotics in an attempt to avoid detection.

The 28-year-old was expected to be charged with drug trafficking and brought before Kowloon City Court on Wednesday, according to the force.

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

Last October, customs officers made their biggest seizure of suspected ­crystal meth in solid form yet, discovering a 1.1 tonne haul worth HK$640 million in a shipment of snail shells from Mexico.

In October 2022, customs seized HK$1.1 billion worth of liquid meth hidden in cartons of coconut water from Mexico, the largest local haul of the illegal drug.