18.5 kg of cannabis resin seized in embroidery paintings in Hong Kong
Hong Kong Customs found 7.5 kg of cannabis resin hidden in the wooden rods of 58 embroidery paintings in an air cargo shipment from India, then seized another 11 kg in a Yau Ma Tei flat and arrested three people. Customs put the estimated retail value of the seizure at $1.55 million.
On 14 June 2013, Customs officers of the Airport Command inspected an air cargo shipment declared as box samples from India and found about 7.5 kg of cannabis resin concealed inside the wooden rods of 58 embroidery paintings.[1]In a follow-up investigation on 17 June, officers of the Customs Drug Investigation Bureau arrested two men and a woman in a residential flat in Yau Ma Tei and seized another 11 kg of cannabis resin hidden the same way inside the rods of 80 more paintings.[2][1]
The three arrested people, aged 31, 34 and 38, said they worked as construction workers and a housewife; all were arrested for drug trafficking and held for investigation.[1]Customs put the estimated retail value of the 18.5 kg seizure at $1.55 million.[1]Drug trafficking carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment and a $5 million fine under the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance.[1]
Photos and video
One of the seized embroidery paintings with its two wooden rodsPhoto details
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