*********************************************************
Hong Kong Customs yesterday (March 30) foiled a drug trafficking attempt by a passenger at the Hong Kong International Airport and seized four kilograms of cocaine with an estimated market value of about $4.14 million. A 64-year-old foreign male was arrested.
Customs officers yesterday afternoon intercepted a passenger arriving from Santa Cruz, Bolivia at the arrival hall of the airport. The cocaine, in three slabs, was concealed in the false compartments of the passenger's hand-carried suitcase.
The arrested man, who claimed to be unemployed, will be charged with one count of trafficking in a dangerous drug and will appear at the Fanling Magistrates' Court on Monday (April 1 ).
Hong Kong Customs has stepped up enforcement action at the Hong Kong International Airport during the Easter holidays to clamp down on drug trafficking activities. Under the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance, drug trafficking is a serious offence. The maximum penalty is life imprisonment and a fine of $5 million.
Ends/Sunday, March 31, 2013
Issued at HKT 19:42
NNNN
