Four Arrested as Triad Used Gaming Platforms to Recruit Drug Runners
Hong Kong police have detained four men and confiscated 9.5kg (20.9lbs) of suspected narcotics valued at roughly HK$7.2 million (US$918,850) in a case where two mainland Chinese individuals were allegedly recruited by a syndicate via online gaming platforms.
According to police statements on Saturday, the operation started on Thursday when officers stopped a suspicious 21-year-old man from the mainland who tried to escape in Tsim Sha Tsui.
They accompanied him to a nearby apartment, where they discovered 399 grams (14 ounces) of ketamine and 193 grams of crack cocaine. The man was then taken into custody.
Subsequent inquiries enabled officers to pinpoint a drug trafficking syndicate that was operating a residential flat in Tsuen Wan as a hub for packaging and distribution.
A 19-year-old mainland man was arrested, and authorities seized 2.1 litres (4.44 US pints) of etomidate along with 780 grams of ketamine, methamphetamine and cocaine from the flat.
The probe revealed that both mainland men had been enticed through online gaming platforms and social media to assist in running drug packaging and distribution operations in Hong Kong.
Two local men were subsequently apprehended, and an additional 8.1kg of cocaine was recovered from a flat in Sheung Shui that was rented by one of them.