Hong Kong Customs officers arrested two Mainland Chinese men on 10 October after intercepting a suitcase stuffed with five kilograms of cannabis buds arriving on a Philippine Airlines flight from Manila. The haul, valued at about HK$1 million (US$128,000), was detected during routine X-ray screening at Terminal 1. Initial investigations suggest the 59- and 58-year-old suspects were acting as couriers for a drug ring operating in both the Philippines and Guangdong. Intelligence indicated the syndicate shifted to air routes via Manila after Hong Kong tightened land-border inspections this summer. Officers believe the drugs were bound for the city’s nightlife districts and construction sites, where demand has surged. The arrests come amid a 12 % year-on-year rise in cannabis trafficking cases at the airport. Customs has redirected resources by stationing risk-profiling teams at check-in gates for flights originating from high-risk Southeast Asian hubs. The department warned travellers not to accept luggage from strangers and reminded employers that drug convictions carry mandatory life sentences and HK$5 million fines in Hong Kong. Law firms specialising in expatriate compliance advise multinationals to update travel-risk briefings for staff transiting through Manila or Cebu, noting that random inspections have increased. Companies sending engineers to Philippine projects are encouraged to schedule indirect routings via Singapore if time allows, until the syndicate’s network is fully dismantled. The suspects will appear at West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts on 12 October. Further arrests are expected as cross-border intelligence is shared with the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency and China’s National Immigration Administration.
Source: HKSAR Government Press Release
