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Hong Kong customs reports 500 per cent spike in marijuana seizures, most sent by airmail after Canada’s move to legalise
Clifford Lo
Published: 9:30pm, 24 Apr, 2019
Updated: 2:46am, 25 Apr, 2019
Customs officers arrested three men for smuggling 31kg of cannabis worth an estimated HK$21.5 million in 2017. Photo: Felix Wong
The amount of marijuana seized on entry to Hong Kong has increased 500 per cent from 2018, equalling nearly all of last year’s total in the first three months of this year alone.
Law enforcement officials said on Wednesday that the boom in illegal cannabis stems from Canada’s move to legalise the sale and recreational use of the drug in October last year. Since then, officials said, Hong Kong had seen a wave of marijuana parcels airmailed from North America and camouflaged as food.
Anti-drug sources said the legalisation in Canada had given some Hongkongers the perception that marijuana was less harmful than other illicit drugs,creating a curiosity that led to greater demand in the city.
The latest figures from the Customs and Excise Department showed that 137kg of cannabis – with an estimated street value of more than HK$30 million (US$3.8 million) – was confiscated by customs officers in the first quarter of this year, an increase of 500 per cent compared with 22.7kg in the same period last year.
Customs officers confiscated a total of 141kg of cannabis in all of 2018.
Canada became the first major Western nation to legalise and regulate the sale and recreational use of marijuana in Cotober 2018. Photo: AFP
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According to law enforcement sources, customs have seized dozens of parcels, most carrying 1 to 2kg of marijuana. The cannabis was believed to have been sourced from Canada and the United States and was meant for the local market.
In a bid tostop the dramatic increase in long-distance trafficking, Hong Kong customs has boosted intelligence exchanges and cooperation with counterparts in Canada and the US, the source said.
Customs officers said they noticed an “obvious” rising trend of cannabis being hidden in parcels and mailed to Hong Kong from Canada, especially after the country legalised recreational use.
Full article here: https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3007519/hong-kong-customs-reports-500-cent-spike-marijuana
Hong Kong customs reports 500 per cent spike in marijuana seizures, most sent by airmail after Canada’s move to legalise
- At least 137kg of marijuana – with a street value of more than HK$30 million – confiscated in the first quarter of 2019.
- Officials say the rising trend of cannabis mailed from Canada is ‘obvious’
Clifford Lo
Published: 9:30pm, 24 Apr, 2019
Updated: 2:46am, 25 Apr, 2019
Customs officers arrested three men for smuggling 31kg of cannabis worth an estimated HK$21.5 million in 2017. Photo: Felix Wong
The amount of marijuana seized on entry to Hong Kong has increased 500 per cent from 2018, equalling nearly all of last year’s total in the first three months of this year alone.
Law enforcement officials said on Wednesday that the boom in illegal cannabis stems from Canada’s move to legalise the sale and recreational use of the drug in October last year. Since then, officials said, Hong Kong had seen a wave of marijuana parcels airmailed from North America and camouflaged as food.
Anti-drug sources said the legalisation in Canada had given some Hongkongers the perception that marijuana was less harmful than other illicit drugs,creating a curiosity that led to greater demand in the city.
The latest figures from the Customs and Excise Department showed that 137kg of cannabis – with an estimated street value of more than HK$30 million (US$3.8 million) – was confiscated by customs officers in the first quarter of this year, an increase of 500 per cent compared with 22.7kg in the same period last year.
Customs officers confiscated a total of 141kg of cannabis in all of 2018.
Canada became the first major Western nation to legalise and regulate the sale and recreational use of marijuana in Cotober 2018. Photo: AFP
Share:
According to law enforcement sources, customs have seized dozens of parcels, most carrying 1 to 2kg of marijuana. The cannabis was believed to have been sourced from Canada and the United States and was meant for the local market.
In a bid tostop the dramatic increase in long-distance trafficking, Hong Kong customs has boosted intelligence exchanges and cooperation with counterparts in Canada and the US, the source said.
Customs officers said they noticed an “obvious” rising trend of cannabis being hidden in parcels and mailed to Hong Kong from Canada, especially after the country legalised recreational use.
Full article here: https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3007519/hong-kong-customs-reports-500-cent-spike-marijuana
