Hong Kong Customs seizes suspected heroin worth about $1.4 million at airport
Hong Kong Customs today (May 1) detected a drug trafficking case at Hong Kong International Airport. About 2.3 kilograms of suspected heroin with an estimated market value of about $1.4 million, and 157 duty-not-paid cigarettes were seized.
A 35-year-old male passenger arrived in Hong Kong from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, today. During customs clearance, the batch of suspected heroin was seized from him, and the duty-not-paid cigarettes were found inside his baggage. The male was subsequently arrested.
The arrested person has been charged with one count of trafficking in adangerous drug, one count of possession of dutiable goods and one count of failing to declare to a member of the Customs and Excise Service the possession of dutiable goods. The case will be brought up at the West Kowloon Magistrates' Court tomorrow (May 2).
Customs will continue to step up enforcement against drug trafficking activities through intelligence analysis. The department also reminds members of the public to stay alert and not participate in drug trafficking activities for monetary return. They must not accept hiring or delegation from another party to carry controlled items into and out of Hong Kong. They are also reminded not to carry unknown items for other people.
Customs will continue to apply a risk assessment approach, and focus on selecting passengers from high-risk regions for clearance to combat transnational drug trafficking activities.
Under the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance, trafficking in a dangerous drug is a serious offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $5 million and life imprisonment.
Under the Dutiable Commodities Ordinance (DCO), cigarettes are dutiable goods to which the DCO applies. Any person who imports, deals with, possesses, sells or buys illicit cigarettes commits an offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $2 million and imprisonment for seven years.
Members of the public may report any suspected drug trafficking activities to Customs' 24-hour hotline 182 8080 or its dedicated crime-reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk) or online form (eform.cefs.gov.hk/form/ced002).
Hong Kong Customs seizes suspected heroin worth about $1.4 million at airport Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
Government concludes twelfth-day arrangements for Wang Fuk Court residents returning to their units
Today (May 1) is the twelfth day of phased arrangements for residents of seven blocks of Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po to return to their units. Five middle-zone floors of Wang Tai House and 11 high-zone floors of Wang Kin House were opened. The access arrangements were carried out in an orderly manner and operated smoothly.
A total of 130 households (489 people) registered to return to their units today through the "one social worker per household" service, while 130 households (511 people) actually turned up.
The average time residents spent entering and leaving the building today was two hours and 26 minutes, with the shortest time being 17 minutes and the longest three hours and 56 minutes. About 70 per cent of the residents stayed in the building for less than three hours. About 27 per cent of the residents stayed in the building for less than two hours. About 6 per cent of the residents stayed in the building for less than one hour.
A total of 83 households (160 people) went up and down the building more than once. Among them, 52 households (113 people) made one additional trip, 24 households (37 people) made two additional trips, 6 households (8 people) made three additional trips, and 1 household (2 people) made five additional trips.
The integrated enquiry counter set up by relevant departments today received seven cases requesting police assistance and two cases involving residents seeking help due to physical discomfort, as well as 1 case seeking psychological counselling services.
The seven cases requesting police assistance involved suspected loss of property, including jewellery, cash and gold items. Officers were immediately deployed to assist in searches, and in three cases, the units concerned were severely damaged and residents believed after investigation that the property might have been destroyed by fire. For the remaining four cases, there were no signs of ransacking in the units, and the residents could not provide details on the property concerned.
The Government spares no effort in supporting the residents returning to their units. Each day, the Government deploys over 1 000 personnel from various departments, including the Police, the Civil Aid Service, the Fire Services Department, the Auxiliary Medical Service, the Home Affairs Department, the Social Welfare Department (SWD), the Housing Department, and the Housing Bureau, as well as District Services and Community Care Teams members. The "Government-wide Mobilisation" mechanism has also been activated to bring together greater interdepartmental resources to support residents.
Under the "Government-wide Mobilisation" mechanism, the Civil Service Bureau has co-ordinated nine government departments to mobilise civil servants to form the Government Quick Response Unit to support these access arrangements. These civil servants come from the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD), the Architectural Services Department (ArchSD), the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department (EMSD), the Environmental Protection Department, the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department, the Lands Department (LandsD), the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD), the Post Office, and the Water Supplies Department (WSD). They will form dedicated teams with social workers and clinical psychologists from the SWD, stationed on different floors to provide support to residents returning to their units. The civil servants mobilised in the first three days were from the AFCD, those mobilised from the fourth day to the sixth day are from the EMSD and the LCSD, those mobilised from the seventh day to the ninth day are from the LandsD and the WSD, while those mobilised from the tenth day to the twelfth day (including today) are from the Post Office and the ArchSD.
Government concludes twelfth-day arrangements for Wang Fuk Court residents returning to their units Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
Government concludes twelfth-day arrangements for Wang Fuk Court residents returning to their units Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
Government concludes twelfth-day arrangements for Wang Fuk Court residents returning to their units Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
