Hong Kong Customs detects drug trafficking case involving incoming passenger at airport
Hong Kong Customs yesterday (October 27) detected a drug trafficking case involving an incoming air passenger at Hong Kong International Airport, and seized a total of about 5.5 kilograms of suspected crack cocaine, with an estimated market value of about $6 million. One man was arrested.
A 33-year-old Mainland male passenger arrived in Hong Kong from Sao Paulo, Brazil, via Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, yesterday. During customs clearance, Customs officers found the batch of suspected crack cocaine inside his baggage. The man was subsequently arrested.
The arrested man has been charged with one count of trafficking in a dangerous drug. The case will be brought up at the West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts tomorrow (October 29).
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 to 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.
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 detects drug trafficking case involving incoming passenger at airport Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
CS chairs interdepartmental working group meeting on Huanggang Port Hong Kong Port Area
The Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Chan Kwok-ki, today (October 28) chaired a meeting of the interdepartmental working group on the Huanggang Port Hong Kong Port Area to holistically co-ordinate and steer the preparatory work of various government departments in addressing the peak in cross-boundary passenger and vehicular traffic at the Huanggang Port during the Halloween period this weekend (i.e. from October 30 to November 1). The Secretary for Security, Mr Tang Ping-keung; the Secretary for Transport and Logistics, Ms Mable Chan; and representatives from other relevant government departments attended the meeting.
Mr Chan said, "With Halloween falling on this weekend, coupled with a number of events taking place in Hong Kong including the 'Hong Kong Wine & Dine Festival' and mega concerts, the number of visitor arrivals and late-night cross-boundary trips is expected to increase significantly. The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region attaches great importance to the operation of boundary control points (BCPs) and transport support, and has instructed all relevant departments to make advance deployment, and to accord priority to securing the smooth passage of public transport vehicles during peak clearance hours. Relevant departments have been instructed to effectively manage passenger and vehicular traffic as well as information dissemination, with a view to ensuring the safe and orderly operation of the port and surrounding roads, and providing a good travel experience for members of the public and visitors."
"We anticipate that the Huanggang Port will be very busy during the late-night hours over the Halloween weekend. During peak hours, the Government will adopt the principle of 'giving priority to public transport' and accord priority to the passage of public transport vehicles. I appeal to members of the public and visitors to plan their journeys in advance, take note of the operating hours of various land and rail BCPs, and avoid converging on the Huanggang Port during late-night hours. Travellers who need to cross the boundary during late-night hours are advised to take public transport. Travellers must note that under the principle of 'giving priority to public transport', those choosing to travel by cross-boundary private cars during peak hours may have to wait for a prolonged period on the roads and in the vehicle holding areas. We also encourage visitors to adjust their itineraries to stay overnight in Hong Kong and make good use of the 'ticket stub offers' launched by various events to make their overall journey more comfortable and enjoyable."
Forecast of late-night clearance peaks
Among the land BCPs between Hong Kong and Shenzhen, currently only the Huanggang Port provides 24-hour clearance services for passengers and passenger vehicles. Cross-boundary private cars holding Closed Road Permits (CRPs) for other land BCPs (Shenzhen Bay, Man Kam To, Sha Tau Kok and Heung Yuen Wai) are permitted to use the Huanggang Port between midnight and 6.30am daily. Consequently, there will be an increase in cross-boundary vehicles crossing the boundary via the Huanggang Port after midnight.
As multiple mega events this weekend are expected to conclude around midnight, the Government anticipates that the late-night hours over the three consecutive nights from October 30 (Friday) to November 1 (Sunday) (i.e. from about 11pm each night to 2am the following day) will be the busiest period for northbound passenger and vehicular flows at the Huanggang Port, and traffic at the port and in the vicinity of San Tin Highway will be very busy. Given the capacity limits of the connecting roads to the port and the port's handling capacity for cross-boundary private cars, in order to maximise the dispersal efficiency during peak hours, the authorities will accord priority to securing the passage of high-capacity franchised buses, green minibuses (GMBs) and cross-boundary coaches (CBCs). Under the arrangement of giving priority to the passage of public transport vehicles, passengers choosing to cross the boundary by cross-boundary private cars during late-night peak hours will experience longer waiting times, which may reach an hour or more in the vehicle holding areas and vehicle clearance channels. The authorities appeal to motorists and passengers to remain patient and tolerant, and follow the instructions of police officers on-site to queue up in order.
Interdepartmental collaboration and preparatory work at the port
Regarding port operations, the interdepartmental Joint Command Post at the Huanggang Port will be activated early in the afternoon of October 30 (Friday) and operate throughout the weekend to closely monitor passenger and vehicular flows in real time, and maintain close liaison with the Shenzhen port authorities to make swift responses and deployments when necessary, ensuring safe and orderly clearance for both passengers and vehicles. The Security Bureau (SB) will also concurrently activate the Emergency Monitoring and Support Centre to closely monitor and co-ordinate public order at the port, and co-ordinate interdepartmental follow-up actions where necessary to respond promptly to various kinds of emergencies. The Immigration Department and relevant port departments have minimised leave for frontline officers to enable flexible deployment of manpower, and will open all vehicle lanes, automated channels and manual counters as early as possible before the arrival of clearance peaks, including the clearance facilities at the passenger departure hall on L5, the vehicle departure level on L1 and the departure immigration clearance hall for on-board passengers on L1M. The Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF) and the Government Property Agency will also deploy additional police manpower and service ambassadors at L1 and L1M to assist in crowd and traffic dispersal, ensuring efficient and smooth clearance for vehicles and on-board passengers.
Enhancing traffic management and public transport contingency arrangements
The HKPF and the Transport Department (TD) have reviewed the operational experience from last weekend to further optimise road traffic management and public transport support in the vicinity of the port. Since the commissioning of the new port, the TD has set up a dedicated public transport lane leading directly to San Sham Road (i.e. the "bus/goods vehicle" slip road) for use by franchised buses, CBCs and GMBs to enter San Sham Road directly for the Huanggang Port. To strengthen the effective management of the dedicated public transport lane and enhance its effectiveness, the TD will enhance the road markings and extend the dedicated lane. The TD specifically reminds drivers of all light vehicles and taxis that they must not occupy the dedicated public transport lane, and must follow the instructions of police officers on-site. Meanwhile, during the peak hours of Huanggang Port-bound vehicular traffic on the nights of Friday to Sunday this week, the TD and the HKPF will arrange for four franchised bus routes passing through the San Tin Public Transport Interchange (PTI) to enter the PTI directly from Castle Peak Road. Depending on real-time vehicular flow, the HKPF will implement traffic control measures and activate vehicle holding areas in the vicinity of San Tin Highway in a timely manner for traffic diversion, properly separating the traffic streams of buses and cross-boundary private cars. The Transport and Logistics Bureau and the TD will also continue to co-ordinate closely with various public transport operators (PTOs) and steer them in reserving sufficient vehicles and manpower to flexibly step up service frequencies according to passenger demand; during peak hours, the service frequencies of franchised buses can be increased to every two to three minutes, while those of GMBs and CBCs can be increased to every five minutes. The TD's Emergency Transport Co-ordination Centre will operate 24 hours a day to closely monitor the traffic conditions at the Huanggang Port and across various districts, and implement contingency measures in a timely manner.
On-site traffic enforcement and combating illegal carriage of passengers
The HKPF will step up traffic control during peak traffic hours, swiftly handle traffic accidents and broken-down vehicles, and take stringent enforcement actions against traffic-obstructing offences such as illegal parking and the illegal use of dedicated public transport lanes by cross-boundary private cars. Furthermore, the Government has all along been very concerned about the use of motor vehicles for illegal carriage of passengers for hire or reward (commonly known as "white licence cars"). Legitimate cross-boundary hire cars must hold regular quotas for cross-boundary hire cars, CRPs and relevant Hire Car Permits. The HKPF has been gathering intelligence through various channels and taking targeted enforcement actions to severely combat the offences of illegal carriage of passengers for hire or reward by cross-boundary private cars. Apart from prosecuting offending drivers in accordance with the law, upon conviction, the drivers involved will be disqualified from driving and the vehicles involved will also be impounded. The TD will also revoke the CRP of the subject vehicle on the ground of breaching CRP conditions to enhance the deterrent effect. The Government will continue to strengthen law enforcement across all districts to combat illegal carriage of passengers for hire or reward, and will step up publicity on the relevant penalties to remind drivers not to defy the law, while alerting passengers to the potential risks of using illegal hire car services as the third party liability insurance for the vehicle providing illegal services may become invalid in the event of a traffic accident.
"Ticket stub offers" to encourage visitors to stay in Hong Kong
To encourage visitors to stay in Hong Kong for spending and accommodation after attending mega events while easing late-night cross-boundary passenger and vehicular flows, driven by the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau and the Hong Kong Tourism Board, relevant event organisers, catering outlets and merchants will launch a number of promotional offers this weekend, whereby visitors can enjoy various spending privileges upon presenting concert or event tickets.
Information dissemination
To facilitate early journey planning by members of the public and visitors, the SB, the TD, the HKPF and other departments will step up the dissemination of real-time information. Through the one-stop information platform on immigration clearance "Easy Boundary", the "HKeMobility" mobile application and social media platforms, the latest waiting times for passengers and private cars at various land BCPs will be announced, while the locations of traffic queues, estimated waiting times, utilisation of vehicle holding areas and special traffic arrangements will be announced in a timely manner during peak vehicular flow periods, alongside the provision of real-time traffic snapshots of roads to assist members of the public and visitors in grasping traffic situation and adjusting their itineraries. The working group appeals to members of the public and visitors planning to travel northbound across the boundary after evening events to make use of other land and rail BCPs before their closure as far as possible, and avoid converging on the Huanggang Port during late-night hours. Those who need to cross the boundary via the Huanggang Port during late-night hours should take public transport. The TD has steered PTOs to strengthen services from the Central District area on Hong Kong Island to Huanggang. Visitors may also stay overnight in Hong Kong after participating in nighttime festive events to avoid the clearance and vehicular traffic peaks, making their journey more comfortable and enjoyable.
Mr Chan expressed his gratitude to the personnel of various relevant departments and PTOs for standing fast at their posts and working in concert to maintain smooth and orderly clearance and traffic at the port. He again appealed to members of the public and visitors to plan their journeys in advance, pay attention to the information disseminated by various government departments, and follow the instructions of police officers on-site.
CS chairs interdepartmental working group meeting on Huanggang Port Hong Kong Port Area Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
CS chairs interdepartmental working group meeting on Huanggang Port Hong Kong Port Area Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
