Hong Kong customs has arrested three people after it seized HK$18 million (US$2.3 million) worth of suspected ketamine hidden inside baby car seats in two shipping containers from the Netherlands and Spain.
The Customs and Excise Department said on Thursday that its officers found 36.2kg (79.8lbs) of the drug while inspecting two seaborne consolidated containers in December following intelligence analysis and risk assessment.
Officers first seized about 15.6kg of suspected ketamine from five boxes of goods in the container from the Netherlands, declared as carrying car head restraints and baby car seats on December 16.
Three days later, they found about 20.6kg of the suspected drug concealed inside 10 boxes of goods in another container from Spain reportedly carrying baby seats.
Senior Inspector Lau Tsz-yan, of the customs’ containerised cargo examination unit, said the syndicate had used the interior space of the infant car seat to conceal drugs, and had sealed the cut opening at the bottom of the seat with black tape to avoid detection in both cases.
“Although the two shipments originated from different locations, the drug syndicate went to great lengths to employ ingenious concealment methods to evade customs detection,” she said. “The officers had to spend a significant amount of time conducting a thorough inspection of the cargo.”
