With information provided by the US a Columbian-based cocaine trafficking syndicate has been smashed by Hong Kong and Shenzhen Customs it was revealed Tuesday.

 

During a joint press conference called by Hong Kong and Shenzhen Customs the official in charge of the operation in Hong Kong said a total of 142 kilograms of cocaine with an estimated street value of 105 million HK dollars (US$13.5 million) was seized with 141 kilograms being discovered on the Chinese Mainland and 1 kilogram in Hong Kong.

 

Nine people were arrested--three Colombians, one Venezuelan, three Mainlanders and two Hong Kong residents.

 

At a briefing hosted by Hong Kong Customs the Secretary for Security, Ambrose S K Lee, spoke highly of the great efforts of law enforcement officers in carrying out such a successful and encouraging operation.

 

Lee said, "The spirit of cooperation has been clearly demonstrated by Hong Kong and Shenzhen Customs and the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) through their close collaboration in exchanging intelligence and taking enforcement actions."

 

Officials from Hong Kong Customs said according to information provided by their US counterparts a huge amount of cocaine had been delivered to the southern area of the Chinese Mainland and the drug trafficking syndicate would seek buyers in Hong Kong.

 

Thereafter the Chinese Mainland and Hong Kong Customs began to track down the drug dealers. ?

 

It was discovered the drugs were first transported to Zhuhai from Colombia and then stored in a warehouse in Zhongshan, a city in Guangdong Province, near Hong Kong.

 

Following extensive investigations Hong Kong Customs officers tracked down a suspect in Hong Kong and put him under close surveillance.

 

When the suspect departed for Shenzhen via Lo Wu Control Point in late January the Hong Kong Customs officers contacted their Shenzhen counterparts requesting them to keep a close watch on him when he crossed the border. ?

 

Things then moved swiftly with undercover Hong Kong Customs officers obtaining one kilogram of cocaine as a sample from the syndicate at a location in Kowloon in mid-March.

 

On March 15 the Shenzhen Customs team alerted their Hong Kong colleagues that they had arrested two Hong Kong suspects and a mainlander in their operation, seized drugs and obtained information on where the drugs were being stored. Hong Kong Customs increased their surveillance.

 

On the afternoon of March 16 the Hong Kong Customs mounted their operation and arrested two Colombian syndicate members at two locations in Hong Kong. They were aged 27 and 32.

 

The official from Hong Kong Customs said the case still needed further investigation. Hong Kong law regards drug trafficking as an extremely serious offence with a maximum penalty of life imprisonment and fines of up to 5 million HK dollars.

 

(Xinhua News Agency May 10, 2006)