Photo shows the suspected ketamine seized by Customs officers and four paintings used to conceal the dangerous drugs on March 18, 2023. (PHOTO / HKSAR GOVERNMENT)

Hong Kong Customs officers confiscated about 2.3 metric tons of illegal drugs at Hong Kong International Airport from January to June this year, a surge of more than 80 percent compared with the same period in 2022, the Customs and Excise Department has disclosed.

The drugs, with an estimated market value of HK$970 million ($124 million), account for 88.5 percent of the total amount of drugs seized by the Customs in Hong Kong in the first half of this year. These drugs were seized in 604 separate incidents. 

There were 26 cases involving drug trafficking by passengers, five times as many as the same period last year; 30 people were arrested and about 46 kilograms of drugs seized, Cheung said

The proportion of drugs found at the airport by officers also hit a 10-year high, said Fung Wai-ching, head of Airport Investigation Group under the Customs and Excise Department.

READ MORE: Hong Kong sees drop in drug abuse

Cheung Ka-chung, the acting head of the Customs Air Cargo Group, said drug trafficking cases greatly increased following the full resumption of cross-boundary travel earlier this year, adding that both the number of drug cases discovered, and the quantity of drugs confiscated at the airport increased by 80 percent compared with the first half of 2022.

About 572 kilograms of cannabis were seized at the airport, along with 504 kilograms of ketamine, 436 kilograms of methamphetamine, and 214 kilograms of cocaine, Cheung said. 

Cheung pointed out that cargo is still the main channel for drug trafficking, with a total of 2.25 metric tons of drugs detected in 578 cases in the first half of this year. In some cases, traffickers hide drugs in the packaging of regular goods such as video cameras and coffee beans, or dissolve drugs in textiles such as pillows and clothing, Cheung revealed.

Fung said that in recent months, small parcels have also been used more frequently to smuggle consignments of drugs weighing less than five kilograms. A total 516 cases involving small parcels were detected in the first half of 2023, an increase of 70 percent in the same period, he added.

There were 26 cases involving drug trafficking by passengers, five times as many as the same period last year; 30 people were arrested and about 46 kilograms of drugs seized, Cheung said.

Altogether, 67 people were arrested for the cases detected at the airport, including masterminds of drug trafficking syndicates.

As the control of cannabidiol (CBD) came into effect on Feb 1 this year, Cheung noted the Airport Command of Customs has detected 25 CBD-related cases as of June 30. Among them, 18 were found in cargo channels and seven were found in passenger channels.

Fung noted that the amount of cannabis seized in Hong Kong in the first six months of 2023 is about 4.5 times greater than the level for the same period last year. He said many other parts of the world have also recorded a surge in seizures of cannabis recently, which is partly because some countries and regions have relaxed regulations on the drug. 

READ MORE: More efforts needed to fight drug abuse in the city

Fung stressed that visitors travelling overseas may not bring products containing illegal drugs or associated ingredients back to Hong Kong. He also suggested that parents should have more communication with their children to prevent them from being used by syndicates, as many drug trafficking cases involved young people.

Customs officers have said they will continue to take vigorous enforcement action, adopt advanced screening machines, and apply risk assessment strategy to combat drug trafficking on all fronts. They will also maintain close contact with the logistics industry and other regions' law enforcement bodies for enhancing intelligence gathering in a bid to prevent the inflow of drugs to Hong Kong.

Drug trafficking is a serious offence in Hong Kong, and offenders may face a maximum penalty of a HK$5 million fine and life imprisonment.