$490 million liquid cocaine disguised as white wine seized in Hong Kong

In a striking indication of an emerging trend, wine has become the latest target for drug traffickers, as evidenced by two separate cases of liquid cocaine smuggling on the same day in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong Customs made the largest liquid cocaine bust in its history on January 13, seizing about 444 kilograms of the drug, worth around HK$ 490 million (US$62.68 million), ingeniously disguised as white wine.

Additionally, a simultaneous incident at Hong Kong International Airport on the same day involved the interception of suspected liquid cocaine concealed within wine bottles, highlighting a worrying trend of drug dealers exploiting wine for cocaine smuggling.

According to Hong Kong Customs’ press release, the bust on January 13 was a result of nearly a month of surveillance after authorities were first tipped about a drug trafficing syndicate that was planning to smuggle a large quantity of drugs into Hong Kong before Christmas.

Intensified intelligence efforts and collaboration with port and maritime division staff led to the discovery of a Brazil-originated shipping container, purportedly holding 706 cases of red and white wine and grape juice.

The Customs authorities examined all the goods in this shipping container and found that some boxes declared to contain white wine showed signs of being repackaged and tempering, and had inconsistent weights.

Specifically, the sealing area of the suspicious boxes had more glue than others. Upon inspection, the supposed white wine, packed in transparent plastic bags, appeared similar to other boxed wines in the container at first glance. However, the absence of production serial numbers and dates on the suspicious packages raised red flags, prompting a comprehensive drug test of the beverages.

This led to the discovery that 37 cases of what declared to be white wine are in fact cocaine. A total of 148 bags, weighing 444 kilograms of suspected liquid cocaine, were seized.

Speaking of the case, Lui Chi Tak, Group Head (Ports Control) of Customs and Excise Department, described the drug traffickers’ methods as extremely sophisticated and meticulous, noting that the illicit cargo constituted a mere 5% of the total shipment, skillfully concealed among authentic wine and juice products.

The Customs officers had to carefully compare packaging, weight, and other details, and conduct various tests on the liquids to detect the drugs.

A 38-year-old man who claimed to be unemployed and a 50-year-old man who claimed to be a transportation company owner have been arrested on January 13 and 14 respectively.

Additionally, on the day of the bust, another case of liquid cocaine smuggling was uncovered at the Hong Kong International Airport, involving two passengers from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Customs officers seized 12 magnums of wine bottles containing about 18kg of suspected liquid cocaine from their check-in suitcases, leading to their immediate arrest.

These incidents underscore the serious nature of drug trafficking, a crime punishable by a maximum penalty of a HK$5 million fine and life imprisonment under the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance, and highlight the ongoing challenge faced by authorities in combating sophisticated smuggling techniques.