Hong Kong police arrest four as part of Jakarta drugs bust
Police nab 4 alleged associates of the suspected international drug lord held following HK$800m swoop by Indonesian authorities
PUBLISHED : Friday, 09 January, 2015, 2:17am
UPDATED : Friday, 09 January, 2015, 2:17am
Bryan Harris [email protected]
Police from the Narcotics Bureau in Admiralty. Photo: Sam Tsang
Four alleged associates of a suspected Hong Kong drug lord have been arrested following a joint operation between police in the city and Indonesia.
On Monday, anti-narcotics agents in Jakarta seized Wong Chi-ping - the alleged mastermind of an international drug-smuggling syndicate - alongside more than 800kg of high-grade methamphetamine in a daylight swoop on a truck carrying the drug consignment.
Worth about HK$800 million on the streets of the Indonesian capital, the haul was the largest drugs seizure in the history of the country's National Narcotics Agency (BNN), according to officials from the organisation.
In a coordinated strike, Hong Kong police also arrested four suspects in locations around the city, the force's narcotics bureau said yesterday.
"Four Hong Kong residents were arrested in Hong Kong in connection with the syndicate's money-laundering activities," said bureau superintendent Ng Wing-sze.
"Searches of the residences and safety deposit boxes resulted in the seizure of HK$1.6 million in cash and valuables amounting to HK$523,000. In addition, HK$11 million in suspicious bank accounts was frozen."
According to the superintendent, the investigation, conducted in conjunction with Indonesia as well as mainland authorities, is still ongoing "in order to ascertain the source of the drugs, the smuggling routes and the syndicate's activities".
Prior to his arrest, Wong, 40, was wanted in seven jurisdictions across the region and had been the subject of police investigations for three years.
His capture on Monday was hailed as a serious blow against drug smuggling by Indonesian anti-narcotics officers, who believe the contraband to have originated in Guangdong province.
BNN spokesman Sumirat Dwiyanto said the contraband was likely brought by ship from Guangzhou, before being transferred onto a smaller fishing boat to avoid detection.
Wong has no criminal history and does not operate any companies in Hong Kong, said Richard Au Yeung Siu-kong, acting superintendent of Hong Kong's narcotics bureau.
Due to the ongoing nature of the investigation, police could not disclose exactly how Wong was allegedly able to launder money in the city without the use of front companies.
With one member of the syndicate still at large, the bureau could not rule out the possibility of further arrests, Au Yeung said.
Known as Ice in Hong Kong and shabu shabu in Indonesia, methamphetamine has exploded in popularity in recent years. This is especially true in Asia, where the existence of crime syndicates, the raw materials and a ready market has created the perfect conditions for a rise in use of the drug.
With an average purity of between 90 per cent and 99 per cent, the Ice seized in Hong Kong and the mainland is of significantly higher quality than that in the rest of Asia, a fact that experts attribute to the prevalence of skilled chemists in Chinese drug-trafficking groups.
