Hong Kong 'drug kingpin' Wong Chi-ping caught in Indonesia raid
Wong Chi-ping, who has been hunted across Asia for years, finally arrested in huge Jakarta bust that also netted almost a tonne of meth
PUBLISHED : Thursday, 08 January, 2015, 3:40am
UPDATED : Thursday, 08 January, 2015, 3:40am
Bryan Harris [email protected]
Heavily armed commandos stand guard over suspects arrested during Indonesia's biggest-ever drugs bust. The men could face the death penalty if convicted. Photo: AFP
An alleged Hong Kong drugs kingpin wanted in seven jurisdictions has been arrested in Indonesia following the biggest drugs bust in the country's history.
Wong Chi-ping had been hunted by police forces across the region for years prior to his seizure on Monday, alongside 840kg of high-grade methamphetamine, according to Indonesian drug officials.
"His syndicate has been a target of the National Narcotics Agency [BNN] for three years and the subject of an intensive investigation in cooperation with authorities in Macau, Hong Kong and Malaysia for the past year," said BNN deputy for Narcotics Eradication Affairs, Dedi Fauzi.
Wong, 40, was nabbed after police intercepted the massive meth consignment while it was being transferred between vehicles in the car park of a west Jakarta shopping mall.
Indonesian police with the sacks of meth seized in a raid. Photo: AP
Some 42 sacks, each containing 20kg of the drug known locally as "shabu shabu", and a number of vehicles were seized during raid in broad daylight by BNN agents armed with assault rifles.
Three Hong Kong-based Chinese suspects, one Malaysian and four Indonesians were also arrested. All nine men could face the death penalty if convicted of trafficking.
The drugs - believed by police to have originated in Guangdong - were hidden in packets of coffee, Fauzi said.
Guangdong is frequently pinpointed by Indonesian police, as well as UN reports, as the source of much of the meth found in the country.
Hong Kong's triads and mainland-organised crime syndicates typically move the drug from its production point in rural areas of the province via Hong Kong and on to the region.
According to Fauzi, one particular strategy of drug smugglers is to sail the contraband into open waters, where it can then be transferred into smaller, less detectable fishing boats.
This tactic was employed by Wong, who landed the shipment in Dadap village, west of Jakarta, before moving it into the city in a truck, according to BNN spokesman Sumirat Dwiyanto.
Wanted in Hong Kong, the mainland, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, Myanmar and Indonesia, the alleged ringleader had lived in Indonesia for 15 years and was married to a woman from Surabaya, the country's second-largest city, Sumirat said.
Also known as Ice, methamphetamine has exploded in popularity in recent years - especially 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.
In Indonesia, the number of illicit drug users is set to reach nearly 3 per cent of the population - or five million people - this year, up from just 1.5 per cent in 2005.
Hongkongers are regularly arrested for drug-trafficking offences in Indonesia.
In June last year, a 17-year-old Hong Kong male became the youngest person caught smuggling drugs through Jakarta's international airport.
