Hong Kong customs’ seizures of the drug Ice increased by 4.8 times in the first two months of 2025 compared with the same period last year, after authorities stepped up enforcement on goods from countries known for drug trafficking such as Mexico.
The amount of methamphetamine seized in January and February this year surged to 837kg (1,845lbs), up from 145kg over the same period in 2024, customs said on Wednesday. Customs seized 1.11 tonnes of Ice in the whole of last year.
One of the cases earlier this year involved HK$360 million (US$46.32 million) worth of Ice, or about 680kg of suspected methamphetamine, which was disguised inside heating panels from Mexico. Three men were arrested.
The case followed customs’ biggest seizure of suspected crystal meth in solid form in October 2023, with a haul worth HK$640 million in a shipment of snail shells from Mexico.
“Based on our experience, if such a large amount of methamphetamine is involved, there will indeed be opportunities for re-export and supply to some places where the market price of methamphetamine is higher,” said Jacky Tsang Kin-bon, the acting head of customs’ drug investigation bureau
Tsang attributed the “sudden increase this year” to “adjustments of enforcement strategy from time to time in response to drug trends”.
