Officials with the Hong Kong Narcotics Bureau display plastic bottles used to hide more than HK$170 million ($22 million) worth of hard drugs on Sunday during a press conference. The largest seizure of dangerous drugs this year took place when Hong Kong police officers raided a factory building in an industrial area on Thursday. Photo: cnsphoto

Hong Kong police recently cracked the biggest drug trafficking case of the year, arresting two people and seizing drugs worth HK$170 million ($22 million), as police say the pandemic has driven up drug trafficking. 

The police bust on Thursday night found cases of bottled drinks, some of which contained drugs including 88 kilograms of crystal meth, 82 kilograms of heroin and eight kilograms of ketamine, local media reported Sunday. 

A 33-year-old Pakistani holder of a Hong Kong ID card and a Bangladeshi were arrested. The case is still under investigation, according to media reports.

Police said the case involves trans-border drug trafficking gangs. 

Hong Kong police have reported the seizure of 348 kilograms of crystal meth in the first half of 2020, 20 times more than the same period last year. Forty-three kilograms of heroin were seized, almost twice as much as the first half of last year. This year crystal meth and heroin seizures have exceeded the previous two years. 

Due to the border control measures amid the pandemic, traffickers turned to freight transport which is more costly, so they increased the size of shipments. This year there have been four cases involving drugs valued at more than HK$100 million, a police officer said. 

Hong Kong police have discovered drug dealers hiding drugs in large machines, fresh fruit and bottled drinks and say they will closely monitor the trend and cut drugs from entering Hong Kong.