Hong Kong customs seizes record B533m marijuana shipped by sea from Thailand

3 men also arrested at airport for concealing cannabis inside luggage on flights from Bangkok

HONG KONG - Customs has made the largest seizure of drugs shipped by sea in Hong Kong's history, discovering HK$125 million (533 million baht) worth of marijuana in a 40-foot container and arresting three people.

The Customs and Excise Department revealed on Saturday that it had selected a seaborne container at the Kwai Chung Customhouse Cargo Examination Compound for inspection earlier in September after conducting a risk assessment and intelligence analysis.

The container had been declared as containing insulated boxes and arriving from Thailand.

Upon examining the container, officers found 1,342 insulated boxes, 364 of which contained about 535 kilogrammes of cannabis buds.

The cannabis had been concealed inside the boxes using vacuum-packed bags.

A 44-year-old Vietnamese man was also arrested on the same day after arriving to collect the consignment, the department said.

Customs said the Vietnamese man was charged with one count of attempting to traffic in a dangerous drug, while the two local men were released on bail pending further investigation.

The case is set to be heard at Kowloon City Court on Monday.

Under the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance, those found guilty of trafficking in a dangerous drug can face life imprisonment and a fine of HK$5 million.

Customs data shows that in the first eight months of the year the department seized 2,875kg of marijuana, up by 27% from the 2,262kg seized during the same period last year. It was also more than the 2,863kg seized in all of 2024.

Over the same period, customs handled 284 marijuana-related cases and arrested 124 people, up by 3% and 25% respectively, compared with the first eight months of 2025.

Customs, meanwhile, said that it had arrested three people at Hong Kong airport in two separate cases for allegedly concealing about HK$1.4 million worth of cannabis in total inside their luggage.

In the first case, customs officers arrested a mainland Chinese man, 40, who arrived from Bangkok, after finding about 1kg of suspected cannabis buds concealed in snack packaging inside his carry-on backpack.

The second case involved two other mainland men, aged 35 and 37, who also arrived from Bangkok. Officers found 6kg worth of cannabis similarly concealed within snack packaging in the carry-on luggage of one of the men.

Customs said investigations into both cases were under way.

The department also announced that it had seized about 50kg of suspected smuggled silver ingots worth about HK$1 million after intercepting a private vehicle leaving the city via the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge.

Officers stopped the vehicle at a control point on the Hong Kong side of the bridge and found suspected smuggled silver ingots in a storage compartment of the boot.

Officers arrested the 30-year-old male driver and charged him with one count of attempting to export unmanifested cargo.

The case is scheduled to be brought up at the West Kowloon Court on Monday.

Under the Import and Export Ordinance, anyone convicted of importing or exporting unmanifested cargo can face up to seven years in prison and a maximum fine of HK$2 million.