Man falls to death fleeing Hong Kong police raid on suspected drug den

A man has died after falling from a building while trying to flee a Hong Kong police raid on a suspected drug den in Yau Ma Tei.

The 42-year-old man, surnamed Kwong, was found unconscious outside 385-387 Reclamation Street at about 9.28pm on Sunday.

He was rushed to Kwong Wah Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, police said on Monday.

At 9.21pm, officers from the Organised Crime and Triad Bureau launched an operation at the building, breaking into a flat suspected of operating as a drug den.

“As officers forced their way through the front door, several suspected patrons were seen fleeing through the back door and heading up the stairs towards the rooftop,” a police source said.

An initial examination of the deceased found no suspicious injuries, while CCTV footage from nearby buildings showed he had fallen from height. Police said Kwong was suspected of having fallen from the rooftop while trying to evade arrest.

Twenty-one Hong Kong residents – 11 men and 10 women aged between 28 and 70 – were arrested during the operation on suspicion of keeping a drug den, drug trafficking and consuming dangerous drugs. They remained in custody.

Officers seized suspected drugs worth about HK$83,000 (US$10,580), including 52.3 grams of suspected cocaine, 11.4 grams of suspected methamphetamine, also known as “ice”, 32.3 grams of suspected heroin, 29 suspected midazolam tablets and drug-taking paraphernalia.

Under the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance, drug trafficking carries a maximum penalty of a HK$5 million fine and life imprisonment upon conviction.

Keeping or operating a drug den carries a maximum fine of HK$5 million and 15 years’ imprisonment, while possession or consumption of dangerous drugs carries a maximum fine of HK$1 million and seven years’ imprisonment.