Eleven kilograms of suspected cocaine were discovered by Hong Kong International Airport officials concealed under an electric wheelchair’s cushions.
The collection, estimated to be worth $1.5 million, was discovered on Saturday during a 51-year-old man’s customs clearance process.
The man was taken into custody after travelling from the Caribbean nation of Sint Maarten through Paris on Saturday. If convicted of trafficking a hazardous substance, he might spend the rest of his life behind bars.
Customs authorities said that the wheelchair was one of the two pieces of checked luggage that the suspect carried into the nation.
When employees got suspicious and discovered indications of re-stitching on the seat cushion and backrest, they demanded an additional investigation.
The man, who allegedly informed officials he was the director of a vehicle rental firm and that a friend had lent him the wheelchair, is not from Hong Kong and has mobility challenges.
In reaction to the revelation, customs officers said that they would step up inspections of travelers from “high-risk regions” in an effort to stop international drug trafficking.
An inquiry into the occurrence has been started.
Similar incidents
Their most recent records show that in 2022, 931 instances involving hazardous substances were found during customs checks, an increase from 906 incidents the year before. Last year, 178 persons were taken into custody for similar actions.
Drugs have been discovered concealed within wheelchairs at airports before. Four hundred and fifty thousand dollars’ worth of cocaine were taken out of a woman’s wheelchair in November by New York authorities.
In September 2022, a motorised wheelchair in Milan, Italy, had around $1.6 million worth of cocaine hidden inside its upholstery.
