2 arrested over 1.1 kg of suspected ‘space oil’ drug seized at Hong Kong airport
Hong Kong Free Press
Two Hongkongers were released on bail after they were arrested by customs officers in connection with the seizure of 1.1 kilograms of suspected “space oil” drug at Hong Kong International Airport.
A 34-year-old woman and a 41-year-old man were apprehended on Friday over the newly emerging drug upon their arrival in Hong Kong from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, the Customs and Excise Department said in a statement on Saturday.
According to the authorities, the seizure was made during customs clearance. Officers found two batches of the suspected drug with an estimated market value of around HK$1.2 million strapped around the arrestees’ waists. The pair was subsequently arrested and has been released on bail pending further investigation.
“Customs will continue to apply a risk assessment approach and focus on selecting passengers from high-risk regions for clearance to combat transnational drug trafficking activities,” a government statement read.
In recent months, Hong Kong stepped up its crackdown on the drug, which the government say has become the third most common type of drug abused by the city’s youth under 21, behind cannabis and cocaine. Containing a short-acting anaesthetic called etomidate, space oil is said by authorities to cause “transient euphoria.”
The drug may cause cause serious physical and mental harm, including addiction, memory loss, seizure, unconsciousness, and even death, the police had warned.
Etomidate is currently a controlled drug in Hong Kong, meaning it must be prescribed by a doctor. It will be officially banned starting February 14 under the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance, with those convicted of trafficking or illegally importing the drug face up to life imprisonment and a fine of HK$5 million.
Last week, the city’s police announced that they would roll out a rapid testing device for detecting the “space oil” drug. The device – resembling a Covid test kit – can be inserted into a vape, through which space oil, typically packaged as e-cigarette capsules, is often inhaled. It can detect the drug within 15 seconds with a 99 per cent accuracy rate, police said.
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