Hong Kong police fire 2 shots at car as driver arrested for drug trafficking
Hong Kong Free Press
Two Hong Kong police officers fired one shot each at a car carrying around 42 grams of a substance believed to be cocaine, with the driver apprehended on suspicion of drug trafficking, dangerous driving and other charges.
Police opened fire on Saturday in an operation to intercept a suspected stolen car in Hung Hom after the 25-year-old male driver ignored verbal warnings from officers and attempted to flee the scene.
Police received a report at around 11.45 am of a private car with a suspected forged license plate on Waterloo Road near the Lion Rock Tunnel. It was heading towards Tsim Sha Tsui, and police located the car near Hung Hom Police Station on Princess Margaret Road around 10 minutes later.
Officers tried to intercept the car and issued several verbal warnings, but the driver of the vehicle in question did not comply with the instructions to stop. Instead, he reversed his car in a bid to flee, before ramming into another private vehicle behind it. A police officer gave verbal warnings again but to no avail, and subsequently fired a live round at the car body “for the safety of his own [self] and other road users,” police said.
Another officer gave warnings to the car concerned after it rushed forward and crashed into a police vehicle. The driver again ignored the warnings, and the officer fired a second shot at the car body. The car advanced before eventually ramming into some roadside barriers and coming to a stop. No injuries were reported.
Police said around 42 grams of suspected cocaine, packaged in 80 bags, were seized from the intercepted vehicle. Its market value was estimated to be HK$60,000.
The driver was arrested for allegedly trafficking in dangerous drugs and driving without a valid license. He was also apprehended on suspicion of dangerous driving, using a false instrument and driving without third party insurance.
He was detained for further investigation as the case was passed to the Regional Crime Unit of Kowloon West.
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