Hong Kong Customs seized approximately 53.9 kilograms of suspected cocaine, with an estimated market value of about HK$36.2 million, and arrested a 49-year-old South African man during an operation on 26 August 2026.
The operation followed intelligence exchanges with overseas law-enforcement agencies, as well as further investigation and intelligence analysis. Officers stopped the man outside a hotel in Central and found about 11 kilograms of suspected cocaine in his backpack.
Investigators said the man attempted to flee and resisted officers before he was subdued. They also said he frequently changed hotels, allegedly making it more difficult for officers to track him.
Officers then took him to a residential unit in Mong Kok, where they found a further 42.9 kilograms of suspected cocaine. Investigators described the unit as a drug storage and distribution centre in a busy urban area.
The man reportedly described himself as a farmer. He was reported to be due to face a charge of trafficking in a dangerous drug, although the supplied reports do not confirm whether the charge had been formally laid or provide a court date.
RTHK reported that Customs said the operation had intercepted a large shipment before it entered the market. The seized substance remains described in the reports as suspected cocaine, and no further details were provided on the man’s legal status or whether additional arrests were expected.