Police said they seized 5,960 suspected liquid etomidate cartridges, with an estimated total street value exceeding HK$1.5 million, during a raid on a subdivided village-house unit in Liu Pok Tsuen, Lok Ma Chau, on the evening of 7 September. A 40-year-old local man was arrested on suspicion of trafficking and manufacturing dangerous drugs.
Officers had identified the unit through intelligence analysis and investigation and suspected it was being used both as a manufacturing site and a storage depot for etomidate. Police said they believed it had been operating since the beginning of the year.
According to police, officers were keeping watch outside the village house after 6pm when they saw the man leave carrying an environmental protection bag and head towards a car park. They intercepted him and found 18 packaged consignments containing 2,050 suspected etomidate cartridges in the bag. A further 20 cartridges were found in his light goods vehicle.
Officers then searched the unit and found another 3,890 suspected cartridges, along with raw materials, flavoured glycerine, an induction cooker, syringes, cartridge shells and a liquid-filling machine. Some of the suspected drugs were packed in SF Express courier bags, which police believed may have been intended to disguise their contents.
Police said they believed the man may have been responsible for making, packaging and delivering the suspected drugs to local distributors. They said they had so far found no indication of a triad background and believed he may have acted for financial reward. A report said his income was based on the quantity shipped and averaged about HK$30,000 to HK$40,000 a month.
The man’s name, whether he has been formally charged and the progress of the case were not given. The supplied reports also did not state whether laboratory tests had confirmed the seized substances as etomidate.