Hong Kong Customs seizes suspected etomidate worth about $4.2 million (with photo)

     Hong Kong Customs yesterday (December 19) seized about four kilograms of suspected etomidate (the main ingredient of "space oil"), a kind of Part 1 poison under the Pharmacy and Poisons Regulations, with an estimated market value of about $4.2 million in Tsuen Wan.
      
     Through intelligence analysis and in-depth investigations, Customs officers yesterday afternoon intercepted a 32-year-old local man at a hotel in Tsuen Wan and seized about 2kg of suspected etomidate inside a plastic bag carried by him. He was subsequently arrested. Customs officers later escorted him to his rented hotel room for a search and further seized about 2kg of suspected etomidate and a batch of suspected packaging paraphernalia.
      
     The arrestee has been charged for possession of Part 1 poison and will appear at the West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts tomorrow (December 21).
      
     Under the Pharmacy and Poisons Ordinance, any person who possesses any poison included in Part 1 of the Poisons List other than in accordance with provisions commits an offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $100,000 and imprisonment for two years.
      
     Members of the public may report any suspected drug trafficking activities to Customs' 24-hour report hotline 182 8080 or its dedicated crime reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk) or online form (eform.cefs.gov.hk/form/ced002/).