Man arrested as Hong Kong customs seizes HK$42 million worth of ‘space oil’
Customs and Excise Department officers uncover workshop with etomidate materials and production equipment capable of making 160,000 cartridges
Hong Kong customs has arrested a man and seized HK$42 million (US$5.3 million) worth of the illegal narcotic “space oil” from a workshop fitted with a semi-automated production line capable of churning out as many as 160,000 cartridges in a short span.
Senior Investigator Chan Kit-lun of the Customs and Excise Department’s drug investigation bureau said on Wednesday officers intercepted a suspicious man the previous day and escorted him to a property in Kam Tin, Yuen Long.
Inside, they found more than 3,000 suspected cartridges containing etomidate, or space oil, about 13.4kg (29.5lbs) of liquid etomidate, 3kg of etomidate powder and a range of drug-manufacturing and packaging equipment.
Investigators found that the syndicate had installed a semi-automated production line featuring a high-precision liquid-filling machine.