Seaman admits bringing P10.7M worth of cocaine into HK

The High Court in Admiralty

A 48-year-old Filipino seaman admitted at the High Court that he smuggled into Hong Kong more than HK$1.6 million (P10.7 million) worth of cocaine on his ship from Taiwan.

The defendant, with initials C.B.P., pleaded guilty to the charge of trafficking in dangerous drugs after he brought into the city 1.333 kilos of cocaine in June 2017.

“Guilty,” the Filipino told Court of First Instance Justice E. Toh on November 27.

The tribunal is currently hearing the drug charges against two Colombians who were the seaman’s alleged contacts in Hong Kong.

The prosecutor said the Filipino was arrested on June 2, 2017, or a day after his ship arrived in HK from Kaohsiung.

The seaman was under surveillance the moment he arrived in HK after Customs officers got a tip about a drug shipment.

The defendant stayed in a hotel in Tsuen Wan and it was there that the two Colombians fetched him. At around 3:20 p.m. on June 2, they boarded a taxi to Jordan.

They alighted at the corner of Ferry and Man Wui Streets, where Customs officers intercepted them. The two Colombians tried to flee but they were arrested.

One of the Colombians threw away a plastic bag which contained “1.982 kilograms of a solid substance” while cash worth HK$105,100 were found in the Filipino’s backpack.

Traces of the DNA of one of the Colombian were found in the cash money, believed to be the payment to the Filipino.

Government chemists checked the suspected illegal drugs and determined that it contained 1.333 kilos of cocaine. The prosecutor said street value of the illegal drugs was HK$1.6 million.

Justice Toh said the seaman would be sentenced after the tribunal finished the trial of the two Colombians.