Hong Kong police seize souped-up speedboats, outboard engines worth HK$25 million in latest raid on seaborne smugglers
- Ten speedboats and another 57 engines discovered in 100,000 sq ft Tuen Mun warehouse, marking biggest such bust in city history
- Seizures the latest in an ongoing series of raids following the death of a marine police officer killed when her boat was rammed during a pursuit at sea
Hong Kong police have seized modified speedboats and outboard engines worth HK$25 million (US$3.2 million) believed to be used by smugglers and for illegally ferrying passengers across the border.
Johnson Chong Shing-yat, an assistant district commander in Tuen Mun, the seaside district where the raid took place, on Sunday called it the largest such bust in the city’s history.
Police found 10 speedboats in total – with seven already modified and three in the process – in a warehouse hidden behind containers and other tall structures in Lung Kwu Tan, an area on the western tip of the New Territories notorious for smuggling.
They also found 57 outboard engines in Thursday’s operation, which involved a raid on a 100,000 sq ft warehouse.
“Following enforcement actions by police and other government departments, criminals have been hiding these boats in empty lots in rural areas,” Chong said.
“But as we’ve been able to find their hiding spots, some groups have begun using indoor areas to conceal the speedboats.”
