Man told he could pay off debt by ‘cooking’ cocaine, Hong Kong court told
Alleged drug dealer paid colleague HK$12,000 for preparing 1kg of white powder, prosecutor says
A man told his debtor he could pay him back by “cooking” cocaine but that he would have to take all the blame if caught by police, the Court of First Instance heard today.
Lam Wai-kuen, 25, denies one count of conspiracy to manufacture a dangerous drug and one of conspiracy to traffic dangerous drugs.
Prosecutor Paul Leung told the jury in his opening speech that Lam and Tang Ho-keung, 25, were stopped by the police in Yuen Long on April 11, 2014.
The police found two packs of dangerous drugs on Tang and more than 600 grammes of cocaine inside a nearby flat. Tang claimed the drugs were his and had nothing to do with Lam.
However, he later told police he was dragged into the drug business by Lam.
The prosecutor said Tang got to know Lam in 2013. As Tang had some gambling debts, he asked Lam to lend him HK$5,000.
“Lam told Tang there was no need to repay the money. But Tang had to do something for him,” Leung said.
