An 18-year-old man and a 15-year-old girl have been arrested in Hong Kong for suspected drug trafficking and possession after police seized narcotics worth about HK$278,000 (US$35,780) including ketamine and “space oil” vape cartridges....Read Full Article >>➤
Police said on Wednesday that the pair were arrested at a flat in Yau Ma Tei on Monday. Officers raided the home on Man Ying Street after gathering information in an investigation conducted by a Yau Mei Tei special squadron and uniformed patrol officers, the force said.
Police discovered about 475 grams of suspected ketamine and 121 suspected vape cartridges containing liquid etomidate, with a combined street value of HK$278,000.
Etomidate is a powerful anaesthetic that has gained notoriety in recent years as a common main ingredient in space oil, a recreational drug that has rapidly become popular among youngsters. The narcotic is often used in e-cigarette capsules.
The operation also uncovered a cache of suspected drug packaging tools.
Police said the arrested pair were facing drug trafficking and possession charges, and remained in custody as officers continued investigations.
The force also warned those convicted of trafficking could face a maximum penalty of a HK$5 million fine and life imprisonment, while possession of drug paraphernalia carried a maximum penalty of a HK$10,000 fine and three years behind bars.
On Tuesday, police revealed a 16-year-old boy had been arrested on suspicion of producing and trafficking space oil worth HK$200,000, following a raid on a suspected drug manufacturing premise inside a hotel room in North Point.
Three teenagers were also arrested last week following a viral video allegedly showing them engaging in group sex inside the car park of a public housing estate, with at least one of them also seen vaping.
Suspected space oil cartridges were found in the homes of all three.
While space oil does not have a set formula, drug dealers commonly mix etomidate with other illegal narcotics such as cannabis and ketamine and infuse them with flavoured glycerine to be used in e-cigarette capsules.
Hong Kong authorities in February classified several key ingredients used to make space oil as “dangerous drugs” – in the same category as cocaine – in a bid to combat rising use among teens.
The ingredients included etomidate, previously a Part 1 poison, as well as metomidate, propoxate and isopropoxate. The three are chemically related to etomidate.
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