Hong Kong authorities will soon be equipped with a new HK$169 million (US$21.5 million) weapon to fight seaborne crime in the city’s waters.
The arrival of the first of 12 fast-pursuit craft follows a 177 per cent surge in the amount of contraband seized from maritime smugglers last year.
The value of the new boats is HK$22 million higher than the HK$147 million worth of high-valued goods confiscated in police crackdowns and the force’s joint operations with customs against cross-border smuggling activities in 2018. The year before, HK$52 million worth of goods was seized in such operations.
In the first three months of this year, police confiscated HK$17 million worth of goods from seaborne smugglers.