Hong Kong police seize $10 million HKD of crystal meth from Pokémon TCG shop operating as drug front

On August 19th, the Hong Kong Police Force raided a small, upstairs shop specializing in Pokémon TCG products, seizing $10 million HKD (approx. $1.3 million USD) worth of methamphetamine from the store. The raid came after an investigation and interception of a 28 year old man outside the shop, on whom the police found 5 kg of the drug. Upon taking him back inside the shop, police found an additional 16 kg of crystal meth in the staff area.

Hong Kong police stated on Tuesday that the shop in Hung Hom saw a lot of patronage from children and teenagers, and even hosted card games. Happily, however, police can also confirm that drugs were not sold to or trafficked through customers of the card shop.

“But storing such a large quantity of the narcotics in a place where teenagers and children can visit is irresponsible and disgraceful behavior that also heightens the possible risk of teenagers and children mistakenly encountering illegal drugs,” said Liong Chun-hin, an inspector for the Narcotics Bureau of the Hong Kong police.

The yet-unnamed 28 year old suspect, who was one of the owners of the store, was arrested and expected to be charged with drug trafficking before Kowloon City Court on August 21st. The Hong Kong police force suspects that the TCG shop had been in use as drug storage for about a month, and that the suspect had been recruited by a larger drug-trafficking organization.