HK customs seize 649 kilos of cocaine worth $98M

Hong Kong customs officers display the cubes of cocaine at the Hong Kong Customs and Excise Department in Hong Kong on Friday. Hong Kong customs officers have made the city’s biggest ever cocaine bust, seizing 649 kilograms (1,430 pounds) of the drug worth 76 million Hong Kong dollars ($98 million). Customs officials said Friday that the drugs were in a shipping container that arrived from Ecuador. (AP/Kin Cheung)

Hong Kong customs officers have made the city's biggest ever cocaine bust, seizing 649 kilograms (1,430 pounds) of the drug worth 76 million Hong Kong dollars ($98 million).

Customs officials said Friday that the drugs were in a shipping container that arrived from Ecuador.

The container was one of a batch that the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration had flagged up to Hong Kong officials for further inspection. Customs officers followed the shipment as it was driven to a collection point in Hong Kong's suburbs before arresting the driver and two men they believe are members of a local drug syndicate.

Officials believe most of the drugs were destined for Southeast Asia or China. The seizure tops a haul last year of 560 kilograms of cocaine worth about $77 million.