Hong Kong Police Seize $1.3 Million Worth Of Meth In Pokémon Store Raid
Authorities discovered 16,000 grams of methamphetamine hidden in a secret storage area in a game store.
Hong Kong police uncovered a significant methamphetamine stash worth millions at a store selling Pokémon trading card game products.
The 'South China Morning Post' reported that on Monday, police raided the store and found commercial quantities of meth valued at HKD 10 million ($1.3 million) in a concealed storage area.
The narcotics warehouse was located after officers stopped a 28-year-old man outside the Pokémon store with five kilograms (5,000 grams) of meth in his possession. In total, 16 kilograms (16,000 grams) of meth were seized from the facility.
The Pokémon TCG store is known to be popular and often hosts tournaments that draw in children and teenagers. Police assured the public that no drugs were sold to or trafficked by the store's customers.
"Storing such a large quantity of 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," stated Hong Kong Narcotics Bureau Inspector Liong Chun-Hin.
Authorities suspect that a larger drug trafficking ring was behind the operation and had recruited the store owners to use the storage facility, which had been active for over a month before the raid.
According to 'Game Rant,' New Bedford, Massachusetts, cops shut down a drug trafficking production using Pokémon boxes filled with large amounts of cocaine last summer.
Pokémon, a Japanese media franchise of video games, animated series and movies, and trading cards, takes place in a shared universe where creatures with special powers, called Pokémon, co-exist with humans.
