Hong Kong customs seizes massive cocaine haul

HONG KONG – Hong Kong customs has seized a haul of cocaine with an estimated market value of $13 million.

The customs service in the semi-autonomy Chinese territory says one man has been arrested in the operation that netted 91 kilograms (200 pounds) of the drug.

As a major Asian port city, Hong Kong is considered a key transit point for contraband from illegal drugs to endangered wildlife parts. Much of that is bound for mainland China or Southeast Asia where drug laws tend to be much stricter.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong's large population of finance workers, lawyers and others in well-paid white collar sectors also provides a lucrative market for drugs including cocaine and marijuana.

The city was founded as a British colony in 1942 as a result of the First Opium War.