British Man Faces Life in Prison After £1.5M Ketamine Seizure in Hong Kong
Paul Squire arrested at Hong Kong International Airport with 26kg of the drug found in his luggage.
A British national is facing potential life imprisonment in Hong Kong after customs officers discovered approximately £1.5 million worth of ketamine in his luggage. Paul Squire, 50, from Doncaster, England, was arrested in June at Hong Kong International Airport.
Customs officials reported finding 26 kilograms of ketamine in Squire's two checked-in suitcases. He had arrived on a direct flight from Heathrow Airport on June 18. Squire was apprehended alongside a Japanese national who had arrived from Amsterdam the previous day and was found with 16 kilograms of ketamine and 137 sticks of illegal cigarettes.
Squire, who appeared at West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts on Monday, has been charged with one count of trafficking in a dangerous drug. Relatives at his home in Askern expressed deep concern for his well-being, describing the situation as a "bad road" and a "bad situation" he had become mixed up in.
A friend of Squire's characterized him as a "good honest hard working lad," stating he was "the last person anybody would think" would be involved in such an activity.
The Foreign Office confirmed it is supporting a British man arrested in Hong Kong and is in contact with local authorities and his family.
Hong Kong imposes some of the world's strictest penalties for drug trafficking, with potential sentences including fines of up to £500,000 and life imprisonment.
This incident follows two other recent arrests of British nationals in Hong Kong involving significant ketamine seizures. Last week, a 36-year-old British woman was arrested after 30kg of ketamine, valued at £1.1 million, was found in her luggage. Two days prior to that, a 34-year-old British man was found with 16kg of ketamine in his check-in baggage.
