Illicit haul: Customs officials seized 196 kg of ketamine worth about $23 million at the airport.

Hong Kong Customs officers have cracked a transnational drug trafficking, arresting a local 31-year-old man and seizing 196kg of ketamine, with an estimated value of $23 million, at the Hong Kong International Airport.

The drug was packed in 196 bags inside three cartons that arrived from India on July 11. The three boxes also contained five bags of sugar and six bags of rice.

The carrier was arrested but has been released on $5,000 bail.

The ketamine haul was bound for Taiwan and may have been smuggled back for local consumption. Further investigation was underway with Indian and Taiwan enforcement agencies.

Under the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance, an offender will face a maximum penalty of life imprisonment and a fine of $5 million upon conviction.