The confiscated drug is estimated to be worth around $4.4 million.
A report posted on the Customs' website did not identify the suspect or cite his nationality but said he arrived in Hong Kong after traveling on a circuitous route from Bogota, Colombia via Panama, Brazil, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and the Philippines.
Officers spotted suspicious X-ray images inside the man’s suitcase during Customs clearance, the report said.
Upon examination of the suitcase, three slabs of suspected cocaine weighing 3.9kg were found concealed inside false compartments.
The suspect, said to be 20 years old and had claimed to be a merchant, was charged with one count of trafficking in a dangerous drug. He will appear at Kowloon City Court on Monday, Oct 10.
It's not clear how he eluded tight security checks at Manila's airport amid a controversial and bloody campaign anti-drugs being waged by Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte..
The latest case is the second time in just over a month that a passenger from Latin America used Manila as a transit point to apparently smuggle cocaine into Hong Kong.
On Sept 5, a female passenger arriving from Manila was arrested after Customs officers found 3.33kg of suspected cocaine valued at $3.9 million in her baggage. The drug was concealed in 37 packets of hair care products.
Officials of the Consulate immediately contacted Hong Kong authorities after hearing the report of the arrest, but found out the woman was a Venezuelan who also traveled from Brazil via the Middle East and Manila.
She was charged with trafficking in dangerous drugs in Tsuen Wan Court on Sept 7.
/Vir B. Lumicao
