Hong Kong police have seized 151 kilograms of ketamine worth some HK$37 million (US$4.78 million), a record high in the region's history, and busted a drug syndicate behind it, authorities said on Wednesday. 

The illegal drugs were seized Tuesday after the police arrested one man with 28-gram sample ketamine close to his drug store.

A search of the man's premise found the 151-kilogram ketamine packed in plastic bags and an electronic scale, a vacuum-packing machine and lots of empty tinfoil packages. The other man aged 38 in the drug store was also arrested.

Police believed the two men arrested had planned to retail the seized ketamine on retailing market, but haven't confirmed the source of the illegal drugs.

"We believe that the operation has dealt a severe blow to the syndicate and we will continue our investigations with a view to weeding out the whole syndicate before the drugs can be disseminated to retail-level traffickers," a police spokesperson was quoted by a press release as saying.

Ketamine is a powerful anesthetic with painkilling and hallucinogenic properties, according to the website of the UN International Drug Control Program. The drug is often illegally dealt in dancing clubs and other entertainment venue.

(Xinhua News Agency January 5, 2006)