Hong Kong has made its first arrest for CBD after customs intercepted a parcel from Denmark marked as skin oil.
The country has recently criminalized the cannabis-derived product, that is increasingly used worldwide to treat pain and anxiety.
A 30-year-old man has been taken into custody after customs department opened the package from Denmark and found two bottles of CBD oil inside.
Customs officers found two more bottles of suspected CBD oil and four grams of suspected cannabis buds when they searched the suspect’s work place.
A new law criminalizing the possession, consumption and selling of CBD took effect at the beginning of the month. The new law places the substance alongside drugs such as heroin and cocaine.
Anyone who imports, exports or manufactures CBD faces up to life in jail and a fine of $637,000.
The zero-tolerance approach toward CBD, the non-psychoactive ingredient in cannabis plants, comes after China last year banned the substance.
Some other parts of Asia are becoming more accepting of cannabis, such as Thailand, that decriminalized weed last year.
In recent years, CDB has become a multi-billion-dollar global industry, with products ranging from snacks and gummies to oils and cosmetics.
The investigation of the Danish parcel is still ongoing, according to a statement by the Customs and Excise Department.
