Hong Kong recorded a 10-fold surge in crimes involving the space oil drug in the first four months compared to the same period last year, despite a slight drop in the overall number of drug cases in the city, Secretary for Security Chris Tang said on Friday.

Speaking after a Fight Crime Committee meeting, Tang said 315 people have been arrested in connection with etomidate – a main component of space oil – since it was listed as a dangerous drug on February 14.

“We have utilised a quick rapid test which the police has adopted, so far resulting in the arrest of 49 people,” Tang said, adding that the police are also tackling the import and manufacturing of the drug.

Tang also revealed that overall crime cases in the city dropped by 2.2 percent year-on-year to 28,152 between January and April.

The number of crimes such as robbery, burglary and wounding continued to fall, but more people fell victims to scams, he said.