On Saturday, a 51-year-old man was going through customs clearance when he found the haul, worth an estimated $1.5m (£1.26m).

A man who arrived from Sint Maarten via Paris on Saturday has been arrested.

If convicted of trafficking dangerous drugs, he could face life in prison.

Two pieces of checked baggage were brought into the country by the suspect, according to customs officials.

Upon further examination, staff found evidence that its seat cushion and backrest had been restitched.

A man with mobility issues, who is not from Hong Kong, told officials that the wheelchair had been loaned to him by a friend.

The incident is being investigated.

In response to the discovery, Customs officials said they would increase checks on visitors from “high-risk regions” to combat transnational drug trafficking.

According to their latest statistics, 931 cases of dangerous drugs were detected during customs checks in 2022, up from 906 the previous year. Last year, 178 people were arrested for related offenses.

It is not the first time that drugs have been found hidden in wheelchairs at airports. A woman’s wheelchair wheels were found to contain cocaine worth $450,000 in November in New York.

Nearly $1.6 million worth of cocaine was found stuffed into the upholstery of a motorized wheelchair in Milan, Italy, in September 2022.