Hong Kong  - Cocaine dealers are using public lockers in shopping malls and sports centres in Hong Kong to drop off large orders of drugs, a news report said Tuesday.

The revelation came after police arrested three people and seized 2 kilograms of cocaine with a street value of more than 200,000 US dollars in a shopping centre in Shatin district.

Monday's sting was set up after officers received information that cocaine was being passed to buyers via public lockers that can be rented for 25 US cents an hour for up to seven days using a password set by the hirer.

Two men dropped off bags containing a kilogram of pressed cocaine each in separate lockers and a third man later arrived to collect the drugs, the Hong Kong Standard reported. All three were arrested.

Buyers hand over money in advance for the drugs and then collected them after being given the locker number and password by the dealers, the paper quoted a police source as saying.

The cocaine was from mainland China and was destined for nightclubs and bars in Hong Kong, police believe. (dpa)