The Judiciary Police (PJ) busted on Sunday a Russian man smuggling 5 kg of heroin with an estimated street value of about 7 million patacas from Thailand, according to a special press conference held yesterday.
During the press conference co-hosted by the Judiciary Police and Macau Customs Service (SA) at the PJ headquarters in Zape, PJ spokesman Cheong Sio Keong identified the drug smuggler as a 68-year-old man from Russia, surnamed Novorusov, who told the police that he’s an engineer by profession.
According to Cheong, the Judiciary Police had received intelligence recently that a drug trafficking gang had hired people to smuggle drugs into Macau by air, using the city as a transit point. On Thursday, based on the intelligence, the Judiciary Police identified the suspect as Novorusov, who flew from Thailand to Macau with his luggage believed to contain drugs and put him under surveillance.
Cheong noted that upon his arrival in Macau, Novorusov stayed in a hotel in the city centre until Sunday, when he left with his luggage, heading to the Outer Harbour Ferry Terminal, apparently to catch a ferry to Hong Kong.
PJ officers arrested the suspect at the Outer Harbour Ferry Terminal and when they searched his luggage found the heroin hidden in packets of biscuits and coffee.
Cheong noted that under questioning, Novorusov only admitted to having been hired by a cross-border drug smuggling gang that had promised him US$500 as payment for his “services”, as well as free transportation and accommodation.
The Judiciary Police transferred Novorusov to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP) yesterday, where he is facing a drug-trafficking charge, according to Cheong.
Macau’s prison term for drug traffickers ranges from six to 16 years, according to Law No.10/2016.
Judiciary Police (PJ) officers escort the hooded Russian drug smuggling suspect to a PJ vehicle outside their headquarters in Zape after yesterday’s special press conference about his case. – Photo: Ada Lei
