The Macau Customs Service announced in a statement on Wednesday that its officers raided a parallel-trading den in the peninsula’s northern district on Wednesday where they seized one tonne of supposedly frozen beef worth around 250,000 patacas in total.
According to the statement, on Wednesday night the officers caught a 52-year-old female mainlander who ran the business and had hired parallel traders to smuggle frozen beef from Macau to the Chinese mainland.
According to the statement, the woman is suspected of illegal self-employment in Macau, because of which the case has been transferred to the Labour Affairs Bureau for follow-up. Her case has also been transferred to the Immigration Department of the Public Security Police (PSP), the statement said.
Moreover, the statement added, the woman also violated the Food Safety Law as the supposedly frozen beef was stored merely at room temperature, adding that the Customs Service has meanwhile also transferred the case to the Municipal Affairs Bureau (IAM) for follow-up action.
Consequently, she faces possible penalties from three different authorities.
This undated handout photo released by the Macau Customs Service on Wednesday shows the seized, supposedly frozen beef stored at room temperature at a parallel trading den in the northern district.
