A local businessman was arrested on Monday in the city centre for buying triazolam from the mainland and receiving it by courier, Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Chan Wun Man said at a special press conference yesterday.
Triazolam is a depressant tranquiliser which is on Macau’s drug control list.
The Judiciary Police seized 102 tablets with an estimated market value of 10,000 patacas.
The 35-year-old suspect surnamed Leong told the police that he is a businessman.
According to Chan, the Judiciary Police had intelligence exchanges recently with the mainland police that someone was smuggling drugs from the mainland to Macau by courier post. PJ officers identified the parcel, including the logistics company, the pick-up point and the identity of the consignee.
Chan said a man went to the pick-up point in the city centre to collect the parcel on Monday at noon. PJ officers arrested Leong and seized 100 tablets of triazolam, a kind of illegal psychoactive drug that were in the parcel that Leong had picked up. The drugs were hidden in a biscuit box. The officers later went to Leong’s home in the city centre and seized two more triazolam tablets.
Under questioning, Leong told the police that he hadn’t taken any other drugs. He claimed that as he was suffering from insomnia he had bought triazolam for his own use. He learnt about a month ago that “someone” was selling triazolam online. According to Chan, Leong admitted he knew that triazolam is banned in Macau.
Leong also admitted that he contacted the “unknown person” through a mobile phone app and bought triazolam tablets twice. He bought 20 tablets for 2,100 yuan (2,595 patacas) in mid-April and this time 100 tablets for 6,000 yuan. Leong told the police that he had taken most of the triazolam he purchased in mid-April, so only had two tablets left. At the time of the press conference the police were looking for the source of the drugs and other possible suspects.
Leong was transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP) yesterday morning, facing charges of buying and taking narcotics and psychotropic substances, according to Chan.
According to Wikipedia, triazolam, sold under the brand name Halcion among others, is a central nervous system (CNS) depressant tranquiliser of the triazolobenzodiazepine (TBZD) class, which are benzodiazepine (BZD) derivatives. It possesses pharmacological properties similar to those of other benzodiazepines, but it is generally only used as a sedative to treat severe insomnia. In addition to the hypnotic properties, triazolam’s amnesic, anxiolytic, sedative, anticonvulsant, and muscle relaxant properties are pronounced as well. Due to its short half-life, triazolam is not effective for patients who experience frequent awakenings or early wakening.
The half-life of a drug is the time it takes for the amount of a drug’s active substance in a person’s body to reduce by half.
Evidence seized from the suspect such as 102 tablets of triazolam, two smartphones and a parcel is displayed at the Judiciary Police (PJ) headquarters yesterday.
The hooded drug suspect is escorted by Judiciary Police (PJ) officers from the PJ headquarters to a PJ vehicle yesterday. Photos: Iong Tat Choi
