Five local men were arrested separately on Wednesday for possessing prohibited weapons such as crossbows, bows and arrows, Judiciary Police (PJ) spokeswoman Lei Hon Nei said at a press conference on Friday.
The five suspects comprise a 29-year-old casino service manager surnamed Ao; a 46-year-old car salesman surnamed Ho; a 28-year-old casino dealer surnamed Lei; a 29-year-old cabbie surnamed Vong, and a 28-year-old meter reader surnamed Lok.
According to Lei, the Judiciary Police launched a follow-up investigation into a case of prohibited weapons last December after they arrested a 34-year-old local male suspect surnamed Leong who was charged with buying, importing, keeping and selling illegal weapons. PJ officers believe that Leong had been purchasing the weapons from a mainland website and smuggling them to Macau through logistics companies since 2016. He then resold the weapons to local buyers through a social media app for profit. The officers discovered that Leong had established an archery and shooting association (弓箭射擊協會) so the police investigated its eight members’ transaction records.
The Judiciary Police took action on Wednesday and arrested separately five members of the association in their flats where two crossbows, three bows, 89 arrows, a bottle of steel balls, six swords and a telescopic baton were seized, Lei said.
Under questioning, the five suspects admitted to buying the weapons for their collections while the other three members admitted to being “big fans” of bows and arrows, but the Judiciary Police did not find any weapons in their homes, according to Lei.
The quintet have been transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP), facing charges of possession of illegal weapons, according to Lei.
In this file photo, PJ officers display illegal weapons – crossbows, sabres, a sword, and a number of arrows during a special press conference at the PJ headquarters on December 1, 2020. The Judiciary Police announced the outcome of a follow-up investigation into the case during a press conference on Friday. Photo: Iong Tat Choi
