The Macau Customs Service said in a statement yesterday that during the Unitary Police Service’s (SPU) ongoing “Thunderbolt Operation 2021” seven mainlanders have been arrested for human smuggling.
According to the statement, on Sunday midnight customs officers were patrolling off Coloane Ká Hó Port when they observed a suspicious blue fibreglass speedboat. The statement said that the officers then intercepted the speedboat and found seven men on board. The statement underlined that during the operation the officers followed the Health Bureau’s (SSM) guidelines on COVID-19 pandemic prevention and wore the required gear and checked the seven suspects’ temperatures before transferring them to the public Conde de São Januário Hospital Centre for nucleic acid testing (NAT). The statement said that the tests result indicated that they were not novel coronavirus carriers.
The statement noted that the seven suspects are from Guangdong and Guangxi, aged between 17 and 37. The statement said that after questioning, the officers discovered that two of the suspects had been aiding and abetting the five others by smuggling them into Macau. The septet have been transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP).
The statement pointed out that the “Thunderbolt Operation 2021” is ongoing in order to protect public security. The Macau Customs Service urges residents to report smuggling activities to its 24-hour hotline on 2896 5001.
This undated handout photo provided by the Macau Customs Service yesterday shows the suspected people smugglers’ blue fibreglass speedboat.
