Prisca Tang
The Unitary Police Service (SPU) said in a statement yesterday that during the Thunderbolt Operation 2021, Macau’s law enforcement forces investigated 31,086 people, took in 2,172 for further questioning, and filed 443 suspected criminal cases.
The statement noted that the long list includes 17 drug cases, 15 usury cases, two illegal imprisonment cases, six cases of aiding and abetting human smuggling, 90 fraud cases, 31 illegal currency exchange cases, 11 practice banknotes cases, and three online platform fraud cases. The statement pointed out that 516 people were transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP), 271 of whom were sentenced or fined while 32 people were remanded in custody.
The statement said that during the operation, 704 non-residents were deported from Macau for engaging in illegal activities. Meanwhile, 13 of the arrested were targets of an interception or detention order, two of whom were immediately sent to jail.
The statement concluded that the Thunderbolt Operation 2021 achieved its goal of preventing and clamping down on cross-border crime, maintaining the city’s security and order, and deterring various illegal activities.
The statement also said that due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a certain degree of instability in civil society so the Unitary Police Service will continue to pay close attention to criminal activities and strengthen liaison between Hong Kong, Macau and Guangdong in order to maintain public order and public security.
This undated handout photo provided by the Unitary Police Service (SPU) yesterday shows police officers intercepting two people (with their faces pixelated) at a casino.
