The Macau Customs Service arrested five people suspected of involvement in parallel trading last night, a senior customs officer, Lam Fat Lun, told reporters yesterday.
Lam made the remarks after inviting the media to witness customs officers busting a parallel trading spot near the Barrier Gate.
According to Lam, the case involves two Hong Kong residents who were in charge of the parallel trading shop, two shop staff members and a parallel trader. Lam said that a resident tipped off the customs about the parallel trading shop, so customs officers and PSP officers decided to take action. Lam noted that the officers saw two men giving cosmetic products, electronic gadgets and some receipts to a female parallel trader. Then, Lam said, the officers busted the shop where they found three men and a female, while at the Barrier Gate checkpoint the customs officers intercepted the parallel trader carrying the products.
Lam noted that the three men and the woman arrested in the shop comprise a Hong Kong man in charge of the shop, a Hong Kong woman who owns the shop, two employees, one of whom is a local resident, while the other one holds a mainland-issued travel permit for visiting relatives in Macau. Lam added that the woman intercepted at the checkpoint is a non-resident worker (NRW). Lam underlined that the customs officers have transferred the case to the Labour Affairs Bureau (DSAL) for follow-up.
A customs officer is escorting one of the male parallel trading suspects last night to a vehicle near the Barrier Gate. Photo: Maria Cheang Ut Meng
