A Filipino couple who both have a criminal record were arrested after they collected a parcel sent through the post which contained a total of 0.3 kilogrammes of methamphetamine (commonly known as ice) with an estimated street value of one million patacas, Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Chan Wun Man said during a special press conference on Friday.
Chan said that the 30-year-old male suspect is surnamed Larios, while the female suspect is a 28-year-old surnamed Lopez, adding that both worked as non-resident workers (NRWs) whose work permits were revoked after being arrested in January and July respectively for drug trafficking. Chan noted that the duo, who hold separate notices from the Immigration Department of the Public Security Police (PSP), must report to the police regularly.
According to Chan, based on intelligence that drug traffickers had posted drugs from India to Macau, the Judiciary Police with the assistance of their counterparts in the mainland and in conjunction with the Macau Service Customs (SA) and Macau Post and Telecommunications Bureau (CTT), launched an investigation into the case and confirmed that the parcel containing drugs was addressed to Lopez.
Chan said that on November 28, the Judiciary Police, based on the intelligence provided by their counterparts in the mainland that a parcel suspected of holding drugs had arrived in Macau via the mainland on that day, PJ officers were dispatched to the Post and Telecommunications Bureau to follow up on the investigation.
Chan noted that CTT officials called Lopez that the parcel had arrived so she could collect it, but no-one answered the phone after many attempts, and the parcel was not collected. Chan added that the post office then placed the parcel in the express mail and parcels area, according to normal procedure, waiting for the recipient to pick it up.
At 9 a.m. last Thursday, Larios, who was under surveillance, was intercepted by PJ officers after he had picked up the parcel with Lopez’s ID card, Chan said, adding that the officers then went to a hotel room in the city centre where they caught Lopez.
In the parcel the Judiciary Police found several gift boxes of pens, which contained four packs of ice with a total weight of 0.3 kilogrammes.
Under questioning, Chan said, Larios admitted that he was entrusted by someone to collect the parcel and that he would be paid between 14,000 and 16,000 patacas, but he refused to reveal other details and insisted that he did not know that the parcel contained drugs. Lopez denied the crime, Chan added.
Both suspects, who tested negative for drugs, were taken to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP), facing charges of drug trafficking.
One of the two drug trafficking suspects from the Philippines is being escorted by Judiciary Police (PJ) officers from the PJ headquarters in Zape to a PJ vehicle on Friday. – Photo courtesy of TDM
